“Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows” (Lk 12:6-7).

About thirty-five years ago I was in high school and either in my junior or senior sociology or psychology class, my teacher mentioned that if we thought Stephen King told amazing tales, we should definitely read the Bible, especially regarding the imagery found in the Book of Revelation. My teacher’s comment piqued my interest because at the time I enjoyed reading Stephen King, though I had not spent any time reading the Bible. My teacher’s words stayed with me beyond that class period.

A few weeks or months later I remember going to Waldens, a bookstore, at the Enfield Mall in the next town over from where I grew up in East Windsor, Connecticut. I purchased a King James Bible. I don’t remember reading it right away, but shortly sometime after, I do remember leaving a party. I don’t remember anything about the party or why I left, but when I arrived home, I remember going up to my room and for some reason grasping my new Bible. I then just opened it at random and began reading. The verse above was what I read, and it was the first time I can remember experiencing God speaking to me.

It was not a booming voice emanating from the burning bush that was directed to Moses, the room didn’t shake, nor did the lights flicker. Yet, in that quiet and still moment, I heard in my mind, “You will not ever win the lottery, but like the sparrows, I will take care of you. I will always give you the ability and means to work.” God has proven true to his word. I have not won the mega millions, but God has provided me with the opportunity to have regular gainful employment and even though experiencing some tight financial times through the years, God has provided beyond work through the kindness of friends, families, as well as some amazing assistance outside of the norm at times.

Does God still speak to us as he spoke to the people in the Bible? Absolutely! God does speak to us directly, he also speaks to us through his Word in our personal reading, in our time of communal worship, through preaching, he speaks to us through music, art, movies, he speaks to us through others, through our serving each other, through his creation, and a myriad of other infinite possibilities.

The question is not so much, does God still speak to us? The question is how do we open ourselves up to the reality that we can hear his words or his silence? One way is to ask God to help us to recognize his voice, just as the sheep that come to learn the shepherd’s voice. Another way is to make time to be still, that provides the opportunity for reflection and ask God to reveal times in the past where he has spoken and we were not aware. When we examine and reflect on our day, with God’s help we can see where God has been with us and reaching out to us.

Not only do we need to make a consistent time each day to pray, but stay long enough to listen! One of the biggest reasons many of us do not hear God is because we are not listening or we don’t make the time to stop. God’s silence is also a profound answer. There are many people that may want to give us advice, to offer solutions to fix our problems, when sometimes, we just need to stop, slow down, and be still. Are we willing to be open and believe that God speaks to us, and guides us? Fr. Jim Martin, S.J. has expressed the search for finding God in this way: “God is always inviting us to encounter the transcendent in the everyday, the key is noticing” (Martin 2010, 86).

God knows us better than we know ourselves, he loves us more than we can ever imagine. Let us be a little more aware today than we were yesterday, and may we have eyes, ears, and our mind open to notice God working in our lives. Let us be willing to trust in and surrender our control over to our Loving God and Father who cares for and provides for us as he does the sparrows. Let us be open to his invitation to spending time with him to listen to his word or his silence.

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Photo by Tejas Prajapati from Pexels

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, October 19, 2018:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101918.cfm

Martin, S.J., James. The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life. NY: Harper Collins, 2010.

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit (Lk 10:1).

Jesus sent out disciples ahead of him. He sends us out as well. Just as Mary conceived Jesus through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, she went in haste to assist Elizabeth who also was to give birth. What happened when Mary came upon Elizabeth? No sooner had Mary’s greeting reached Elizabeth John leapt in her womb with gladness. This is the model of evangelization, sharing the joy of Christ that we experience in coming together. Let us resist defining people as other and building walls, but instead build bridges of encounter.

Yes, we are a people of the book like our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters, but we are primarily a faith tradition grounded in the encounter of a person, Jesus the Christ. Our pastor, Fr. Don, has shared with us a simple image to represent the path of discipleship and that is the image of the cross. The vertical part of the cross represents how we develop our personal relationship with Jesus, through our regular practice and discipline of prayer, meditation, contemplation, and study. The horizontal represents our encountering Jesus in each other through fellowship, small group study, and worship. If we only have the vertical, the one on one relationship with Jesus, we just have a stick. If we just serve others without encountering Jesus, we just have a stick. Put them together and we have the cross which is embodied by our love for God and love of neighbor.

Christianity is the way of the cross, not the way of the stick. We are to be contemplatives in action. We experience the joy of encountering Jesus, personally, and in our interactions with one another. We do not need to set off to some far away land, but open our minds and hearts to allow God to happen in our everyday experiences. We are to love others as Jesus loves us, we are to share the inexpressible joy of that love, and that love we share is to be unconditional. We are to participate in “ the surrender of life for the sake of others” (Lohfink 2014, 73).

Jesus sent seventy-two off to build Christian communities, one smile at a time, one person at a time, one encounter at a time, one relationship at a time. I agree with Gerhard Lohfink in his piece, “What Does the Love Commandment Mean?” Love is not a pious universal that we love all humanity in some vague removed or remote way. The love that Jesus expressed and imparts us with today is something tangible, corporal, it’s hands on: “This love constantly breaks out of the individual communities to embrace non-Christians, guests, strangers, the suffering (obviously including those in other countries) but it is always tied to the concrete experience of common life in the individual community” (Lohfink 2014, 72).

May we experience Jesus this morning in our personal time of prayer, and may we also be open to experience him in others, especially those we may have kept at arm’s length. With each encounter let us reach out beyond our self to engage others with hospitality, respect, and joy. Each pair of eyes that you to happen to look upon, offer a smile and say hello. Just that simple, genuine expression acknowledges to the other that they matter, have worth, and dignity. If someone asks you how you are, instead of saying, “Fine.” Say instead, “Better since you asked. Thank you for caring.” There are many ways to reach out and give of ourselves to others in love, we just need to be willing to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.

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Photo: from parroquiamadridejos at cathopic.com

Lohfink, Gerhard. “What Does the Love Commandment Mean?” In No Irrelevant Jesus: On Jesus and the Church Today, translated by Linda M. Maloney, 64-74. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, October 18, 2018:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101818.cfm

After Jesus continues to call out those Pharisees who follow their own will instead of the love of God and put themselves in place of honor instead of God, one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.”

Jesus does not miss and beat and convicts the scholar as well when he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them” (Lk 11;45-46).

Jesus is clear about his mission, he is clear about what the kingdom of God is not and what it is. Jesus is shining a light on the practices of the Pharisees and the scholars of the law such that they can see the darkness that is blinding them. Unfortunately, unlike the blind man Bartimaeus (see M 10:46-52) who knows he is blind and wants to see, this is not true for these men who Jesus confronts in today’s Gospel.

How about us? As Jesus shines his light and love in our direction, do we cover our eyes because the light is too bright and withdraw further into the shadows or do we allow our eyes time to adjust so to allow the brightness of the Mystery of God to reveal to us that which has kept us bound in sin? Will we justify, or rationalize our behavior or that of others that we know is sinful or will we be transparent and walk into the light and the embrace of Jesus, so to repent and believe in the Gospel?

May we not follow the path of those Pharisees and scholars of the Law who imposed heavy burdens on those seeking relationship with the living God, but be willing to follow Jesus and meet others where they are at, so to accompany, encourage, and support each other in living the Gospel in our everyday lives. Let us no longer hide in the darkness, enslaved by our fears and prejudices, but come from the shadows into the light of Jesus the Christ, encourage and lead others with the Love of the Holy Spirit to do the same.

Photo from Cathopic

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, October 17, 2018:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101718.cfm

The Lord said to him, “Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools” (Lk 11:39).

Jesus’ harshest critiques were for acts of hypocrisy. He did so to show, in no uncertain terms, how dangerous this was, especially for religious leaders. These men were entrusted with the care of God’s people. They may have observed the proper rituals, spoke, and dressed to match the part, but this all meant nothing if their hearts were hardened and they were closed to the will of God. Most of all the danger was when they themselves became obstacles, stumbling blocks to those who sought God. Jesus indicting them as fools meant that they were bereft of the wisdom of God they projected to have.

A recent Pew study tracing religious affiliation from 2007 to 2014 found that approximately 56 million Americans identify themselves as following no religious affiliation. Some have labeled this group as the “Nones”. I am sure the context and nuance of why this trend is on the rise has many components, but I believe one ingredient is that many feel they have witnessed unacceptable levels of hypocrisy that have turned them off to organized faith traditions. Our present crisis regarding abuse of minors and cover up within the Catholic Church itself by religious, priests, and bishops, continue to support this trend. That the very leaders commissioned to bring the Good News, guide, and protect seekers have instead abused anyone is horrific and unconscionable.

In the depths of our very being we seek and yearn for the transcendent, the infinite. We are spiritual seekers, yet, time and again, we experience suffering, injustice, and hypocrisy at the hands of the very ones who are our leaders in both the religious and political sphere. Jesus got this, and this is why he convicted those who abused their positions, because he knew the significant damage that could be inflicted on the believer.

We as people of faith must first and foremost recognize that we live in a fallen world. No one is perfect, even and especially our leaders. We all fall short of the perfection of Christ we seek and aspire to. If we put anyone up on a pedestal they, sooner or later, are going to fall, and the higher up they go, the greater the fall. God is to hold priority of place before all and anyone else. Also, our actions must follow Jesus’ lead of resisting the urge to project all is well and good, that we are fine, when we are not, and none of us are all of the time. None of us are super men or women. If we think we can go it alone, we will fall sooner or later.

Jesus invites each of us to experience transformation. To receive this gift we need to seek help from God, the true source of our very being and existence. We must be people of courage allowing the light of Jesus to shine upon those dark places of sin within our souls, and be willing to see that which needs healing so as to release our own “plunder and evil”, which we harbor within. We need to open ourselves to the love of the Holy Spirit so to risk, to trust one another with our weaknesses, faults, and shortcomings. We need to resist hiding and rationalizing, and instead be humble and transparent, if we are ever going to be able to heal and mature spiritually.

In a posture of humility and openness to be helped, we allow the unique gifts of others to come to the fore. At the same time we need to offer what we uniquely can give, not judging another who has fallen, but providing empathy, support, and encouragement so they too can heal and grow. When we are transparent with our sin, and empower and accompany one another, we as Church can resist the temptation of hypocrisy and instead embrace the gift of hospitality.

Painting: Supper In the House of Simon, by Italian artist Moretto da Brescia (1150-1554)

Link for today’s Mass readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101618.cfm

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah” (Lk 11:29).

To understand what Jesus means we need to understand the sign of Jonah. Jonah was sent by God to go to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, to call them to repent from their wicked ways. The Jews not only considered Nineveh to be a place of decadence, wickedness and godlessness, the military of Assyria had invaded Israel and eventually conquered the northern kingdom around 721 BC. We can understand Jonah’s initial refusal follow God’s lead. Not only did he not want to go to Nineveh, Jonah wanted God to punish and destroy them. Those who have read the tale, know that Jonah acquiesced and within hours of his proclamation to the citizens, including the king, they repented and God showed them mercy.

Jesus is drawing a parallel between the people of Nineveh and his listeners. The people of Nineveh listened and repented to a reluctant messenger. The Ninevites, Gentiles, the sworn enemies of Israel, received God’s mercy when they repented. Now, in their midst was one greater than Jonah, the Son of God, and they were demanding of him a sign. The sign of Jonah was repentance. Jesus, from the beginning of his public ministry preached the same: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15).

We would do well to listen to Jesus’ message. Repentance is a foundational spiritual discipline. We are called to consistently examine our conscience. We need to come to accept that we live in a fallen world. This is not a pessimistic view. This is an awareness of the reality of our present condition. Jesus warned about the cult of personality, the messiah complex. Jesus himself is the sign, he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Through accepting that we live in a fallen world, and recognizing that we need a savior, we can make the next step to acknowledge that we need to repent and turn back to him who can save us, for apart from him, we can do nothing, yet with God, all things are possible.

If we believe we can solve our problems on our own, we will consistently fall short. Julian the Apostate, Roman emperor from 361-363 AD attempted to adopt and put into practice Christian charitable works, which he saw value in but he sought to do so through the state by enacting policies without practicing Christianity. In essence, doing good on his own without Jesus. This did not work.

St Mother Teresa recognized the need for Jesus and stressed this when she taught her novices that she was not interested in numbers, she was not interested in having a branch of social workers. She and those who followed Jesus were to be missionaries of God’s charity. They were to serve Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor. To do so they participated in daily Mass for an hour so they could bring Jesus to those they ministered to. Later in the day after returning from their time of service they participated in adoration for an hour. Empowered by Jesus, blessed by his mercy and love they could serve Jesus in those they met in the harshest of conditions.

We are not so much to seek signs, but to seek Jesus. Let us begin this morning by acknowledging and repenting from our own selfish pursuits and accept the invitation of Jesus to be the center of our lives, the very source of our thoughts and actions. For it is, “Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name” (Romans 1:5). Let us trust that God is at work within us, may we be open to follow his lead, to do what he asks of us today. Let us rise and be on our way to go and announce the Gospel of the Lord in word and deed.

Photo credit: Caro Mendoza from cathopic.com

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, October 15, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101518.cfm

A man approached Jesus seeking to know what he must, “do to inherit eternal life” (Mk 10:17). Jesus shared that following the commandments, such as: do not kill, commit adultery, steal or bear false witness; do not defraud, but do honor his father and mother (cf. Mk 10:19), would be a good place to start. The man affirmed that he had followed them all. I can see the eyebrows of Jesus raise and his mouth curl into a smile as he realizes the sincerity of the man kneeling before him. The disciples recognized that look and held their breath.

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me” (Mk 10:21).

Jesus was not admonishing or condemning the man, he was loving him, and invited him to take the next step to fulfill the deepest desire we all have, which is to be one with God and one another. Yet, instead of embracing the invitation, the man was crestfallen. He had followed the prescriptions of Torah all his life, he felt he was blessed by God with the gift of having many material goods, but in the end it was those possessions that had enslaved him. He genuinely came seeking eternal life, and Jesus gave him just what he sought, and even more by giving him the opportunity to be one of his disciples, but he could not give up the one thing he was lacking.

The heart of the commandments is to help us to be freed from that which enslaves us, so that we can put God and each other first and foremost in our lives. This is what we all have been created for, as St. Augustine himself realized when he wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you” (St Augustine, Confessions).

May we return to this scene from Mark 10:17-31 today, and recall the image of the disciples and Jesus watching the rich man walk away sad. Slowly, we observe that they turn their eyes of invitation toward us. A bit hesitant, maybe, we too ask Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” What are we holding onto that is keeping us from giving ourselves completely to Jesus? Jesus looks at us, holds our gaze in his and loves us. Jesus then says, “You are lacking one thing…” What does he say next? What is our response?
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Painting – close up of “Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler” – 1889, by Heinrich Hofmann

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, October 14, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101418.cfm

The Prayer of John Cardinal Newman
Radiating Christ

Dear Lord, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine.

Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Thee, O Lord!
Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as thou shinest; so to shine as to be a light to others. The Light O Lord will be all from Thee; none of it will be mine; It will be Thou, shining on others through me.

Let me thus praise Thee in the way Thou dost love best, by shining on those around me. Let me preach thee without preaching, not by words but by example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to thee!

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Lk 11:27-28).

The woman’s comment directed to Jesus in today’s reading is certainly better than the charge leveled against him yesterday that he was healing by the power of Beelzebul, yet even this complement is still off the mark. What made Mary truly blessed was her fiat, her yes, to being willing to participate in the incarnation; conceiving, carrying to term, and giving birth to the Son of God. Then continuing to hear the word of God and observing it through the rest of her life. Mary is the model disciple.

Jesus is, in clarifying the woman who called out, helping her, those present, and us today to a keep proper perspective regarding living under the kingdom or reign of God. God is to be sovereign, primary, first and foremost. We need to be careful not to put any “thing” or any “one” before God. Even today we need to be careful not to make Mary into a goddess. We honor Mary and the saints, we invoke their intercession for assistance as we do family and friends with us now, but we do not adore them, as we do with God. Mary points us to her Son, not to herself. She is like the moon that radiates the light of the sun. This is the point of discipleship.

As blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman articulates so well in his prayer, “Radiating Christ”, the goal of the disciple of Jesus is to come to that point where others may look up at us and “see no longer me, but only Thee, O Lord!” How do we do that? We place ourselves in a posture of humility, of prayer, of being willing to hear the word of God, observe it, and then act upon it and serve him through serving one another. This means we need to slow down, resist the urge to accomplish and just get something done. Sometimes when I am reading by breviary, I will catch myself just reading the psalms, the readings, and the prayers, to get them done, instead of letting the words pierce my heart, convict me, and call me to conform my life to Jesus. Prayer then becomes a function instead of an encounter with the living God. I will stop myself and begin again.

To hear God’s word, we must stop and listen. This can happen in the events of our daily lives as well, when we are attentive. It is resisting the temptation to walk around or away from someone who is homeless, and instead share a few moments, a few dollars, some food, and to even ask their name. Is this uncomfortable, yes, challenging, yes. But the Word of God calls us out beyond our comfort zones, and to be there for others.

Again think of Mary, who, from the beginning experienced suffering with Jesus. She conceived Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. What a gift, but at the same time what a trial! How was she going to explain this to Joseph, her betrothed! Simeon’s prophecy at Jesus’ dedication in the temple ended with the words to Mary, “and you yourself a sword will pierce” (cf Luke 2:25-35). We can trace Mary’s sorrows, and continued faithfulness as “she pondered these things in her heart” (cf Luke 2:19) throughout her life from raising Jesus, to being present during his public ministry where she saw him rejected in their hometown of Nazareth, the questions and accusations hurled at him, up to his arrest, scourging, and crucifixion.

In hearing and observing the words of Jesus, we cannot help but to be transformed. May we too, like Mary, ponder the life events of Jesus, turn to him in our trials, challenges, and experiences of injustice. Instead of being weighed down or buried by them, may we be yoked to Jesus, so we can persevere and become stronger, so to experience a joy and a peace that surpasses all understanding, a fulfillment that is beyond comprehension.

From this place of union with Jesus, may love replace our fears, prejudices, and pride, so we have the courage to be present, to provide aid and comfort to those he sends us to minister to.  May we say yes, as did Mary, and so allow the Son of God to dwell within us, in the very depths of our souls, such that our thoughts, words, and actions, all reflect Jesus to others.

Photo: Last year’s Mass celebrating the 100th anniversary of visitation of Our Lady of Fatima with our St Peter family.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, October 13, 2018:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101318.cfm

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons”(Lk 11:15).

There are consistent acts present during Jesus’ ministry. The Gospels show him teaching, preaching, healing, and exorcising demons. Many will accept that Jesus preached and taught, some might even agree that he healed, but there are many who might dismiss that he exorcised demons. The person in today’s passage did not scoff at the fact that Jesus dispelled a demon, but emphasized that he did so through the power of Satan. Jesus corrected him with simple logic by stating that, “if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”

This Gospel passage expresses the reality of the culture and beliefs of their time. Were, and are, all illnesses caused by demons? Most likely no. But to dismiss demons all together, we do so at our own peril. There is a spiritual reality as well as a physical reality. Demons are fallen angels. They fell because they chose to follow Satan, the archangel, Lucifer, instead of God. The term śāṭan is Hebrew and is found in both the Old and New Testaments. There are some English equivalents depending on how it is used. Most commonly śāṭan can be translated as accuser, slanderer, or adversary. Clearly, Satan is one who opposes the will of God and the demons are his minions who support him in that effort.

Satan and his demons roam the world seeking to sow division, to do us harm, as well as seeking the ruin of souls. Their power lies in false truths, temptations of apparent goods, deception, and condemnation. Although it is important to acknowledge that they exist, we need not fear them; for no demon, nor Satan himself, can possess or harm us against our will. The weakest Christian can overpower any negative spiritual influence, because we have access to the name of Jesus. In invoking the name of Jesus, the powers of evil have no sway. We can take strength in James instruction from his letter, “So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Condemnation is one of the devil’s worst attacks. First we are tempted, and then when we fall, the hammer of accusation and slander comes down to invoke shame. We are not to feel guilty regarding our misdeeds or sins. Instead we are to have a healthy sense of guilt. The difference is that when we walk around moping in a cloud of feeling guilty and berating ourselves for how awful we are, we keep the focus on our self and sink deeper into our own morass of self pity. When we embrace a sense of guilt, we are clear to acknowledge when we have sinned. With humility we admit that sin, come to a place of contrition – truly being sorry, then seek confession, absolution, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Satan, demons, and evil are realities in this world. God did not create evil. All that God created he created good. Evil is a deprivation, a twisting, and distortion of the good. The angelic beings he created good also with free will like us, and yet some turned away. Demons distort their original purpose as messengers of God. We need not be paranoid, just aware. We need to develop spiritual discipline, we need to discern spiritual influences, from our guardian angels, as well as fallen angels, and build our relationship with Jesus, knowing that we are God’s children and under his care and protection.

We need to resist any thought that says we are not worthy of being in relationship with God, that our sin is too great, or that it is too late to repent. God loves us more than we can ever mess up, more than we can ever imagine. Be strong and stout hearted, be not afraid. Whenever you feel threatened, anxious, tempted, self critical beyond a healthy sense of guilt, or fearful, just call on Jesus, speak his name, he is our great deliverer.

One of the most powerful weapons against evil is music, a reflection for another time! But for now here is a quote from the chorus of “Trust in Jesus”, track 5, from Third Day’s album, Move, as well as the You Tube link. A good song to carry with you throughout the day!

Trust in Jesus
My great Deliverer
My strong Defender
The Son of God
I trust in Jesus
Blessed Redeemer
My Lord forever
The Holy One, the Holy One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ZzULDM-XM

Painting of St Faustina’s vision of the Divine Mercy by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski

Link for the Mass reading for Friday, October 12, 2018:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101218.cfm

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; 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” (Lk 11:9).

There is a challenge to prayer and that is our pride and self-centered stance. We can be frustrated in prayer because when we do make the time to pray, we feel or think that nothing is happening or has happened. We may pray for a specific petition for our self, or for a particular intention for another and felt, or thought, that there was not an answer from God. One may pray a sincere, seemingly selfless prayer for a loved one, a child, a spouse, a friend, to be healed and the person still dies. They may be deeply hurt because they did what Jesus said; they asked, they pleaded and begged, but felt they did not receive the healing; that which they sought for, was not given and, instead what they found was nothing but pain and heartache from the loss; they knocked until their knuckles were raw and experienced no one on the other side.

Our attitude and orientation to prayer matters. When we sincerely turn our heart and mind to God in prayer, something happens between us and God, though it may be beyond our cognitive grasp to understand or our sensory awareness to experience. There may indeed be emotional high’s and consolations experienced in prayer, but if seeking those is the primary motivation for prayer we will find ourselves more frustrated than not. There may also be lows in prayer, dryness, even desolations, and even feeling God’s absence are also possible. Emotions are fleeting and not a good barometer when measuring the effectiveness for prayer.

Another big misconception is when we pray to God as if he were a gumball machine. It may seem a silly analogy, but how many of us really do pray and only pray that way, and when we do not receive the specific thing we asked for, at the specific time specified, when we wanted and as we wanted, we brood and think God doesn’t care or does not, in fact, even exist. We may even slip into the barter posture. God if you grant me this, I will do that. If we are only open to receive what we want on our terms, again we are setting ourselves up for frustration.

The primary orientation, the primary foundation of prayer is that of accepting an invitation to be in relationship with God. Our very desire to pray, of turning our hearts and minds to God, is an answer to him who reaches out to us. The answer to what or who we ask, seek, and knock is found at the end of the Gospel reading for today: “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Lk 11:13)?

God knows what is best for us, he sees our potential, he wants us to experience joy and be fulfilled. How can we best live our lives in this world to attain that reality? We do so by receiving the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? The infinite, communal love expressed between God the Father and God the Son. Our goal in prayer is to enter into God’s reality of infinite Love. Through building a relationship with God, participating in his very life, we come to see the truth of empty promises, apparent goods, substitutes to fill our emptiness and faulty defense mechanisms that we have been utilizing as guideposts to merely survive and get through life.

In aligning ourselves with the Holy Spirit, we can then begin to conform our lives to that which is True, that which is Good, and that which is Beautiful. Our true barometer of whether something is happening in prayer or not, is if our life is changing. Are we beginning to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control (cf. Galatians 5:22-23)?

Why may God not appear to answer a prayer for our healing or for a loved one with a chronic condition or one who had to be taken too soon? I do not know. But we need to resist running from the pain of loss and be willing to trust that God has not abandoned us but is with us as we spend time in prayer. Our tears can then become a healing salve, a doorway into the open arms and embrace of Jesus who awaits us in the depth of our grief and pain. Our loved ones who have died have not come to an end, but have experienced a new beginning with our loving God and Father, which we may get a foretaste of when we become still enough. There have been many who have been graced by after death encounters.

Ultimately, what we ask, what we seek, and what we knock for when we pray is to be loved, to belong, to be a part of something, someone greater than ourselves. We have been created as a living, craving hunger and desire to be one with God and one another. This is true for the atheist and the mystic alike. We have been created to be loved and to love.

The Holy Spirit, the love shared between the Father and the Son, is the gift of prayer that is open to us all. He is the answer to our prayer, though sometimes to be aware, takes perseverance. It may not be that God is not answering, but that we are not listening, or not hearing, or needing time to mature, to send our roots deeper into the depth of our soul. We may be needing time to heal or to build trust; to receive, and recognize his presence, his answer, his guidance. It may also be that sometimes God answers us with silence.

Photo credit from pixabay.com praying hands

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, October 11, 2018:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101118.cfm