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Lent 2008: ‘Lord, teach us to pray’ |
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Written by MOST REVEREND LEONARD P. BLAIR, Bishop of Toledo
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Friday, 01 February 2008 |
One of the signs of human maturity is an honest acknowledgement of how little we really know, of how much we have yet to learn in life. This is especially evident when we encounter people or situations that inspire or challenge us.
Imagine for a moment the spiritual maturation of the first disciples in the company of Jesus. No doubt they were life-long observant Jews who knew and practiced their faith. Yet moved by the example of Jesus, one of them said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Lk 11:1) The Son of God was clearly inspiring them to something more than they had known, and His answer to the request was to teach them the Our Father.
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| Bishop Leonard P. Blair |
If we have been properly catechized by our parents and others, we may think we know what prayer is and how to pray. However, it may be asked whether the seeds of Christian prayer have truly matured in our souls. We are all tempted to think of prayer only as words used to ask for divine deliverance from suffering or trouble, or when we want to win the lotto or succeed in some other material pursuit.
In his reflection on the Christian Millennium, Pope John Paul wrote that genuine prayer is a “meeting with Christ expressed not just in imploring help but also in thanksgiving, praise, adoration, contemplation, listening and ardent devotion, until the heart truly ‘falls in love’ … Prayer develops that conversation with Christ which makes us his intimate friends.”
The Pope goes on to say “It would be wrong to think that ordinary Christians can be content with a shallow prayer that is unable to fill their whole life. In the face of the many trials to which today’s world subjects faith, they would be not only mediocre Christians but ‘Christians at risk.’ They would run the risk of seeing their faith progressively undermined, and perhaps end up succumbing to the allure of ‘substitutes,’ accepting alternative religious proposals and even indulging in far-fetched superstitions … It is therefore essential that education in prayer should become in some way a key-point of all pastoral planning.” (cf. Novo Millennio Ineunte, nos. 32-34)
When in our own diocese and in our country we see the need for a rekindling of faith and practice among the Catholic people, nothing is more important than education in prayer. For Christmas I sent the priests of our diocese a book titled “The Fulfillment of All Desire” by Ralph Martin. Using the writings of some of the greatest saints, Mr. Martin develops various themes of the spiritual life, especially prayer.
The very title, “The Fulfillment of All Desire,” indicates where prayer leads us, as it gives us even now a taste, an inkling of what is to come. In his encyclical Spe Salvi Pope Benedict speaks of prayer as a school of hope founded on the reality of eternal life, that is, “life in the full sense, a plunging ever anew into the vastness of being, in which we are simply overwhelmed with joy.” (no. 12) Clearly, prayer is much more than simply “imploring help,” to use the words of John Paul.
During Lent it would be good to reflect on the change of heart that is needed if we are to have a more mature understanding of prayer. St. Augustine expressed it well when he said that prayer is not about informing God concerning our needs, or persuading God to grant them. God already knows our needs before we ask, and His loving providence governs everything. Rather, prayer is an opportunity for us to “exercise” our desires, raising our minds and hearts to God, so that our minds and hearts may be widened to receive what God is prepared to give, namely Himself.
Pope Benedict captures this beautifully: “When we pray properly we undergo a process of inner purification which opens us up to God and thus to our fellow human beings as well. In prayer we must learn what we can truly ask of God — what is worthy of God. We must learn that we cannot pray against others. We must learn that we cannot ask for the superficial and comfortable things that we desire at this moment — that meager, misplaced hope that leads us away from God. We must learn to purify our desires and our hopes. We must free ourselves from the hidden lies with which we deceive ourselves. God sees through them, and when we come before God, we too are forced to recognize them.” (Spe Salvi, no. 33)
Another great theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar, expressed something similar when he wrote: “Prayers are words in the language of God, which is spoken and understood in heaven. There a purely earthly and egotistical language could be neither spoken nor understood … There is room within this space for the whole world with all its concerns; but in order to be transformed into authentic prayer, worldly concerns must expressly be transferred into this [heavenly] space.” (The Threefold Garland, p.122f)
“Lord, teach us to pray.” As a gift of grace hopefully we will learn that praying “as Jesus taught us” means more than just using His words. It also means measuring our desires and intentions by the standard of Jesus’ own. If we cannot imagine our prayer on the lips of Jesus, then God is calling us to a greater spiritual maturity. As we draw near to Lent 2008, may the “fulfillment of all desire” be the inspiration for our prayer and our preparation for the joy of Easter.
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