PRAY
God is the owner and master of everything, yet, we're not his slaves. We're the friends he wants to have, the stewards he trusts. Stewardship draws us closer to God. In prayer, we become more and more aware of the many blessings we're given by his provident hand. It's in prayer where we understand how everything we enjoy is a gift from our heavenly Father:
“... What do you possess that you have not received? But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?" (1 Cor 4:7).
Prayer is the most important activity in our lives. Through Jesus we have access to the Father in the Spirit. (Eph 2:18)
Prayer is to the Father
Our prayer tells us who we are. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. Prayer is the very purpose for which we were created: to be in a relationship with the God who made us. When we pray, we're speaking to the Creator of this entire universe. But, this is the amazing thing, He's also our Father! Jesus taught us to call him Father.
Prayer is through Jesus
Prayer is also through the son, through Jesus. This story is said to have happened during the American Civil War. As a result of a family tragedy, a soldier had been given permission to have a hearing with the president, because he wanted to request exemption from military service. But when he arrived at the White House, he was refused entry and he was sent away. He went to sit in a nearby park. As he was sitting in this park, a young boy came to him and made a remark about how unhappy he looked. All of a sudden, the soldier found himself pouring out his heart to this young boy. Eventually, the boy said: “look, come with me", and the dejected soldier went back to the White House, they went round the back. None of the guards seemed to stop them, even the generals and the high-ranking government officials stood at attention and let them pass through, and the soldier was amazed. Finally they came to the presidential office. Without knocking they went into the West Wing, the young boy opened the door of the Oval Office, walked straight in, and there was Abraham Lincoln, standing there in conversation with the secretary of state. At the moment they walked in, Abraham Lincoln turned to the boy and he said: “Todd, what can I do for you?" And Todd said: “Dad, this soldier needs to talk to you." He had access through the son.
That's what St. Paul says; we have access to God through the son, through Jesus. Jesus takes us into the presence of almighty God. And although we have no right to enter into God's presence ourselves, through Jesus, through what he's done for us on the cross, through the blood of Jesus, we've been given access to the Father.
Prayer is by one Spirit
Sometimes people say: “I really wouldn't know how to pray". That's what St. Paul says: we don't know how to pray but the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. When the Holy Spirit is living within us, he helps us to pray. So when we pray, the whole Trinity is involved: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Prayer in Eucharistic Adoration
“Do you want many graces? Go and visit the Blessed Sacrament often. Do you want few graces? Visit the Blessed Sacrament rarely. Do you want none at all? Then never pay a visit to the Blessed Sacrament."
- St. John Bosco
At Sacred Heart we have eucharistic adoration available on the first Sundays of the month after the 10:30mass.
Growing in Prayer
In prayer we discover:
- Creation as a gift addressed to us, an inheritance destined for and entrusted to us.
- Ourselves as a gift for others, because our talents have been given to us so that we may put them at the service of our brothers and sisters.
- Everything we are, everything we do, everything we have as a result of God choosing us, loving us, and blessing us. God chooses each one of us to be the stewards of different gifts. God doesn't give us all the same gifts. We may have a musical talent, financial aptitude, a generous spirit, or a positive attitude. Even our faith is a gift from God
Try to foster your relationship with God by:
- Attending Mass more frequently.
- Weaving more prayer into and throughout your busy days.
- Finding time to read the Scripture or lives of the saints.
- Stopping into a church or chapel for quiet prayer time alone with Jesus.