A couple of weeks ago, I reflected with you
on fasting, one of the three classic Lenten
penitential practices. Fasting is one concrete
form of self-denial. Its purpose is not to
punish ourselves, but to experience deeper
freedom from the routines of life that can
ensnare us and reduce our ability to make different, often
better, choices.
The first of the three practices, though, is prayer. Because
the Church has such a vast array of prayer forms and
opportunities, it can seem complicated, overwhelming, and
loaded with questions.
A common simple definition of prayer comes from St. John
of Damascus: “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart
to God.” In even simpler terms, prayer is just conversation
with God. We speak, and God listens; God speaks, and we
listen.
Like any relationship, communication is essential. A
friendship where we never talk with each other soon
dwindles and our once-friend can become a stranger. And a
friendship where one person does all the talking becomes
one-dimensional – if I don’t allow the other to speak, that
person just becomes an extension of myself.
Prayer is simply this communication. God speaks – in
Scripture, in the lives of the saints, in the beauty of creation,
in the voices of family and friends and parishioners and
strangers. God speaks in the events of history and of our
personal lives. We encounter Jesus in the Scriptures
proclaimed at Mass, and above all in the Eucharist, his own
real presence. The Mass will always be the privileged place
of prayer for the Church and for each Catholic, since God
has spoken most perfectly and completely in the Word
made flesh, Jesus.
In response, we speak to God. While the Catechism outlines
the major types of prayer – blessing, praise and adoration,
petition and intercession, thanksgiving, and contrition – I best
remember them in the four phrases we all learn as children
about how to interact with others: I love you; please; thank
you; I’m sorry. These sum up the key voices of prayer, and I
still use them every day as a framework for my own time
with God.
“I love you” reminds us that the one God is a Trinity of
Persons. The divine life is perfect Love. To love Love is to
experience love for ourselves. Tell God, in whatever words
or even in silence, of your love – not for what God has done
or could do, but simply because God is infinitely lovable.
And made in the image of God, we are infinitely loved.
“Please” is the prayer of petition (for our own needs) and
intercession (for the needs of others). To say “please”
expresses humility and trust, rather than demanding or
presuming on God’s mercy. When we recognize something
as a gift, we tend to value it more highly.
“Thank you” is the prayer of gratitude, an awe that we
are so blessed and well cared for by the love of God. To
say thanks for things we desire and enjoy is easy; it is
more difficult to thank God for the challenges, obstacles,
and crosses the Lord permits in our lives. But we hear echoes
of St. Paul urging us in every Preface at Mass: “It is
truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always
and everywhere to give you thanks.”
“I’m sorry” is the prayer of contrition or sorrow for our
failings and sins, our selfishness and our self-will. It rebuilds
our relationship with God when we have wounded
it, and it calls us to say it to those around us we have hurt
and to forgive when others say it to us.
When prayer seems complicated, remember that the
Catechism also assures us that there are as many ways to
pray as there are individual souls. Each relationship with
God is unique, because God has created us each as individuals.
God is always speaking, and always listening.
Spend time with the Lord today – even if you just say I
love you, I’m sorry, please, and thank you.
hooho