Knock

 

“Knock. Persevere in knocking, even to the point of rudeness, if that were possible.

There is a way of forcing God and wresting his graces from him, and that way is to ask continually with a firm faith. We must think, with the Gospel:

‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you,’ which he then repeats by saying, ‘Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened’ (Luke 11:9-10).

We must, therefore, pray during the day, pray at night, and pray every time we rise. Even though God seems either not to hear us or even to reject us, we must continually knock, expecting all things from God but nevertheless also acting ourselves.

We must not only ask as though God must do everything himself; we must also make our own effort to act according to his will and with the help of his grace, as all things are done with his support.

We must never forget that it is always God who provides; to think thus is the very foundation of humility.”

—Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) calls Bossuet the greatest pulpit orator of all time, ranking him even ahead of Augustine and Chrysostom.