Peace be with you this Wednesday of the 11th week of ordinary time!
Prayer is a wonderful thing. It is free. You don’t have to pay for it. You can do it anytime you wish.
Prayer is an awesome thing because it is a conversation with God. How many times do you try to reach people and they are not there? All you get is an answering message or a busy signal.
Well, with God, there is no answering machine. There is no busy signal. God is always there to listen. Many times our prayers are not answered immediately or the way we want them to be answered. But, we are given the opportunity to talk with God and bring whatever it is we need or give thanks for to Him. It is a conversation between just God and me. How wonderful is that! To be able to converse whenever we want!
This is the gist of what prayer is and Jesus tries to explain that to his disciples in today’s gospel. That you don’t need to let others see you pray or do good things because it is between you and God. It is a very personal thing.
Scripture:
“Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” (2 Kings 2)
“Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31)
“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him.” (John 14)
“When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Matthew 6)
A Personal Reflection by Fr. Brian:
Praying for me is sometimes a challenge! It is not something that happens spontaneously sometimes because my mind is filled with things to do and places to go and, etc., etc., etc. But, I have learned that these thoughts can be turned into moments of prayer and that I can use all of my thoughts as points of prayer. I believe this kind of prayer unites the real world with God’s world, which are one and the same. Heaven and earth, the divine and the human, this is the realm of prayer, to join heaven and earth together into one world. This is where the power of prayer is so real. When we take our lives and immerse them in God, then do we experience the liberation and grace of prayer!
Prayer is not to make me seem holier than others. It is to make me seem wholier with others. It is to complete the relationship between God and I. It is the ultimate relationship! Amen!
May God the Almighty Father bless you, + In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Blessings, pono and pule!
Fr. Brian Guerrini, ss.cc.
Priest
Molokai