Wednesday, December 24, 2014

MERRY CHRISTMAS

(our wonderful Christmas tree with 100s of angels)
 
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
 
From your Franciscan friars here at the Interprovincial Prayer Fraternity,  we wish you a very BLESSED CHRISTMAS.  
 
May the Christ Child find a home in your hearts and in your families and loved ones.  
 
May the Word of God be birthed in your life in ever new ways.
 
May the Peace of this Christmas 2014 be strengthened through the coming of the Prince of Peace.
 
MERRY CHRISTMAS from us to you!
 
 

Saturday, December 20, 2014

PRAYING WITH THE EVERYDAY IMPOSSIBLE

 
THE EVERYDAY IMPOSSIBLE
 
Mary to the angel:  "How can this be, since  I have no relations with a man?"   The angel Gabriel to her:  "Nothing will be impossible for God."
 
The message Gabriel delivers to Mary is the news of impossible pregnancies,  but what is the angel's message for us?    It seems we might be given an opportunity to reflect on the many ways the seemingly impossible becomes real every day.
 
Consider our planet,  its multibillion-year history, and the fact that it became perfectly calibrated to foster and sustain life.   What a miracle our world is.
 
Consider our lives, the necessary factors that must align for human procreation.   What a miracle you and I are.
 
Consider our creativity, the gifts of intellect and art and invention that God has so endowed us with.   To look at art,  to listen to music, to understand algebra -- these are amazing signs of what is possible with God.   What a miracle this vision is.
 
The angel's message for us includes an invitation to pause and reflect during these busy days on what we take for granted as matter-of-fact and to consider that it is only by God's love and grace that all these things are possible.
 
(This reflection is by Fr. Daniel P. Horan, OFM, and appeared in GIVE US THIS DAY,  a daily missalette,  for December 20, 2014 as a reflection on the Gospel account of the Annunciation in the Gospel of Luke  1: 26-38)

NEW LOOK IN OUR FRIARY

(Refurbished cabinets)
 
The friars here in Ava want to acknowledge the wonderful gift we received from a family benefactor: Lutz Woodworks in Wylie, TX.    With the assistance of the workers in their factory,  we were able to have  most of the cabinets doors and facings for the drawers refurbished.   They also provided new handles for all of the cabinets in the kitchen.   They look brand new.   We are grateful for this gift and ask God to bless them for their generosity to us.
 
 

Friday, November 28, 2014

PRAYER ... a call to God!

 
Psalm  84:3:    My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
 
When my heart cries out to God, I'm praying well.   However, distractions can subtly pull my thoughts elsewhere, and then the quality of my prayer suffers.   To be more attentive in prayer,  I sometimes imagine I am going to call God on the phone.   Before dialing, I need to determine why I'm calling.  Maybe I want to express my love,  offer thanks,  or say I'm sorry.   Perhaps I'm requesting strength or guidance.   Then I must be spiritually alert and clearly express my thoughts to God. 
 
When I am easily distracted,  hesitant, or half asleep,  that is a sign this call to God will not be very meaningful.   If my house were ablaze,  I know my call to the fire department would not be halfhearted or distracted.   I would vigorously plead for help.  The psalmist  (84:3) encourages us to come to prayer with this same purpose and cry out our thoughts to the living God.
 
(This reflection is by Fr. James McKarns and appears on November 28th in the LIVING FAITH daily Catholic devotional.)
 

Thursday, November 27, 2014

THANKSGIVING WISH

2014 Thanksgiving  Dinner at Assumption Abbey
 
As we come to the end of THANKSGIVING DAY,  let us again wish you a BLESSED THANKSGIVING;   let GRATITUDE reign in your hearts;   let the EUCHARIST always be a prayer of thanksgiving for you;   let THANK YOU be always a ready part of your daily conversations.   THANK YOU for being a part of our lives.
 
 
 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
 
When we think of THANKSGIVING DAY,  we think of turkey,  or lots of food, usually with family and friends, marathon football games,  and increasingly for many of us,  shopping,  but let's not forget what is at the center of our day;  for your prayerful reflection something we may not remember of the origins of this day:
 
On October 3,  1863,  in the middle of our nation's Civil War,  President Abraham Lincoln gave this national holiday as a day to GIVE THANKS for our abundance that is from God:
 
"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven;  we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity;  we have grown ...  as no other nation has ever grown.   But we have forgotten God.  We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined ... that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.  Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace,  too proud to pray to the God that made us."
 
As we celebrate THANKSGIVING today,  however we celebrate it,  let us remember always to GIVE THANKS TO GOD  for all the graces and blessings and gifts we have so richly received from God's generous and loving care for each and all of us.
 
HAPPY THANKSGIVING from the Ava Franciscans
 
 

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

PRAYER: Beginning with Gratitude

 
BRINGING THANKS INTO YOUR PRAYER:
 
This reflection is written by  Fr. James Martin, SJ and appears in the November issue of GIVE US THIS DAY missalette,  p.  7.
 
Finding your prayer dry?   Having a tough time seeing God in your daily life?   Struggling with despair?  Then begin with gratitude, the easiest way to jump-start your spiritual life.
 
One of the most popular ways to pray is St. Ignatius Loyola's "examination of conscience," in which you review the day to discover signs of God's activity.   And, surprisingly for a man of his times,  St. Ignatius begins the prayer not with a catalogue of one's sins but with gratitude.  Why?  Well, left to our own devices, we tend to focus on the negatives in life.   Many of us are also inveterate problem solvers.  Thus, when we look back on our day we automatically focus on what went wrong, on what needs to be fixed.    Some of this is part of our emotional hardwiring, the vestige of the prehistoric mind:  the caveman or cavewoman most likely to survive was the one most alert to danger.  But concentrating on our problems can mean we overlook our blessings.
 
What if you don't feel that you have much to be grateful for?  In that case, try looking at smaller, everyday blessings.   The taste of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  A crazy joke that lightened your day.   An unexpected phone call from a friend.  Or look at more long-term blessings:  a roof over your head, food on the table,  a job.   To be grateful, all you need to do is recall the blessing, savor it, and tell God that you're thankful.  As Meister Eckhart wrote: "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you,  that will be enough." 
 
 
 

Sunday, November 16, 2014

LIVING IN THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER

PRAYING ALWAYS
 
"Jesus told his disciples a parable abut the necessity for them to pray always without become weary."  (Luke 18:1)   
 
This Gospel, with the story of the persistent widow,  appeared as the daily reading for Saturday, November 15th.   As one might suspect, it prompted many useful thoughts in various commentaries on the daily readings;  here are several:
 
To "pray always" means that we live in the spirit of prayer, which is not difficult.  A thousand things every day can remind us to offer short but meaningful prayers of thanksgiving.  In the quiet of our heart, we can adore our God and express sorrow for our failures.   We are able to seek guidance and strength to face our daily challenges.   Such meaningful communications keep us in touch with our loving Creator.   in the midst of the busyness of life,  I feel drawn to quiet places where silence establishes a good connection to hear the whispering voice of God.    (Fr. James McKarns writing for the LIVING WITH CHRIST missalette.)
 
This parable of the widow seems to imply that God has to be nagged repeatedly to answer our prayer.  I recoil from this notion of prayer and of God.  I was very grateful at a Bible study when the presenter offered a different interpretation.  She said the persistence in prayer is not about God, but about us.
 
Instead of repeatedly worrying, one keeps turning to God,  transforming worry into prayer.  By "the necessity to pray always without becoming weary,"  Jesus meant that we are to pray always so that we do not become overcome with weariness.  By repeatedly entrusting our concern into God's hands,  we will not lose heart.  In a recent time of great crisis,  this kind of repeated prayer helped me greatly to hang on to the truth that I was not alone.  The prayer was a lifeline to trust.    (Patricia Livingston writing in the LIVING FAITH, daily Catholic devotional.)
 
God invites us to pray insistently not because he is unaware of our needs or because he is not listening to us.  On the contrary,  he is always listening and he knows everything about us lovingly.  On our daily journey, especially in times of difficulty, in the battle against the evil that is outside and within us,  the Lord is not far away, he is by our side ... God is our ally, faith in him in our strength and prayer is the expression of this faith. 
 
Pray always, but not in order to convince the Lord by a dint of words!   He knows our needs better than we do!   Indeed,  persevering prayer is the expression of faith in a God who calls us to fight with him every day and at every moment in order to conquer evil with good.    (Pope Francis, speaking at the Angelus, on October 20, 2013  -- referenced in the GIVE US THIS DAY missalette.)
 
 
 

Friday, November 14, 2014

THE POWER OF PRAYER

PRAYER'S  POWER
If you wish to keep focus in life
PRAY
If you want to find the depth in God's commandments
PRAY
If you want to discover the far reaches of the mysteries of God
PRAY
If you want to keep your heart open and wise and loving
PRAY
If you want to know your brother's and sister's and others' needs and yearnings
PRAY
If you want to reverence the richness of creation
PRAY
If you want to choose life over death and evils
PRAY
If you want to know the good in life that God has in mind for you
PRAY
If you want to receive the balm of forgiveness and freedom from sin
PRAY
If you want to know and live God's wisdom
PRAY
If you want to avoid anger and the ways of violence
PRAY
If you wish to know God as a friend on a daily basis
PRAY
 
-- written by a Franciscan friar at Ava Prayer Fraternity --
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, October 30, 2014

TWO REFLECTIONS ON PRAYER

Station of the Cross
 
"Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power."   (Ephesians  6:10)
 
The following are two daily reflections on the power of prayer based on this passage from the Letter to the Ephesians 6:10-20 :
 
Small seedlings draw on an amazing power to live and become trees, and can even emerge through concrete.  We too face things that will choke our growth, so we need the daily power of prayer to grow in and toward the light that is God.   Prayer is a reliance on God that we will be raised to grow through obstacles.   The smallest of living things have much to teach us about ourselves.  A good prayer for today would be to ask God to help us see and learn from the power of the small and the wisdom that is patience.   Growth takes time,  persistence, patience.   And, yes,  it moves vast things.
 
(This reflection is by Fr. James Stephen Behrens, OCSO and appears in the daily missalette  LIVING WITH CHRIST for October 30, 2014.)
 
When w pray, we arm ourselves against evil.   We ask God to protect us and help us resist our daily temptations.   We recognize our own weakness and draw strength and power from the Lord.   But no matter how much we know we need prayer,  we still have to be deliberate about it.
 
A dieter makes healthier choices when the refrigerator is full of fruits and vegetables.  We are more likely to pray when we build it into our lives.   I know I will pray if I set aside a few minutes at the same time every day instead of waiting for the mood to strike.   I will go to church if I plan the rest of my weekend around it.   I will read the Bible if it's on my bedside table.   These small acts make it easier to choose prayer when everyday demands threaten to crowd it out.
 
(This reflection is by Karla Manternach and appears in the daily devotional,  LIVING FAITH for October 30, 2014.)
 
 
 
 

Monday, October 27, 2014

a New Guest Facility

A new guest room at House of Prayer

With Br. Joe being transferred this summer,  the use of the 'Soap House' became a question for us to consider.

We have decided to make it available as another place where our guests can stay,
esp. if they are families.   The picture above shows the main room in the
house that is available and can sleep three.   There is a separate smaller
bedroom.   The building has a kitchen, dining room, bathroom, and even a small
chapel.
 
 
 
 



Thursday, October 23, 2014

PRAY TO KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS

 
St. Paul,  in his Letter to the Ephesians in 3:17-19, says:
 
"that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;  that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
 
Pray that you may know the love of Jesus in your life;   Fr. S. Joseph Krempa,  writing  in DAILY HOMILIES in a commentary on this Ephesian passage today, has an important consideration for us to bring to prayer daily:
 
Paul is referring to our personal experience of Jesus Christ.  This is as critical for us as it was for Paul.  
 
When we put it into words,  we have the beginning of doctrine,   When we put it into symbol,  we have the beginning of liturgy.   When we put it in action,  we have the beginning of apostolate.   When we put it into structures,  we have the beginnings of a Christian community.   When we put it into buildings,  we have the beginnings of cathedrals.
 
Jesus Christ and our experience of His love are the molten core -- the magma -- of the Church.  
 
Remove our personal experience of the Lord and each of these things can become an idol.   Doctrine become ideology;  liturgy becomes ceremony;   apostolate becomes empire-building;  and a parish becomes an administrative unit.
 
 

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Several Prayer Quotes

In Luke's Gospel today, the disciples ask:  "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."   Jesus responded by teaching them the Lord's Prayer.   This prompted several reflections in various devotionals:
 
Prayer is an outburst from the heart;  it is a simple glance darted upward to heaven;  it is a cry of gratitude and of love in the midst of trial as in the midst of joy!   In a word,  it is something exalted, supernatural, which dilates the soul and unites it to God.  
 
That quote is from  St. Therese of Lisieux;  another woman from our own time, Amy Welborn, offers this comment in the LIVING FAITH's meditation for today...
 
 
We bring our whole lives to prayer, every time we place ourselves in the Lord's presence.   No matter what our specific needs,  Jesus teaches us how to begin and orient ourselves:   Honor God first, acknowledge his priority in our lives, then just ask for what we need to live in gratitude. 
 
LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY!
 
 
    

Monday, October 6, 2014

HAPPY FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS

(picture taken at Transitus)
 
ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI = patron of ecology
 
2014 marks the 35th anniversary of when St. Francis was named the PATRON OF ECOLOGY by Pope John Paul II in 1979.  
 
As we wish you a BLESSED FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS this year,  we share with you a few remarks from the TRANSITUS service we had here at our House of Prayer:
 
With Franciscans all over the world,  and with friends of St. Francis of Assisi,  we gather on the eve of his feast day to honor his name,   to hear stories about his life from people close to him,  to remember his death, and in a special way this year to honor the 35th anniversary of when St. Francis of Assisi was named by Pope John Paul II in 1979 as the PATRON OF ECOLOGY.  
In the words of the Papal Declaration,  Pope John Paul II proclaimed:   "Among the holy and admirable men who have revered nature as a wonderful gift of God to the human race,   St. Francis of Assisi deserves special consideration.   For he,  in a special way, deeply sensed the universal works of the Creator and, filled with a certain divine spirit, sang that very beautiful "Canticle of the Creatures'.   Through them,   Brother Sun most powerful and Sister Moon and the stars of heaven,  he offered fitting praise, glory, honor, and all blessing to the most high,  all powerful, good Lord.
Pope John Paul II declared St. Francis to be the PATRON OF ECOLOGY,  telling us that this poor man of Assisi offers Christians an example of genuine and deep respect for the integrity of creation.   He indicated that it was his hope that the inspiration of St. Francis will help us to keep ever alive a sense of fraternity with all those good and beautiful things which Almighty God has created.  
In a commentary on this proclamation, an author tells us:  "St. Francis pushes the boundaries for us today to reconsider and broaden our understanding of the gospel question:   "Who is my neighbor?"   Because for Francis the concept of 'neighbor' included, not only the human race, but the whole of creation.
 
 
 

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

A PRAYER OF PRAISE

 
PUTTING PRAISE INTO OUR PRAYER!
 
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart ....
    in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise.  (Psalm 138:1)
 
As outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church,  we generally recognize five types of prayer:   adoration,  intercession, petition, thanksgiving and prayers of praise of God.   As far as I know,  there is no hierarchy of prayer:   All types are good, and God loves to hear from us.   But I wonder how often do we just sit down and take a moment to thank God for all that he has given us,  to simply praise God?
 
A reading of the psalms gives us a glimpse of prayers of praise and thanksgiving.  Over and over, the psalmist turns his attention to the blessings of God's creation, to the power and majesty of the Almighty,  praising God again and again for his laws,  his love and his guidance.   I can't remember when I thought to thank God for his commandments.   Praying the psalms is a perfect way to begin.
 
(This reflection on prayer by Paul Pennick appeared in LIVING FAITH for Sept. 29, 2014.)
 
 
 
 

Friday, September 26, 2014

Jesus ... a model of frequent prayer

 
Jesus,  a prayer model for us
 
Luke 9:18    "Once, when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with them....."
 
All four Gospels, of course, devote time and space to the subject of prayer, but Luke has more to say about prayer than the other three evangelists.   Luke shows Jesus at prayer frequently, especially at crucial moments of his life:   at his baptism (3:21),  before choosing the Twelve  (6:12),   at the Transfiguration  (9:29),   in the garden of Gethsemane  (22:42),  and on the cross  (23:24).   It is this model of frequent prayer that we are called to as Christians.
 
To pray is to be still.   But most people are restless and do not like to be still.   Our culture has driven us to become busy, active beings.   We rush to get to work and rush to get home.   We have no time to waste,  for time is money.  In our era of hyper-speed and super computers, waiting has become almost uncivilized.   Just as Jesus stopped and prayed along the journey to Jerusalem,  we are invited to stop from time to time and be still in prayer.   By being still in solitude, we can truly discover God's revelation and answer the question:  "Who do you say that I am?"
 
(This reflection is by Fr. vanThanh Nguyen, SVD, and appears at the daily meditation for September 26, 2014 in  the  GIVE US THIS DAY missalette published by Liturgical Press,  Collegeville, MN.)
 
 

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

PRAYER AND EVANGELIZATION


PRAYER'S ROLE IN EVANGELIZATION

A new evangelization,  a Church that evangelizes, must always start with prayer,  with asking, as the apostles did in the Upper Room, for the fire of the Holy Spirit.   Only a faithful and intense relationship with God makes it possible to get out of our own closedness and proclaim the Gospel with parrhesia.   

Without prayer, our acts are empty and our proclamation has no soul;  it is not inspired by the Spirit.

(This reflection by Pope Francis was given in a general audience on May 22, 2013.   It appears on page 82 in a new book entitled:  THE CHURCH OF MERCY by Pope Francis:  a Vision for the Church. ) 



PRAYER is our SOLID GROUND


STANDING ON THE ROCK OF PRAYER


Prayer reminds us that we ourselves, including our work, are not the center of the universe.  To begin to believe otherwise is the fatal sin of vainglory,  "empty glory."   We put our faith and self-worth in titles or rank, claiming for ourselves privileges and exceptions.  It's a house built on sand.   And when retirement looms, or illness strikes,  or downsizing makes our job superfluous,  we realize we've been standing on ground that washes away beneath our feet.   Prayer brings us back to solid ground, to the rock of faith in one greater than ourselves, to the commitments that give life its truest meaning.  Prayer bends our attention away from ourselves back toward God, and then to those who have been entrusted to our love and practical care:   family, friends, community, and especially those who lack the blessings we have been given so abundantly.

Standing on the rock of faith we can do great things.   Marshalling every bit of talent God has given us,  drawing courage from places somewhere deep inside that we never knew existed,  we get out of bed,  say our prayers, and go to work.   It is indeed God's work,   opus Dei,    but it is also ours,  labor noster.     In this month when we celebrate Labor Day,  let us hold them together.

(This reflection was taken from a longer reflection entitled:  Prayer and Work,  by Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, that appears in the September  2014 missalette:  GIV
E US THIS DAY.)  

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Gratitude to Fr. Gary, blog creator


Fr. Gary Bernhardt, OFM


We take a moment here to acknowledge with sadness the tragic death of Fr. Gary,  the generous creator of this blog site for our House of Prayer.   Over 6 years ago Fr. Gary took time to come and set up our Ava blog page here.

This past Tuesday,   August  26, 2014,  while on a fishing vacation with some friends on Lake Taneycomo in Branson, MO,  the boat in which Fr. Gary and his two companions were fishing,  hit a submerged tree and capsized.    The two other men were able to find something to grab onto, but  Fr. Gary was thrown into the water.   Without a lifejacket,  he ended up being in the cold water flowing from the dam at Table Rock Lake and he had floated 1/4 mile downstream before another boat was able to rescue him.   Emergency crews, after a long effort, did revive him and he was taken to the local hospital.  Fr. Gary was not able to overcome the ordeal and died later that evening.

We offer our condolences to the Franciscan friars of the Sacred Heart province in St. Louis, to  his parents,  Carl and Maggie Bernhardt, of Quincy, IL,  to  his sister and brothers, and their families,  and his many other family members and friends.  

Now, Fr. Gary, perhaps you can learn more tips on fishing from the great fishermen, Saints Peter, Jame and John.   Then again, maybe you'll be teaching them how to create flies for your fishing escapades with them in heaven.   Remember the lifejacket;  then again, maybe you won't need that there.

"Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual life shine upon him.   May he now rest in peace"


Thursday, August 14, 2014

Pope Francis and Prayer to the Holy Spirit


This reflection is drawn from an address Pope Francis gave in a General Audience on May 15, 2013; the theme was "Be guided by the Holy Spirit."

Then,  as Jesus promised,  the Holy Spirit guides us "into all the truth"  (John 16:13);  not only does he guide us to the encounter with Jesus,  the fullness of the Truth, but he also guides us "into" the Truth -- that is, he makes us enter into an ever deeper communion with Jesus, giving us knowledge of all the things of God.   And we cannot achieve this by our own efforts.    Unless God enlightens us from within,  our Christian existence will be superficial.  The Church's tradition asserts that the Spirit of truth acts in our heart, inspiring that "sense of the faith"  (sensus fidei) through which, as the Second Vatican Council states, the People of God, under the guidance of the magisterium, adheres unfailingly to the faith transmitted, penetrates it more deeply with the right judgment, and applies it more fully in life (see Lumen Gentium,  # 12).

Let us try asking ourselves:   Am I open to the action of the Holy Spirit?   Do I pray to him to give me illumination,  to make me more sensitive to God's things?   This is a prayer we must pray every day:  "Holy Spirit, make my heart open to the word of God,  make my heart open to goodness, make my heart open to the beauty of God every day."   I would like to ask everyone a question:  how many of you pray every day to the Holy Spirit?  There will not be many, but we must fulfill Jesus' wish and pray every day to the Holy Spirit that he open our heart to Jesus.


Friday, August 1, 2014

WHAT PRAYERFUL SILENCE CAN DO FOR YOU!

 
(St. Francis of Assisi)
 
(This reflection by Fr. Kenneth Grabner, CSC,  appears in LIVING FAITH as the meditation for August 1, 2014;  the scripture text (Mt:  13: 54-55,57)  was the story of Jesus returning home to Nazareth and his towns people not accepting him;  Fr. Kenneth talks about how hard it is to let people be different than what we think they are;  it takes "prayerful silence" he says, plus more.)
 
SEEKING THE DEEPER MEANING - PRAYERFUL SILENCE!
 
Just when we think we know people, they say and do things that surprise us.   Then we realize we didn't know them as well as we imagined.  That seems to be what happened when Jesus returned home.   His hearers thought they knew him, and they weren't ready for anything new.
 
Maybe something similar happens to us.   We've heard Jesus' words so often that we don't expect to find anything new.  This has happened to me occasionally when preparing a homily.  I'd seen the Scripture text dozens of times.  What new insights would I be able to share?   All I could do was to sit quietly and ask God for his inspiration.  And in the silence,  God gave me a new understanding I had never seen before.   God's Word can touch us in many different ways.   Prayerful silence can reveal deeper meanings in Scripture that we would otherwise miss.
 
 

Friday, July 25, 2014

MY LEGS WERE PRAYING ....

 
a quote by  Rabbi Abraham Heschel  to ponder:
 
"When I marched with Martin Luther King in Selma,  I felt my legs were praying."
 
 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

TWO-WORD PRAYERS

 
 

21 Two-Word Prayers 

Calm me,  quiet me,  settle me..
Steady me,  balance me,  ground me..
Plant me,  root me,  embed me..
Support me,  sustain me,  protect me..
Forgive me,  pardon me,  free me..
Refresh me,  restore me,   heal me..
Enfold me,  embrace me,   hold me.. 
 
 Lord, hear my prayer today!
 
(These two-word prayers are from Fr. Austin Fleming's daily blog, A Concord Pastor Speaks,  for June 24th)
 
 

Monday, July 21, 2014

PRACTICES IN PRAYER

 
(This reflection by Alice Camille appears in "Exploring the Sunday Readings" for this past Sunday, July 20th.)
 
Scripture:   "The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray."
 
Some people seem to pray as naturally as they breathe.   That may come from long practice, or it may be a special gift they've always had.   But lots of us struggle in prayer, even to surrender fifteen minutes daily to the practice.   This is where rosaries help;  you don't have to come up with the words, just put in the time!  
 
The Liturgy of the Hours is another practice that invites us to give the personal fumbling a rest, and let the professional psalmists show us how it's down.
 
Page-a-day reflection books or e-services may help.
 
Daily Mass is still available in many parishes.
 
Silent meditation may not involve words at all, which for many of us in a word-saturated world is a relief.
 
And, for those who can carry a tune,  Augustine did say that singing is praying twice.
 
But sometimes we have to tell God how we feel, in our own words.   Not because God doesn't know, but because we're compelled to say.   Because sometimes friends must speak, and other friends will listen.   Don't worry about the words.   The Spirit is here to help.  
 
(final questions from Alice Camille:  "What context, formal or informal, assists you in prayer?   How often do you pray in a spontaneous and personal way?")
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, July 17, 2014

SETTING ASIDE TIME FOR PRAYER


IDEAS FOR PRAYER --  by Bishop Joseph Siegel

We all can claim that we are too busy to pray.  The reality is that we are all too busy not to pray.   If your parish is blessed to have an Adoration Chapel,  it would be wonderful to visit it each day or even commit to making a Holy Hour each week.

You can make a "shrine" at home,  a quiet corner where you can have a crucifix, an image of Our Lady and other saints to whom you have devotion, your Bible,  rosary, and other prayer books.  Make that your place of prayer.

If you are a morning person,  try to get up a half hour early for your time with the Lord.    If you are a night person, take some time when everyone else has gone to bed.

If you have trouble sitting quietly,  then start with just five minutes and let the time grow.  If we believe that prayer is as essential to our lives as eating and drinking,  then we will find time for it.

Once we make the decision to consciously take more time with the Lord,  we will be amazed how He will touch our lives, and we will feel his presence and influence throughout the day.   He will help us to keep our priorities straight and remain focused on why we do all that we do.

Let's not forget to take time for the Lord and spend quality time in prayer -- individually,  as a family, and of course, with your parish family at Sunday Mass.   Then we will find ourselves truly refreshed and renewed, in body, mind, and spirit.

(These  words by Bishop Siegel, Auxiliary Bishop from Joliet, IL,  appeared in the Summer 2014 Catholic Forester magazine,  p. 15.) 


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

PRAYER TRANSFORMS US

(one of the buildings available for retreat at the Prayer Fraternity)

(The following reflection on PRAYER was written by Sr. Joyce Rupp, OSM and appears in her book: PRAYER  by Orbis Books;  it appears in the LIVING WITH CHRIST missalette as the meditation for June 24th.).

Prayer is meant to "grow us."   Every divine encounter holds the possibility of transforming us.   Genuine prayer is risky.  It changes us, and we are never sure what those changes might be.   We may not initially be aware of the alterations within ourselves because these movements are often imperceptible,  but each authentic prayer brings our truest self a bit more to the surface of life.  This transformation includes discovering our preeminent virtues and our most dismal compulsions, our finest qualities and our most embarrassing traits.

The changes within us are not just for our self.   When we leave our place of prayer,  the Spirit sends us forth to live as persons of love.   Our heart "knows"  -- has faith -- that Someone greater than ourselves sends us onward.


THE BEGINNING OF PRAYER


...the beginning of prayer is to consider that God 'beholds' us!...

I've seen lots of glorious, almost unspeakable beauty in my life -- people and places that have literally taken my breath away.  I remember watching my bride walk up the aisle almost 34 years ago.  I still get a little weak-kneed thinking about my first glimpses of my children and grandson.   I've stood awestruck watching the sun set over the ocean or illuminate the red rock formations of northern Arizona.  Simply glorious.

Isaiah reminds us in 49: 5  "I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord"  that we too are glorious because the God of all creation makes us so.  God sees us,  is mindful of us, and we become as majestic in God's eyes as the southern rim of the Grand Canyon or a great work of art.   The beginning of prayer,  St. Ignatius says, is to consider that God "beholds" us.   It's incredible enough to consider that the God who made everything pays any attention to us at all.  It's quite something else to realize he thinks we're glorious.

"God of creation, thank you for making me glorious."   

(This reflection appears as the daily meditation in LIVING FAITH for June 24, 2014.   It is written by Steve Givens.)

Monday, June 9, 2014

PENTECOST -- some thoughts to pray with

A FEW REFLECTIONS to pray with from PENTECOST:

These reflections on the Spirit's actions in our lives invite us to prayerful considerations:

Pentecost represents the birth of God's global covenant people -- the Church.    (Pheme Perkins)

The Holy Spirit prepares the whole messianic mission of Christ and ushers in a new beginning.   (St. John Paul II)

Pentecost calls us to take our response to God's call down to  the next level;  down deep inside of me to where my truest self lives.  (Bishop Ken Untener)

Pentecost is the hour the Church found its courage.    (Alice Camille)


Pentecost has often been described as the birthday of the church.  Perhaps it might be more accurate to refer to Pentecost as the celebration of the Spirit, who, like a midwife, tends carefully to the birth of the community of believers.  The Spirit is there to assist as the church labors to witness to God's truth, justice, peace and love.  There to encourage when the going become difficult.   There to comfort and strengthen when weakness sets in and quitting looks tempting.  There to remind the community of its commitment to support and protect life, all life, from the womb to the tomb.  There to challenge the community to rise above its smallness.   There to draw the attention of the community to the needs of God's poor ones.   There to breathe and pray within every one of God's own.   There to keep all eyes on the goal of preaching the good news to all without exception and without stinting.   There to light a fire in the belly of those who have grown weary and disillusioned.  There to heighten the sensitivities of the well-off and worry-free toward the plight of the lost and the wounded.  There to shed light in the darkness.   There to be the love that empowers all we are, all we do, all we become.   Like a great and holy enabler,  it is the Spirit who aids us in interpreting who Jesus is and who empowers us to follow in Jesus' ways.   (Patricia Sanchez)

Sunday, June 1, 2014

THE POSTURE OF PRAYER, part #2

more on The Poster We Call Prayer   by Patricia Sanchez  from Preaching Resources for June 1, 2014.

As Henri Nouwen  (in his book,  THE ONE THING NECESSARY)  has noted, some consider prayer a weakness, or a support system that we use when there seems to be no other option.   But this is only true when the God of our prayers is created in our own image and adapted to our needs and concerns.   When prayer is authentic and God-centered, it enables us to reach out to God and to be pulled away from self-preoccupations.   True prayer encourages us to leave familiar ground so as to enter into a new world beyond the confines of our mind or heart.

Praying is not an exercise to be limited to Sunday mornings or to a set period of time each day, insisted Nouwen.    Praying is living. It is eating and drinking, action and rest, teaching and learning, playing and working.   Pervading every aspect of our existence, prayer is the ever-evolving recognition that God is!   God is wherever we are, always reaching out, always drawing us near, ever revealing an unending love for us.

Mother Teresa encouraged her sisters to remember that "every act of love is a prayer:  Prayer is action in love and love in action is service."  With that conviction,  Mother Teresa led her sisters through the streets of the city, seeking out and reverently ministering to those who were regarded as the untouchables.   When she bathed a leper, she was praying;  when she fed hungry, crying babies, there she was praying too, not with words but with her hands, her heart and her selflessness.

If we could be convinced that all we are and all we do can be a prayer, how might that influence the way we are with one another?   Might we be kinder?   Perhaps we might be more thoughtful and less selfish,  less angry, less critical, less sharp, more tender, more attentive, more giving.



THE POSTURE WE CALL PRAYER


PRAYER POSTURE:

(In the Preaching Resources reflection on the Scriptures for the 7th Sunday of Easter,  Patricia Sanchez shares some important thoughts about prayer -- for Jesus, for the disciples, etc. -- thus also for us.   The bold sections are ours.)

Prayer is the motif that pervades the sacred texts today  (Acts 1:12-14,  1 Peter  4: 13-16,  and John 17: 1-11a).   In the first reading from Acts, Luke offers us a glimpse of the nascent church after the Ascension of Jesus.   Having retreated to the upper room, the Eleven, along with Mary and some other women, "devoted themselves with one accord to prayer."   Before formulating a missionary strategy,  before recruiting others to help them in their ministry,  before determining how best to deflect the threat of Roman and Jewish opposition -- before all else,  they prayed.

In today's Gospel,  the Johannine Jesus is featured praying what has been called his High Priestly Prayer for himself as well as those whom God has given him as disciples.   Jesus could have formulated a plan of action for his disciples or provided them with a list of helpful hints on how to conduct themselves.   Instead,  Jesus prayed.  He stood before God with open hands and an open heart, and asked for God's tender care and compassion for those he loved.  In so doing, Jesus taught his followers that the primary posture of a believer before God is one of prayer.   Before any plans are made,   before any agenda is set,  before all else, those who continue the ministry of Jesus are to pray.   This means that we consciously decide to live in the presence of God.  



Monday, May 26, 2014

MAKING TIME FOR PRAYER

(a picture of Bryant Creek on Abbey grounds)


FINDING PLACES TO PRAY

(This little devotional appeared in LIVING FAITH for Monday, May 26th.)

"We went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer."  (Acts 16:13)

Paul traveled constantly to preach.  He was faithful to prayer even though he was away from home.   We may not be traveling far from our home like Paul,  but we are usually on our way to some place every day, even if it's just to the mailbox or the backyard.   Whether we are going to a doctor's appointment,  out to the garden,  or to the office, bringing children to school or engaged in some other form of movement, each of us has an opportunity to pause and unite with God.

We can always find a place to pray.   For Paul it happened to be along a river.   I often pray in the airport  or in the car.  (I call my car "a little hermitage on wheels.")   There's no excuse for just floating through the days without a "hello" to God because I am en route somewhere.   All I need do is turn my heart toward the Beloved One and make the inner connection.

Sr. Joyce Rupp,  O.S.M.  




Tuesday, May 20, 2014

NEW LOOK TO FRIARY BUILDING


NEW WALL PUT ON FRIARY BUILDING    Over the past year we have addressed some issues with our friary buildings;  several walls needed to be replaced and all of the         exterior wood needed attention.  With the assistance of some friends,  we have been able to address these issues.   A final part of thetask was completed recently.    You can see the new wall that has been put on, stained and watersealed this past month.
We are very grateful to all those who helped us during this past year finish this important project.   Please keep them in prayer.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

SPRINGTIME PRAYER OF GRATITUDE


In the book,  PRAYERS FOR A THOUSAND YEARS,  we find this prayer by Sr. Miriam MacGillis, from Genesis Farm in New Jersey;   it celebrates not only the earth that we know today, beginning again to burst with the new life of Spring, but offers us a prayer (very Franciscan) that acknowledges, with GRATITUDE,  all that has gone before us in the past billions of years in bringing creation and the world we know today to birth:

I give you thanks for the enormous contribution of those who lived before me,
for the thousands of years during which humans crafted their images of you in the image of the feminine and of the Earth,
for loosening our tongues that we might utter words about your eternal word,
for the Ice Ages that shaped the lands, mountains, and rivers, that have in turn shaped our imaginations,
for all of the mammals who have taught us to birth and succor our young,
for the coming of the flowering plants that channel their energy into the seeds by which the future is endowed,
for the birds who brought song and melody to the Earth,
for the great green plants and their interdependence with insects,
for all the teeming life within the oceans which fashioned the sensing organs of Earth,
for the first simple life forms that learned to take nourishment from the sun, our mother star, and laid down a pattern giving themselves away to others, and receiving life from others,
for the super nova event by which our mother star collapsed and created the stardust out of which this solar system was formed,
for stars and galaxies in which is incarnated all the dreams, visions, and energies by which you have shaped this present moment,
for the first moment -- that utter act of giving by which you brought forth this single body of the universe out of which I weave the web of my own existence,
for the dark, impenetrable, pregnant, awesome mystery that you are, and out of which you called my name.   AMEN.



Saturday, May 17, 2014

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

(a mother/daughter who made retreat here recently)

a BELATED MOTHER'S DAY PRAYER FOR ALL MOTHERS,  
to all you who 'mother' in natural and spiritual ways:

Holy God, you compared your own love for your people to the love of a mother for her children.   Look with kindness on all mothers who have shared in your creating love by the gift of their children.

We thank you for the joys and sorrows of their lives, the giving and sharing, and, especially for their love that has formed us in your image.

Listen to our prayers and bless these mothers who have nurtured and sustained us and others.  Give them patience in abundance and let them find joy and satisfaction in all their works.

Glory and praise to you, loving God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and who reigns with you in the glory of heaven, forever and ever.  AMEN.

(adapted from  Blessings and Prayers for Home and Family)

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Richard Rohr on 'Prayer'


In the May 2014 issue of  St. Anthony Messenger,   Franciscan friar,  Richard Rohr, is interviewed about mysticism and prayer in an article entitled: PRAYING LIKE ST. FRANCIS.    Here are some excerpts about 'prayer' from the article.   

Prayer is something that people of all religious traditions understand as a necessary component of holy living.

You need to find some way to learn or study or to pray sort of on the side of your Sunday worship community.  Those people who do tend to go deeper.  A Sunday service and believing a certain set of doctrines -- which is what organized religion means for most people -- is not enough.

Praying is looking out from a different set of eyes, which are not comparing, competing, judging, labeling, and analyzing, but receiving the moment in its wholeness.

Prayer is to give you access to God and to allow you to listen to God, to hear God. 

The goal of prayer is divine union -- union with what is,  with the moment, with yourself, with the divine -- which mean with everything.




Tuesday, April 29, 2014

DOGWOOD DAYS

Here in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri, the dogwoods have been spectacular this Spring;  we are sure someone can explain why, but for us,  they simply inspire awe and appreciation to our Creator God who has fashioned them for us.
 
Wish you were here to see them.
 
the Ava friars 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

HAPPY EASTER

Happy Easter to all of you from the friars in Ava!
 
Taking our cue from Paul's Easter reading from 1 Corinthians 5: 6-8,  a question for us to pray with:
 
If indeed, we are a fresh batch of dough,  what will you do with this new yeast of 'resurrection' that you have received through your Triduum and Easter Sunday experience?
 
The world needs us to become 'leaven'  because, as Paul says:  "a little yeast leavens all the dough."    We can do great things with just a little of our energy,  our words,  our actions, our love, our caring, our compassion, etc.   Become that 'bread for the world' whether it's your family,  your community,  your friendships,  your Church, your country, etc.  
 
HAPPY EASTER!
 
Remember:   the Easter Season is 50-days long!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, April 18, 2014

PRAYER REFLECTION FOR GOOD FRIDAY

 
(cross on friary building)
 
Are these actions of Jesus on Good Friday, his embrace of suffering and his death on the cross, the greatest teachings that he left us?  
 Does everything that Jesus taught during his lifetime here on earth come together today – on the cross?
                "The greatest among you will be the one who serves the rest" (Mt 23:11)
                "The last shall be first"   (Mk 10:31)
                "The one who humbles himself  (herself) shall be exalted."  (Luke 14: 11)
                "Whoever loses his (her) life for my sake will find it."  (Mt 16:25)
It all comes together today ….. ON THE CROSS!    
 
What is our response to this?
    (words from Holy Thursday:  "What I have done is give you an example;  as I have done, so shall you do!")
 
"We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world."
 
 

Thursday, April 17, 2014

A BLESSED TRIDUUM: today HOLY THURSDAY

 
A BLESSED HOLY THURSDAY
 
Something to think and pray about:   WHY DO WE DO THIS EACH YEAR?
 
Pray about the significance of these three days leading up to Easter.   Can we know that we need to do this;  we need to hear these stories, these scriptures of Holy Week.   Today, on Holy Thursday,  we do this because:
 
    1)  the Exodus story we hear tonight is such an important event in our Judeo-Christian heritage;   it's the story of how God freed our ancestors in the faith from the slavery they knew in Egypt.  We need to hear the story again because it tells us, or reminds us, of how God today comes to free us from all that enslaves us.   Where are we unfree needing God to repeat the exodus event in our lives? 
 
    2)  the Corinthian account of how Jesus, on the night that he died,  took bread and wine, and gave us Eucharist;  a food that has now fed believers for 2000 years.   Today we celebrate in gratitude how Jesus continues to come in so many moments of our lives to feed us with his very life. 
 
    3)  and in the Gospel of John's retelling of the washing of the feet,  we must understand that God now calls us to servant leadership:  "What I have done ('washed your feet'),  you must do ('wash their feet')  for one another."    We see tonight that we are charged, as followers of Christ, with the responsibility to be foot washers wherever we go, beginning right at home, in community, in family, with those closest to us, and then to the wider 'people of God'.
 
A BLESSED HOLY THURSDAY to you and your loved ones!
 
 
 

Monday, April 14, 2014

SENSUAL EXTRAVAGANCE AND MY PRAYER

 
(Our Gospel of John 12: 1-11 for this Monday of Holy Week tells the story of Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus' feet with a costly perfume.   Sr. Melannie Svoboda, SND reflects on this extravagance and how it can translate to our lives of prayer.)
 
The Anointing of Jesus by Mary is a lesson in sensual extravagance.   Mary uses "a liter of costly perfumed oil."  Not merely a cup of cheap oil.   After pouring the oil all over the feet of Jesus, she dries his feet with her own hair.  Not a sanitized towel.  What is the reaction of the others to this overt display of sensual extravagance?   Judas things it is a waste of money and openly rebukes Mary.   But Jesus publicly defends her action and, in doing so, upholds the place for sensual extravagance.
 
How sensually extravagant am I in my spiritual life?   Isn't prayer itself a kind of "waste"?   Certainly there are more productive things we could do with our time.   But Jesus suggests that our relationship with him can be enriched by sensual experiences.   Extravagances at prayer could be lighting a candle, burning incense, listening to music, and investing in a few spiritual aids.   Jesus, help me to be more sensually extravagant in my love for you and others.
 
(This appears as the Monday, April 14, 2014 reflection in the LIVING WITH CHRIST daily missalette.")