In his Christmas (2022) message, Pope Francis urges us to PERSEVERE in "PRAYER for those brothers and sisters who are suffering so much, especially those in Ukraine and Myanmar."

Jesus exhorts his disciples to do this aspect of prayer when they relate with God through prayer.

In Mt.7: 7-8 "... to ask, seek & knock..." This is an act of perseverance in prayer. Yet Mahatma Gandhi added depth to this by saying, "Prayer is not just asking.... it is a longing of the soul.... It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart." How profound is this statement? This reflects our relationship with God, our daily communication and contact with God, and to whom we want to place our complete trust!

Mt. 7:12 is the 'golden rule' many hold as a principle for life - "...do to others what you would have them do to you...." Yet this 'golden rule' is inadequate, as in the double commandment of love which sums up the Law and Prophets (Mt.22:34-40).

During this Lenten season, let us take to heart our sincere relationship with God and be encouraged by what Pope Francis says about fasting: "Fast from hurting words and say kind words. Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude. Fast from anger and be filled with patience. Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope."