Word to the Wise
Thursday, March 2, 2023 - 1st Week of Lent - Thurs
[Esth C:12, 14-16, 23-25 and Matt 7:7-12]"God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, blessed are you. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand. As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers that you, O Lord, always free those who are pleasing to you. Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord my God." [Esther] "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. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him." [Matthew]
A very dear student friend of mine was giving a talk on prayer at a student retreat. She spoke of several ways of praying. One of the ways she mentioned was a simple direct and personal request to God - for example, "Help me pass this test, please! "- and she paused for a couple of seconds, looked at us all and said, "Yes I do!" I think she captured the essence of prayer, a friendship with God! Prayer springs from a relationship with God. Esther's prayer is a "back against the wall" plea for help! Jesus urges us to pray out of our true needs.
On retreats, one of the questions I ask the participants to consider is "How am I praying?" And I ask them to do a "history" of prayer in their life. Do they pray now in the same way they did as a child? Is prayer a matter of printed words on a page that carry some assurance of a reply? There is an incredibly rich tradition of prayer(S) in the church, including "the Lord's prayer, the Hail Mary and the "Glory be.." The sacraments are the essential ones. The rosary is a major example. But it must all come down to our relationship to God and how we are expressing it - how we put skin on our faith. As St. Francis of Assisi is quoted as saying: "My God! Who are you, and who am I?" AMEN