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Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 27, 2025

 A little boy approaches his slightly older sister with this question: “Susie, can anybody ever really see God?”

Busy with other things, Susie curtly replies: “No, of course not, silly. God is so far up in heaven that nobody can see him.”

Still wondering, he approached his mother: “Mom, can anybody ever really see God?” “No, not really,” his mother says gently. “God is spirit and He dwells in our hearts, but we can never really see him.”

This answer satisfies him for the moment, but he still wonders. A few days later his beloved old grandfather takes his grandson on a fishing trip. They have a great time together – it has been an ideal day. As the sun begins to set, the grandfather stops fishing and turns his full attention to the beauty unfolding before their eyes.  On seeing the peace and contentment on his grandfather’s face, the boy thinks for a moment and asks hesitatingly: “Grandpa, I wasn’t going to ask anybody else, but I wonder if you can tell me something I’ve been wondering about for a long time. Can anybody ever really see God?”

The old man does not even tum his head. A long moment slips by before he finally answers. “Son,” he responds quietly, “it’s getting so I can’t see anything else.”

Our curiosity about God in our tender youth and our thoughts about God in our old age, seem to “bookend” the middle part of our lives when it is very easy not to think of God very much at all or simply not as often. Authentic prayer is a way to speak to God all through our lives as a way to recognize His presence and to recognize His blessings. Prayer is a way for us to express our gratitude to Him or to reach out to Him for His guidance and assistance.

Our youthful curiosity should not dim as we mature and grow into adulthood; our vision of God in the twilight of our years should not be the only time that we see Him present to us. Prayer is that gift from Jesus that encourages us to always be curious about our loving Father God, and it helps us to see Him present in constant ways throughout our entire life, not just as we approach the entrance into eternal life. -Msgr. Greg