Ordinary Time pretty much walked us through the Gospel of Mark and right before Lent, the letter of James. Because of this, the theme in the Gospel may not be the theme in the first reading. During Lent, however, the mass readings seem to follow certain themes and there is no single Gospel that is followed. Yesterday, it was Luke, today it is Matthew.
The theme for today is about asking. In the First Reading, Esther begs God to spare her life and give her strength for an act that might lead to her death. The response for today's psalm is "Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me." And the Gospel for today is the familiar saying, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find."
The readings for today remind me of some basic lessons the Jesuits have taught me. Jesuit prayers always start with petitions, begging the Lord for this or that grace. And the stance of the person who prays is that of a beggar and this stance reflects a basic truth: that God is the source of all grace and that by definition, grace is pure gift and is given to us out of love and not because we are worthy of such grace.
The good news is that God is a gracious giver but the graces he gives may not necessarily be the graces we asked for. But the graces he gives are the graces we need at the moment he gives them.
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