PRAYER IS FOR PONDERING

 

(statue of Mary in Mary's Garden)

 

"Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart."   (Lk  2:19)

PRAYER IS FOR PONDERING

Prayer affords us time to ponder, to reflect on the many wonderful stories of our faith tradition.  Prayer offers us the opportunity to connect these faith stories to our own.  Prayer helps us to hear again and to know anew the faithfulness of God throughout the generations.  In prayer, we can find the experiences of 'exile' and 'exodus' and 'the cross' in our own lives and see God present with us in these life moments.  Prayer helps us recognize the false idols that allure us and put God back on the altar of our lives as our sole worship.  Prayer opens us to the teachings of Jesus and helps us incorporate these teachings into our own words and actions.  Prayer helps us reflect on the mysteries of life, as Mary did, and commit ourselves, as she did, to faithful, loving discipleship in today's world with her Son, Jesus.

(a 'prayer reflection' by one of the Franciscan friars here at the Prayer Fraternity)

THE BEST WAY TO PRAY

 

(chapel during Transitus service)

 

 

THE BEST WAY TO PRAY

 

Sometimes we pray to get what we want or need.  Sometimes we pray for guidance.  But the best reason to pray -- and the reason Jesus prayed -- is to join ourselves to God.  But there is no one way to do that. 

 

When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he taught them the "Our Father."   It is a prayer of praise and gives God the glory that he is due.   It is also a petition in which we ask God to provide what we need.  Third, it asks for forgiveness and the strength to be forgiving.   And last, it is an acknowledgement that God knows what is best for us and reminds us to submit to his will rather than our own.

 

God hears all prayers, but he wants to know that we are committed to that for which we are asking.  Jesus said to be persistent and continue to ask for God's help, seek God's will, and open the door to God's grace in our lives.

 

(This reflection is from the parish bulletin insert,  GROWING IN FAITH, for July 2012, published by Success Publishing & Media; to learn more about them, go to:  www.growinginfaith.com )

PRAYER: KEY TO A STEADY FAITH

 

(liatris in garden area)

 

A STEADY FAITH NEEDS PRAYER:

 

"UNLESS YOUR FAITH IS FIRM, YOU SHALL NOT BE FIRM!"   (ISAIAH  7:9)

 

Just as the key to a  successful marriage is communication between spouses, what is essential to our faith is our communication with God -- our life of prayer.  When we pray, we let go of ego and will and place ourselves in the presence of the divine so that communication can occur between our human spirit and God's Holy Spirit.  Prayer holds us firm in that presence, an anchor that keeps our lives steady and securely linked to God, even while the storms of everyday life bear down on us and try to drag us out to sea.

 

A life of prayer keeps us aware of the sacred, ordinary moments in our lives and connected to the One who never changes, even as everything around us sways and lurches, tosses and shifts.  Prayer helps us know that God is, indeed, close by, alive, moving and working in our lives.

 

(a reflection by Steve Givens,  from the LIVING FAITH daily devotional for July 17th)