Prayer

“Prayer and love are learned in the hour when prayer has become impossible and your heart has turned to stone. If you have never had any distractions you don’t know how to pray. For the secret of prayer is a hunger for God and for the vision of God, a hunger that lies far deeper than the level of language or affection.”    Thomas Merton

Prayer gives us hope.  Whereas meditation unfolds the wings contained deep within the heart, prayers unlocks the cocoon to inspire flight.  We silently listen and quietly observe through meditation.  Prayer helps us find lasting value and soulful embrace

It is our belief that prayer is the manner with which we each speak to God.  It is a means to have dialogue with that which we consider having greater power and influence over our lives.  While meditation is how we can clear our minds and open our hearts to the inner voice dwelling deep within, prayer holds the participants ability to will his spirit in a way that speaks to the forces of life we call God.  It is through the direction of this personal free will that we undertake and make the effort to pray. 

 Many of those throughout history have undertaken efforts to pray only to be dismayed at the lack of response, affect, or change in life circumstances.  They are told that when prayer is left unanswered it is not due to a lack of the confirmation that God or a greater power exists, but that circumstances within the individuals life need to be altered such as sin or karma.  Therefore, we propose that response to prayer is not of great importance in the immediate moment of prayer.  It is first significant that we find the courage to begin prayer.

We look at prayer as the other half of a coin containing meditation on the flip side.  The victory held and contained in prayer as well as meditation can be found in the effort to implement; that is the effort of directing ones free will toward answers to life’s questions outside of the realm of the laws and science of this world.  Just as we can not measure the depth of ones love, we can not measure the importance or value of prayer.  The farmer does not understand the workings of the seed and its DNA structure.  He only relies upon his faith in understanding that through the planting of the seed, he can sustain the physical lives of himself and his loved ones.

             “There is a voice that doesn’t use words.”   Rumi

It is in the faith the farmer has in a single seed, that we encourage the practice of prayer just as that of meditation.  The farmer understands that the seed will not bear fruit in a single day.  It is through the continual efforts which the farmer directs in the sustaining of the plant’s growth in which fruit is rewarded.  It is with this faith of things unknown that the farmer relies.

We each need to refrain from looking for immediate results or responses to our efforts in prayer.  In this attempt for immediate results we are truly deaf to the language of the heart, the dialogue of the soul.  We must understand that we cannot only listen with our ears.  We need to hear and trust in the silent words of faith.   We need to have the faith of the farmer to rely on his daily and consistent efforts.  It is through consistency of practice we must rely. 

Thus through the continued efforts to express our will through prayer do we find the unfolding of the great majesty of life.  There is far more available to us in this world than meets the eye.  Take the time to sit quietly and discover the beauty and magic within.  To do this, we must first quiet the mind and open the heart.  Listen to the voice of the heart. It speaks in a very different language, a language that cannot be heard with the ears, but only with the heart.  This is the language of God.  God listens to our hearts and that which emanates from it.  With an open heart we become like the farmer with his seeds.  The mystery of life then travels from our heart and into our prayer.  Our prayers then take flight and our journey  through life now just begins.  We discover that we have never been alone.  We discover that we have always been loved.  We become aware of the beauty and magic of God and how our spirit has always been one with His Spirit. If we would only be persistent in letting go and finding the trust held in hope. Silently listen and quietly observe the lasting value waiting deep within the wings of the heart.  Hope then fulfills its unspoken promise through God’s loving embrace.

“Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” 

– Max Lucado  .

 

Resurrection is a Journey of Transformation by Fr. Scott Lewis

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Resurrection is a journey of transformation

BY  FR. SCOTT LEWIS, S.J

  • April 6, 2017

Resurrection of the Lord, April 16 (Year A) Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Psalm 118; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-18

The first Christian creeds were simple, direct and unadorned. The apostles proclaimed who Jesus was, what He did, what happened to Him, and His role in the universal judgment of humankind.

There were no theological subtleties — those would come much later. Sent and empowered by God, Jesus spoke on God’s behalf and would be the supreme judge at the end of time of both the living and the dead.

There is an ominous tone in the proclamation, as well as a ray of hope. They firmly believed this judgment was going to occur soon, probably within their lifetimes. The time was very short and sins probably weighed on the minds and hearts of many.

All those who believed in Jesus would receive forgiveness of sins through His name. This can sound disturbingly like a free pass — a way of dodging the impending judgment. But the end times and judgment they foresaw were catastrophic.

Belief and forgiveness were intended to be a lifeline in the raging storm rather than an easy way out. The tumultuous end did not and has not occurred, which is a continual source of puzzlement for many.

Today we would make a more balanced and nuanced judgment of a person’s overall life. We do not expect the immediate end of the world as we know it, nor do we limit salvation only to those who believe explicitly in Jesus. So what should we proclaim? Just as the text says, but without the sense of fear or exclusion.

Jesus healed people and released those in the grip of the devil. He went about doing good, filled with the Holy Spirit and power. He was also obedient to God even to death.

This is the standard against which all human life is measured: obedience to God, compassionate and humble service, and being a source of hope and strength for others. This is the path we are called to follow, so nothing has changed. At the end of time, we will be asked to what degree we reflected the person of Christ in our life — nothing more, nothing less. Jesus still walks among us doing God’s work, but now He urges us to join Him.

What does it mean to seek the things that are above, setting our minds on them rather than things on the Earth? It does not call for turning our back on life or the world around us. The key to this passage is the reference to being raised with Christ. If we have been truly raised with Him, then we have to be changed.

We are urged to put on the mind and heart of Christ. In so doing, we think in different ways and pattern our lives on a different set of principles and values. Our lives in this world continue, but as very different human beings.

Seeing is not always believing and even believing at times lacks understanding. Peter and the Beloved Disciple dashed to the empty tomb in response to Mary Magdalene’s frantic report. They both saw the empty tomb. Peter was somewhat perplexed and although the Beloved Disciple believed, he did not fully understand.

It seems that the disciples lacked an awareness of what rising from the dead meant. Neither did Mary understand. Things were not as clear as we sometimes suppose. Both the two angels in the tomb and the risen Jesus standing in the shadows asked her why she was weeping. The second, unspoken part of that question might have been, “Don’t you understand that death no longer exists?”

Everything had been transformed and made new. The extent of this transformation was evident in the message that He charged her with taking to the others. She was to inform them that He was ascending to “my Father and your Father, my God and your God.”

Humanity had been reconciled to God and the doors to the kingdom of the Spirit were opened. Those walking in God’s light enjoyed a new relationship — that of brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God the Father. In this relationship, there is no place for darkness, lack of love, separateness or exclusion.

Resurrection means continual transformation as well as a new way of thinking, feeling and living. In order to be authentic and believable, the resurrection must be reflected in ordinary human lives.

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