Prayer brings us closer to God

A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS

No matter how busy we are, we must make time for prayer! Our Lord is calling us to participate in His life of Grace, for prayer is a gift from God. Prayer is a conversation. When people speak of prayer they are not always talking about the same thing. This conversation or prayer takes many forms. For some it is verbal prayer, others pray mentally. Meditation is prayer; so is contemplation. Work can be a prayer if it is directed toward God’s glory. Words, actions, thoughts, all forms or prayer come from us: to pray is knowing oneself, and expressing our thoughts consciously or subconsciously, and listening. As you listen to these voices within you, you are praying, communicating with God.  Prayer enriches and at the same time makes us humbler for accepting a gift. His Gift, the gift of one so holy and precious that we cannot really refuse Him for long.

Some people make it a personal challenge to evade the grace of prayer. They begin with negatives, to express why prayer isn't what they thought it would be. Yes, it takes effort, but it is effort well spent. Jesus is so accessible and yet so very far away. Find opportunities to get closer to God rather than further away. "There for the Grace of God go I," - without God, I would be nothing! There are so many ways in which to pray, to have this conversation with God. There is the Ignatian method of prayer, which is reading passages of Holy Scripture and meditating on what you have read.

There are Psalms - 150 of them, and many people pray these psalms as one would as a priest, deacon, religious and also as a lay Franciscan. We call it the "Liturgy of the Hours" prayed from early morning to night. The beauty of these prayers is to pray all day long. Yes, they are structured prayers to be sure, and there comes a time during the day that we long for personal prayer... a quiet moment between God and ourselves. Just the two of us! Don't forget the Rosary ... a set of prayers that comes from God for us to use.

Just the two of us! What that means is a two-way conversation and that only happens when we give God the opportunity to answer our prayer. Give and Take! Prayer is not a solo exercise! Prayer is a sign of a relationship and it takes two to relate. God and ourselves. But some of us do not pray much, we work and work, and there never seems time. Why do we run from prayer? Why are we uncomfortable facing Him face to face? One word: Sin. We are uncomfortable looking God in the eye because we are aware we have done wrong.

Do you serve God with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength? In the Gospel according to St. Luke (10:27) Jesus told us, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." This is the first and greatest commandment, and commandments are to be obeyed. We know, therefore, that getting to know Jesus better is a slow process. It takes time to realize that we do sin, and that this sin must be stopped. When we make that concerted effort to do something about our lives, God will call upon us again. There is help in books. Take a book by Peter Kreeft "Prayer: The Great Conversation" - it's writting in a conversational way as a discussion - you'll get a lot out of it. It was published in 1991 by Ignatius Press.

We could indeed be too busy for many things, and yes, we have to prioritize our day - in order to make time for prayer. If you think you can do so any old time, you'll never pray! Make time for God! It'll save your life! Your everlasting life. And it is so simple. When we awaken, say Good Morning, Jesus, and make the sign of the Cross. That's a prayer! When we begin breakfast, ask the Father to bless the food from His bounty and thank Him for that gift. That's a prayer! Then when you step into the car to drive to work, school or some other place, say a prayer that you'll get there safely, and that others who are traveling will get there safely. That too, is a prayer!

Silently, as you walk toward the conference room to begin a discussion with your peers at work, ask God for His blessings on your work and to stay with you - another prayer! Don’t forget to pray for your work mates, for their welfare and joy. We all need joy in our lives, this isn’t enough of this nowadays. And so it goes all day long. If you are a homemaker or retired, you'll know where to pause for prayer. Do it before washing dishes, running the vacuum, visiting with friends, but also set aside a few minutes of time to pet your dog or cat. The attention you give to your dog, to your brother and sister, to your friends and neighbors is in reality a prayer, too.

As we continue during this Pandemic which restricts us to our homes, there is Holy Mass on EWTN, followed by the Holy Rosary every morning. Been listening/praying along for three months, and local parishes have some arrangement with streamed prayers, Masses, etc. Some people question “virtual” Adoration. I think it’s a blessing to have the Blessed Sacrament “live” at the Church you are watching on TV or streamed, now that you cannot come to Church or Chapel in person. It would be “virtual” if it was a picture or a photograph where we knew it wasn’t “live” at the point of origin. At EWTN, the Blessed Sacrament, at the top of the Reredos (ornamental wood partition wall behind an altar), is LIVE, not virtual.

When you pray like that during the day, often, you get into a habit of seeking God's Presence! Not just once or twice but we can seek him out all day long. I hope you do. For one thing, you will never feel lonely because we know He is always near us, hoping for another conversation. Prayer is a gift that keeps on giving. The more we pray, the closer our relationship will be with God. When we are that close, we drive out sin. And God is watching! When we do not sin, we love Him and He loves us back. You know, He always loves us because God is love! By loving Him, we say, Yes Lord. Amen. Amen. We agree wholeheartedly.

We are in an interesting time, liturgically. Next Sunday is Trinity Sunday, honoring the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Sunday after that is “Corpus Christi”, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Those celebrations are Gifts: He shares of his Body and Blood, so that we may be fed with his Word and Grace, with His love and so that we may love Him with our whole heart, mind and soul. Praise God!

Peace and Good. Love your neighbor (that means all people) as you love God and as you love yourself. Make no distinction who you love. God wishes us to love all people no matter their Ethnic Origin; why? Because, God loves all of us.

Fred Schaeffer, OFS

June 6, 2020

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