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.)

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)

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.