Success is the child of drudgery and perseverance. It cannot be coaxed or bribed; pay the price and it is yours.

Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before. - Jacob A. Riis: (849 – May 26, 1914: was a Danish-American social reformer)

Gospel Text: (LK 18:1-8)

Jesus told his disciples a parable

about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.

He said, “There was a judge in a certain town

who neither feared God nor respected any human being.

And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,

‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’

For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,

‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,

because this widow keeps bothering me

I shall deliver a just decision for her

lest she finally come and strike me.’”

The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.

Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones

who call out to him day and night?

Will he be slow to answer them?

I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.

But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Children are such wonderful people.  They are easy to please and have a great zest for life.  However, there is one thing that children are good at –  their persistence.  One day a little boy asks his mom for ice cream.  Mom replies by saying that he will get his ice cream on Saturday. Little boy asks, "What day is it today?"  Mom replies, "It's Monday."  The next morning little boy asks mom for ice cream again and mom says that he will get it on Saturday.  In the afternoon, since it was getting hot he asked his mom for ice cream again.  Mom replied with the same answer.  This conversation continued on Wednesday but when Thursday came, mom was already tired of the little boy's pestering about the ice cream so she decided to give in just so he will keep quiet and leave her in peace.

The Gospel reading features this kind of persistence when we pray.  Like the little child, praying with persistence shows that we believe what we are asking for will be given to us by our Father in heaven.  All we need to do is to keep on asking with faith. 

Of course we must ask for important things, useful things that will truly benefit us and our fellowmen.