[Hey, Church fans! It was a great time fishing in western Alaska at our family’s fish camp. I landed the biggest red (sockeye) in my life on the third day. While we are fishing for meat, and size is not really a priority, it was something to pull in a 15.2 pound (6.9kg) sockeye salmon. At 29.5 inches, (75cm) he was a fat one. Here’s the pic:
Deacon John Ostrom gave the homily this weekend, so there is no vid, but here my column for the week. Enjoy.
So, first things first. The fishing was great. I had a great time. I have a bunch of reds in the freezer. The trip was shorter due to iffy weather that delayed my departure by several days.
Just as there are not atheists in foxholes, I doubt there are any of us who fly small airplanes in the mountains who have not raised up a prayer or two to the Almighty either in thanksgiving for the joy of flight or pleading for better weather. It’s a similar thing to what is going on in the readings the Church gives us this week for our contemplation. Even a quick study of them reveals that the prayer of the Christian should have certain qualities.
First, our prayer should be persistent. This is not so much because it changes God’s heart or mind on the matter at hand. God is crazy in love with us. God knows what we need and wants to give us what will lead to our ultimate happiness. However, persistence in prayer does change our hearts and minds to be in conformity with the heart and mind of God. All too often we pray, “My will be done!” not “THY will be done.” Persistence in prayer helps us see the bigger picture beyond our immediate needs.
Second, every one of our prayers should include some form or adoration, contrition, thanksgiving , and supplication. (The acronym “ACTS” helps us to remember this.) Posture is important too. When we bow our heads or kneel or prostrate before the Lord, we acknowledge that God is the Supreme Being, not us. He alone is worthy of adoration. In the Lucan version of the Lord’s Prayer, a primary emphasis is on contrition for sins and plea for the grace to forgive others. We also need to acknowledge that all we have and are is a gift from God. This is the heart of our stewardship of such gifts for the good of the Church and the world. Finally, we need to make supplication to the Lord for ourselves and especially for others. I’m struck at how Abraham intercedes for Sodom, asking God to spare it even if there are only ten good people. Our Lord also gives a great example of persistent prayer in the context of sacred hospitality.
God wants us to ask. As Our Lord points out, if we know how to give good things to others, how much more so will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Therein lies the rub. All too often we set our sights too low. We ask for those things which we could readily get on our own through persistence and hard work. How much better to ask big! How much more beautiful to ask for the things that only Almighty God can provide—to feel God’s presence, to know God’s will, to receive God’s Holy Spirit. So ask, seek and knock! Keeping in mind that God has three ways of answering our prayers.
1) “Yes.”
2) “Not yet.” and
3) “I have something better in mind for you.”
Have a great week!