Pastor's Letter August 20: An Opportunity for Prayer

Dear Parishioners,

In today’s Gospel with the woman with the Canaanite woman it is interesting to note that sickness provided the motivation for the woman’s encounter with Jesus. We may not often think about it, but sometimes in our lives it is a moment of tragedy or need that brings us to prayer as well. Every situation in life is an opportunity for prayer. The woman could have stayed at home and fostered anger and resentment at God for her daughter’s affliction, but she didn’t. Instead, she did something. She actively sought out Jesus and brought her request for healing before Him. The Lord wants us to see in our moments of distress an invitation to prayer and deepened relationship as well.

When Jesus was in distress in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed to the Father, and in doing so, He gave us a model of faith to follow. There are various forms of prayer: praise, thanksgiving, adoration, intercession, expiation (seeking forgiveness), and petition. They can be communal (Liturgical) or personal. Different forms of prayer are appropriate for different moments in our lives, but some form of prayer is appropriate for every moment in our lives.

Note, too, that the woman’s request actually leads to a conversation (relationship) with Jesus in which both parties speak and both parties are changed by their exchange. The word “conversation” implies the “conversion” of those who participate and is different from a monologue, in which only one person speaks, or a debate in which two people speak, but neither is changed by the interaction. In order for prayer to be a true conversation that is the means of our conversion, we must participate by both our speaking and our listening. In fact, it is the act of listening that is often more important and powerful than the act of speaking. Our new Adoration Chapel is going to be a place of listening to Jesus. Where we can sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to him like Mary of Bethany who chose “the better part” or “the one thing that is necessary”, the “Unum Necessarium.”

Creation, Memory, Present, Mercy, and Eternity:
I talked about the “five words” that I use a form of prayer and meditation that are based on an Ignatius spirituality. They are Creation, Memory, Present, Mercy and Eternity. Each word takes a person into a place of God’s presence and activity in one’s life. Creation is a reflection of God’s presence and beauty in creation, where do we see him? Memory is a review of God’s presents in past events, I usually go over in my mind the day before. Present, is a reflection of the now, this day and what is before me. Mercy is God’s love and forgiveness coming into our sinfulness and weakness. And Eternity is where we going, the joy and happiness of heaven.