This wonderful gospel reading offers the believer what seem like miracles: knock and the door will be opened, ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find. But when read carefully, what is promised is not what you actually ask for or seek-if you have spent at least a decade on this planet you know that’s not the way it works! What is promised is actually even better than what you had in mind. What is promised is the Holy Spirit, the fullness of the love shared by Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What could be better than that? Immersed in that holy flow I’m sure what we will receive will be totally aligned with All Goodness, All Love, all perfect answers to our fervent prayer. And if you receive exactly what you asked for, rejoice! Jump for joy because you are one with the will of our amazing Creator! I hope and believe that we have all experienced the explosion of joy on realizing our prayer was answered. Oh sure, sometimes the answer is No, Maybe but Not Yet, or I have a Better Solution, and hopefully we can be ok with those answers and realize they are given in love. Always in love, no matter how difficult and contrary they feel in the moment. Often I have looked through my retrospectoscope at my life and seen the handwriting of my loving God in all the mistakes and hurdles and crazy moments. And I say “ thank you, God, for being there always,”

So let’s enter into conversation with our God, have a real relationship going in our knocking, seeking , asking and prepare to be surprised. To be loved.