Daily Gospel Reflection for November 15, 2025

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

I find it interesting when we hear the same Gospel reading more than once in the same year outside of the known liturgical repeats. We heard this Gospel reading only a month ago – on a Sunday no less, and I think it’s because there must be something important about it for us in this time, this place, and this spot in history.

What is it about the judge, the widow, authentic faith, and persistence in prayer that I am not understanding? Or what is it about faith and prayer that Jesus is calling me more deeply to after just one month?

Today is the optional memorial today of St. Albert the Great, a Dominican preacher and patron of science. He’d have something to say about the scientific method of prayer and the order of God.

I was always terrible at science. However, I can remember being grateful for the consistency of the scientific method. Of the steps and the order. It gave me a chance to pass my remedial science courses through doing well on lab reports. The scientific method was my saving grace because even if I failed to do the experiment correctly – if I could record it and be faithful to the steps – the process was still fruitful.

Maybe prayer and the five steps of the scientific method are related.
Observation, Hypothesis, Prediction, Experimentation, and Conclusion.
Observation is knowing the person or situation I want to talk with God about.
Hypothesis is considering what it is that God might want for this situation/person.
Prediction is considering what God might say in response and then actually listening for His response.
Experimentation is praying for the person or situation and the outcome God might desire.
Conclusion is leaving the results up to God and praising Him in those results.

Ponder:

Which one of these steps to a better prayer life can I do better at today?

Pray:

Lord Jesus, I desire to be close to You. Show me how to seek Your heart, Your love, and Your wisdom.

Copyright 2025 Colleen O'Dowd

Colleen O’Dowd is a parish missionary at Our Lady of Ransom in Niles, IL. She loves being Catholic; her Converse All Stars, Crocs and socks are always liturgically correct; and she is a super-saint-geek! She blogs ultra-occasionally at www.ourheartswereburningwithin.wordpress.com and can also be found @catholiccolleen on Twitter and Instagram.