August 20th, 2023 - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Ave Maria Parish

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” The wisdom behind this saying applies to many facets of life, including our prayer and spiritual life. To be successful in the spiritual life, we often have to endure dry spells in our prayer and get used to being stuck in the valleys of life, with all the disappointments and frustrations that can keep us from reaching the mountaintop. Success in our relationships with the Lord and with others is all about our steady effort. When we make the effort to be faithful to prayer, and bring to the Lord the joys and sorrows, the blessings and burdens of our day, that effort will bear fruit. And when we fail to show up in prayer or somehow fall short of being the disciple Christ wants us to be, we need to try, try again.