From the bulletin for The Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sep 08, 2024)
Parish School of Prayer, Pt 10: The Heart of Prayer
Adventures over (or yet to begin?), back to business. And as we swing back into the business of living and sharing Christ’s call to holiness, the first agenda item needs to be the primacy of God. Without Him we can do nothing at all. How could we hope to become an evangelizing parish of saints on our own?
Page through the Gospels. The most poignant scenes, in which Our Lord’s compassionate Heart and divine power are most powerfully revealed, are those in which human poverty humbly encounters God’s merciful omnipotence at the feet of Christ Jesus. It’s an explosive combination. The products of the reaction are faith and salvation, with by-products of gratitude and praise. Our prayer ought always to be such an encounter.
Take the Gospel this Sunday: a group of intercessors place the deaf-mute before Jesus, “begging Him to lay his hand on him” (Mk 7:32). There is the prayer. What results? Ephphatha! The creative divine command, the opening of the ears, the loosing of the lips, the restoration to communion, and the praise of God. Before, that man’s ears and tongue, his heart too, are comparable to “a dry weary land without water” (Ps 63:1). Afterwards, that thirsty ground has become a spring in the desert, for “the ears of the deaf have been opened, and the tongue of the mute sings for joy” (cf. Is 35:6-7).
The Canaanite woman, Jarius, the publican, blind Bartimaeus… each fulfills this pattern of prayer. All were blessed with a saving encounter with the Almighty. Not a coincidence. As Our Lady herself sums it up, “He fills the hungry with good things, while the rich He sends away empty” (Lk 1:53). Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost, to heal those who were sick, to call not the righteous but sinners. Since “no one comes to the Father except through Him” (Jn 14:6), only those who “qualify” for Jesus can access the Father. Only those who seek Him as Savior are able to pray.
To really pray, then, we need to be in touch with our dire need for mercy, grace, forgiveness, fulfillment, love, healing, help… in a word, for Jesus. “Prayer” is that act (or rather, gift) whereby man acknowledges his need, cries out to “God my Savior,” and then rejoices (Lk 1:47).
What happens when we attempt to pray without this attitude? More often than not, what results is rote, superficial, distracted, self-absorbed, or boring. Or all of the above. Our Lord’s words to the Pharisees can be applied to such persons: “You refuse to come to me to have life!” (Jn 5:40). Or again, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain…” (Mt 15:8-9).
Of course, it can be hard to turn to prayer day in and day out with a lively sense of existential need. Nor can we expect every prayer time to involve a sensible encounter with the Savior. Endurance in prayer will always entail a test of fidelity, walking by faith, and perseverance. The laborer needs to return to the field day after day, whether or not he sees signs of growth. So here are some tips for disposing ourselves for that graced encounter we call prayer:
Avoid distractions. Not only during prayer. Avoid those activities that numb your awareness of your sorrows, shortcomings, fears, and thirsts. Rather than escaping from those cracks in your soul, use them as pathways to invite Christ in!
Enlist the Holy Spirit. We don’t know how to pray. But “the Spirit helps us in our weakness" (Rom 8:26). Pray that He pray in you!
Commit to a regime. Spontaneity is great. But mature love shows up, rain or shine. Know how much time you intend to spend with God each day and prioritize that above every other commitment or opportunity. Fidelity here is everything.
Pray with what you have… and what you don’t. Don’t feel like praying? Pray with that! Confess your lukewarmness to God. Express your desire to desire to pray. Feel unable to hear God’s voice? Pray with that! Beg that a word from Him might break through; that you might have ears to hear. Etc.
Pray with those Gospel encounters between Jesus and the humble needy. Strive to see how their poverty is yours, and make their prayer and petitions your own.
Wait on the Lord. He won’t let you wait forever, or finally disappoint those who trust in Him!
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