Word to the Wise
Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 1st Week of Lent - Thurs
[Esth C:12, 14-16, 23-25 and Matt 7:7-12]THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2016 THURSDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT [Bl. John of Fiesole, O.P. - Fra Angelico] [Esther C-12, 14-16, 23-25 and Matthew 7:7-12] "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." [Matthew] The words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount about prayer are preceded today by a dramatic example of prayer from the Book of Esther who is praying on behalf of her people and herself. "Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord my God." I suspect there are many of us who pray that way from time to time! Our Catholic tradition is blessed with an incredible amount of prayers which are all directed at PRAYER. When preaching a retreat, I put three words on the board like this: PRAYER(S) + PRAY(ER) = PRAYER? The first word is what we say. The second word is our self, the pray-ER. Do these two always add up to the third, which is PRAYER? My reflection about the Lord's Prayer yesterday shows that we often "rocket" through familiar prayers without thinking about it and don't really pay attention to the words. If we truly wish to communicate, it is important to pay attention to what we say. To return to Jesus' words, do we know what we are asking for or what we are seeking? Esther certainly did! I love the story about the priest who noticed an elderly gentleman coming the same time each day and sitting in the pew silently for the same amount of time. Finally, the priest's curiosity overwhelmed him and he asked the gentleman what he was doing. The man answered, "I look at God and God looks at me." Prayer amounts to opening our eyes and paying attention to God. AMEN
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