THE SON PRAYS IN US TO THE FATHER


TUESDAY, FIRST WEEK OF LENT   

Isa 55:10-11; Ps 34:4-7,16-19; Mt 6:7-15

The Prayer of Our Lord

The beginning of our Lenten journey is the recognition of our sins and the fact that we are sinners through and through. For the purpose of attaining this knowledge and thereby establishing a good beginning for the Lenten observance, we have fasted and continued other abnegations or self-mortifications. From this firm basis on which God commences his work of establishing his presence within us, we commence the exercise of prayer. Prayer is given to us as the means to the end we have envisaged for the Lenten journey. As the choice of means must always correspond to the end to which we journey, it is essential that we understand the concept of prayer so that we know how to pray. It is by God’s grace that we were able to know ourselves truly as sinners, and by his light we have recalled our sins, come to know how evil they are. The light of the word of God has also helped us to know the end we seek in making our Lenten journey. It is still the grace of God that commences the prayer experience in us. So, prayer, which is the means to the divinely revealed end of our Lenten journey, is a gift from God. True prayer is never an activity of man alone, but always an activity we carry out in union with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to pray effectively or to reach God through prayer.

Based on this understanding of prayer, we receive the word of God as the source of our spiritual renewal and transformation. The prophecy of Isaiah uses the analogy of the rain that falls to cause plants to grow. “Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’” As the rain wets and softens the soil, making it possible for seeds planted therein to germinate and grow, so also does the word of God soften our hearts in deep repentance, enabling us to receive the seed of God’s will, to germinate, and produce fruits in good works. The same word of God produces spiritual desires and yearnings in our hearts, which are the origins of prayer in us. Subsequently, the Lord hears and answers all the prayers of the just or poor man because he is the cause of these prayers within him. The psalmist is therefore correct in saying: “Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed. This poor man called, the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress.” Just as in the creation of the material universe, the word of God is the origin of every spiritual reality within us.

Our Lord sheds more light on the meaning and dynamics of prayer in the Gospel. He let us understand that our prayers are never demonstrations of our eloquence or shows of our mastery of words or language, but should rather be sincere expressions of our God-given desires to our Father in heaven. “In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Listening to some people pray, one really doubts if they are familiar with the advice of our Lord in this passage. If prayer is a gift from God, why do we waste precious time trying to convince him of our needs? The only answer that comes to mind is that we lack faith in God. Thus, the long and wordy presentation is to convince ourselves why God needs to answer us. But faith in his word assures us that our spiritual desires are from him. Hence, we pray best when we use the words of our Lord to pray. “So you should pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. And do not put us to the test, but save us from the evil one.” The Son prays in us when we pray using his words, and the Father hears and answers.

Let us pray: Look upon your family, Lord, that, through the chastening effects of bodily discipline, our minds may be radiant in your presence with the strength of our yearning for you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.        

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The offsprings of the Old man and the New Man

Image
Monday, fifth week of lent/2024 Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP Offsprings of Old man and New Man To be able to live the new life within the new Covenant in Jesus Christ, the old life must come to an end. The distinctive difference between the old man and the new man is the focus of desires. The old man and all who live by him have their desires focussed on the satisfaction of self. On the other hand, the new man and those living by him desires only to fulfil God's holy will. Thus, the old man and his offspring obey the law of sin and death. Living for self alone breeds sins, and sin causes death. So, the old man and all living by him are dead and harbingers of death to others. They are adept at manipulating the Law of God to perpetuate their interest and selfish desires. An example of this skill is the treatment the two old judges of Israel in Babylon meted out to Susanna, wife of Joachim, employing the Law of Moses as given in the first reading. “Two elderly men had ...
Read more

BECOMING A DEPENDABLE FRIEND

Image
FRIDAY, SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Eccl 6:5-17; Ps 119:12,16,18,27,34-35; Mk 10:1-12 Making and being a Good Friend The usefulness of a faithful friend is the subject discussed in the passage of Sirach we are considering. From the qualities that make a good friend, we understand that faithfulness depends on the perfection we attain in the formative school of wisdom. The first lesson we learn in nature is faithfulness. The quality of faithfulness is so closely aligned with nature that we consider nature and faithfulness synonyms. The faithfulness of nature, and subsequently of wisdom, is hinted at when we read that wisdom stands at her post/gate daily to beckon the passers-by to turn in and partake of her table. Everything that God made participates in this faithfulness of wisdom in the sense that each remains faithful to his will without failing or leading our minds astray. First, Sirach admonishes us on friendliness to people in general: “A kindly turn of speech multiplies a ...
Read more

WE CANNOT ENTER INTO HEAVEN WITHOUT FAITH

Image
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Isa 7:1-9; Ps 48:2-8; Mt 11:20-24 If you do not stand by Me, you will not stand at all The Lord Jesus Christ takes up the issue of rejecting or ignoring the Gospel message when it comes to us in the gospel reading today. The word of God contains all the blessings of heaven which God had given us in Christ before the beginning of the world. Hence, a rejection or refusal to accept or listen to the Gospel message is a rejection of all the heavenly blessings we have received in Jesus Christ. These divine blessings have import for our lives here on earth. While still dwelling here on earth, those who believe in the word of God already possess the heavenly inheritance God will fully manifest to us when we exit this mortal tent. By faith, we enter into the eternal kingdom and the promised inheritance. The importance of faith for our reception of the heavenly blessings here on earth is illustrated in the first reading...
Read more