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Tag: Prayer

  • Prayer: A Relationship

    Prayer: A Relationship

    February 23, 2021 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

    Fr. Gibo Dandoy, CSsR

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022321.cfm)

    I often wonder why many Catholics, when asked to lead in prayer, during some social gatherings and family events, would often decline. Even those who are regular mass-goers would do the same. They reason out by saying: “I don’t know how to pray.” Well, the early disciples of Jesus had the same concern. That is why they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray (Lk. 11:1).

    But what really is prayer? Is prayer simply fulfilling personal devotions and novenas? Not at all! We hear Jesus saying: “When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans did; for they believe that, the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them.”

    However, by saying this, Jesus did not discourage us from praying. But he was exhorting us to go beyond our usual and routinary approach to prayer.

    Because prayer is more than a verbal exercise; more than litany of petitions. It is basically a relationship we have built with God, and which relationship extends to others.

    And since it’s a relationship, then it consists of: 

    1.) Communication with God which engages us in talking and listening. Prayer is not a one-way traffic where only us who do the talking while God is listening. In prayer, we sharpen our capacity to listen to the voice of God;

    2.) Recognizing and Affirming God’s presence in our lives, in season or out of season, which aids us in cultivating gratitude and cheerfulness;

    3.) Humble acceptance and admission of our human frailties and sins which ushers us in repentance and renewal of our lives; and

    4.) We are also afforded with time and space where we lift our burdens and petitions, believing that God is the only and ultimate source of all that is good.

    Corrie Tin Boom, a Christian writer, wrote something about prayer: “The wonderful thing about praying is that you have a world of not being able to do something and enter God’s realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for his almighty power. Nothing is too small for his love.“

    Brothers and sisters, as we enter and immerse ourselves in Prayer this season of lent, may we be given the grace to grow more in prayer and in the knowledge of God, so that our prayer is not borne out of obligation nor compulsion; but from a grateful heart so desirous to draw deeper into the very heart of God. Amen.

  • TO OUR SACRED PLACE WITH GOD

    TO OUR SACRED PLACE WITH GOD

    FEBRUARY 7, 2021 – 5TH  SUNDAY  IN  THE  ORDINARY  TIME 

    Fr. Manoling Thomas, CSsR

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020721.cfm)

    “In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place and there he prayed.” [Mk. 1:35].

    Today’s Gospel continues on from where we ended last Sunday [Mk. 1:21-28], wherein, St. Mark told us that the people who heard and saw what Jesus did, were amazed at the way he taught and the way the evil spirit obeyed him!

    Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus leaving the synagogue and heading towards Simon’s house, accompanied by his first four recruits: Simon, Andrew, James and John. Jesus was informed that Simon’s mother-in-law was with a fever. Immediately Jesus attended to her. After the fever left her, she began serving them. When the sun had gone down and the Sabbath observance had ended, outside the house were gathered people who were sick of various diseases, and those possessed by evil spirits. Out of compassion, Jesus attended to all of them! Indeed Jesus had a very busy day!

    But Jesus also needed to take time out for himself and to be by himself; otherwise he could end up consumed by exhaustion! Jesus did get out. He went to a deserted place very early in the morning to pray!

    A story goes about a man who had the custom of going off by himself to a secluded place. One day, his close friend got curious as to where he goes and what he does there. So secretly this friend followed him. When he finally caught up with the man, the friend saw him sit down quietly on a fallen tree.

    Then when the man finished, his friend approached the man, and asked: “What are you doing here?” asked this friend. “I’m praying”, was the reply. “But why do you have to come here to pray?” “I feel closer to God here.” “But isn’t God everywhere and the same God is found everywhere?” “Yes, that is true! God is the same everywhere but I am not!” the man replied.

    Yes, we can find and pray to God anywhere and everywhere, be that in the kitchen, on the street, inside a vehicle, in the farm, or in the place where we work. But it is also a good idea to look for a special place where we can withdraw to, from time to time. In such a place, God somehow seems nearer and friendlier. In such a place, we may feel that somehow we are different, calmer, more relaxed, quieter and seemingly more open and disposed to listen to what God will tell us or reveal to us! Such a place can be our sacred space, our little tabernacle, or our secret garden! In that place and space we can meet and talk with God undisturbed! In that sacred space we find not only God but also our true and deeper self! Was this Jesus’ experience?

    Why do we need our sacred space and our secret garden? It is because that in the middle of our busy day and our daily routine, we can lose touch with our deeper selves. One cannot clearly see one’s own face in a murky and troubled pond. We need a calm and serene pond to be able to see clearly our real face!

    To get in touch with our inner life, and our deeper self, we need quality time for ourselves and a space to withdraw from our usual environment! We need to go into our sacred space and our secret garden as Jesus did. Jesus went into his sacred space and secret garden to regularly communicate with God, his Father. There Jesus got his energy, his guidance, and the sense of direction in his mission in the world.

    Meeting with God regularly in our sacred space and in our secret garden, we too get our energy, our guidance and direction as we go about the work God assigned to us in this world. By regularly withdrawing from our busy schedule, and our daily routine to meet with God, as Jesus did, we can be sure that what we are doing is in accordance with God’s will, and not simply our own ego trip!

    Have you found your own sacred space and secret garden? How often do you go there? When you meet with God in your sacred space and secret garden what usually is your experience like?

  • Our Loving Response

    Our Loving Response

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    October 30, 2020 – Friday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/103020.cfm)

    Homily

    Paul’s letter today reveals how warm his heart to people who were significant in his life. The Philippians who were Paul’s converts had a special place in his heart. This is how Paul also expressed his affection and longing of friendship with them. Moreover, Paul was even more grateful for the friendship he had with the Philippians, something that gave so much confidence and strength to Paul.

    This tells us how friendship supports and gives assurance to people especially in difficult times. Paul was in prison, probably in Rome or in Ephesus, when he wrote his letter to them. While in prison, Paul must have a hard time. However, his friendship with these people was a source of comfort to him. Remembering them gave him joyful memories that must have eased the pain and loneliness while being persecuted.

    Paul, indeed, gave life to this community through his ministry of preaching of the good news. In return, the community also gave him the Spirit of friendship and love.

    This is a true loving response between people bounded in their friendship with the Lord. Paul’s deep friendship with the Lord compelled him to preach Jesus and bring the Risen Lord to the communities he encountered. Those communities like that of the Philippians developed such friendship too with one another and with Paul that mutually guides, supports and gives life to them.

    Such loving response is the prayer of Paul also to the Philippians, he said, “and this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more.”

    This kind of loving response is what we also witnessed in today’s Gospel. Jesus seeing a man suffering from dropsy was moved to heal and free the person. Jesus had so much affection for this man that he could not stand anymore seeing him suffering. The Lord’s desire was for every man and woman to have the fullness of life.

    Despite the very situation of Jesus, he took the risk of healing the sick man in front of the those powerful people, the Pharisees. Though the Pharisees were silent when Jesus asked them, “Is it lawful to cure on a Sabbath or not?,” but their silence was filled with malice and hostility against Jesus.

    Jesus took the risk because what he had was a loving response to a person in need. What matters most was his action to love and to assure the person that God has not left him.

    This is what Jesus is also reminding and calling us today. We are called to respond in love and show our affection to people. Like Paul, let us also show with confidence our love and affection to those who are special in our life. Like Jesus too, let us not forget to assure, even the strangers, that as Christians, we are here to love and show concern to those who are in need. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Ask, Seek and Knock

    Ask, Seek and Knock

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    October 8, 2020 – Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100820.cfm)

    Homily

    Is prayer an obligation? Many of us must have felt that prayer is an obligation, that it is some kind of a to-do list item or like a house chore that one must observe and follow. When I was young, I was taught that I “must and should” pray so that I become a good boy and God will not get angry. Many of us have developed ways of praying and different devotional practices like praying the rosary and the various novenas to the saints. Yet, many of us would always believe that prayer is indeed an obligation.

    Moreover, for us religious (priests, consecrated brothers and nuns) are actually obligated to observe our prayer schedules as defined by our Constitutions and Statutes. No wonder, that because of this “obligation to pray” we become guilty when we are not able to observe our prayers. People come to confession because of the guilt feelings of not being able to observe faithfully their prayers.

    However, did Jesus really mean that we are obligated to pray?

    Today’s Gospel on the “persistence in prayer” is a continuation of yesterday’s Gospel. Yesterday, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. This means that it was the disciples’ desire to learn how to pray. Never did Jesus impose it to the disciples. The disciples recognized the importance of prayer because they realized that this was a way of developing a closer relationship with God, to a deeper friendship with the Lord. This is the invitation for us today.

    On these particular verses of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus elaborated on how one should dispose himself/herself in prayer in order to develop ones friendship with God. Indeed, Jesus teaches us to be persistent in prayer and to continuously develop our closeness with the Lord. Jesus gives us these three attitudes in praying.

    ASK. Before we can truly ask the Lord, we also need to recognize and identify our need. Recognizing what we need means acknowledging our limitations, our emptiness, our failures and our powerlessness. This also needs an amount of humility to bow our heads and recognize that God truly fulfills and satisfies our hearts. This brings us into a deeper awareness of ourselves and to become more accepting of ourselves. Only then, that we can truly ask the Lord to satisfy the deepest desire of our hearts, and we shall surely receive the grace. Therefore, stop for a moment and pause.

    Seek. In the process of asking the Lord for the grace we need, there will be surely a time of becoming weary and anxious. We might feel that God is taking too long to answer and grant our prayers. Doubts may hit us thinking that we might have been forgotten. Thus, prayer also involves “seeking” as in “searching.” Prayer, then, is also a form of searching what is hidden and what remains undiscovered in us, waiting to be found. We don’t search for God for God has not been lost. We continuously seek and search ourselves and to let God find us. Thus, seek for a deeper insight, seek for understanding and wisdom because God answers us not outside of us but within our own context, experiences and relationships. Open the scriptures and seek God’s wisdom.

    KNOCK. God always waits for us to come closer and to dwell in God’s presence. When everything else in life will seem to be burdensome, we long for comfort. As demands from work, from home and from our relationship, and expectations from others begin to suffocate us, we long for a break. When failures, pains and guilt begin to take hold of us, we long for an embrace that will give us assurance of love and mercy. To pray is to come closer to God in order to knock the door of His heart. When we come and knock at God’s door, God is most willing to embrace us with His presence, with his forgiveness and mercy. To pray, then, is to seek entrance in God’s heart and to be welcomed by Him. Thus, never be afraid to knock because God is ready to open up His arms to embrace us. Come to the sacraments and be embraced by God’s grace.

    With these three attitudes in praying, these tell us now that prayer is never an obligation but more than that. To pray is a privilege given to us to build our friendship with God. When we pray, then, we embrace that opportunity to grow in the knowledge of ourselves and knowledge of God. The more we pray, the more we see ourselves. The more we become persistent in praying, the more we recognize the Lord’s presence in our life, both as individuals and as a community.

    Hence, move beyond obligation and instead, pray maturely and freely as we build deeper and intimately our friendship with God and with one another. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • In Praying the Rosary

    In Praying the Rosary

    October 7, 2020 – Memorial of Our Lady of Rosary

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100720.cfm

    Homily

    The rosary has become a popular devotion to us. It has a rich history and miracle stories for the past hundreds of years. This repetitive form of prayer is not unique to us Catholics, but other religions too have their own similar to our rosary. Saints and ordinary faithful have been drawn to this form of prayer and have been passed down from one generation to the next.

    Many have become accustomed to wearing or bringing rosary beads and keeping them in wallets, bags, or cars. Some would consider it a spiritual weapon. Others would even believe that it is their amulet or their lucky charm.

    As we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Rosary today, we are reminded of the significance of this ancient and popular devotion. The rosary which come from the words “rose,” is not just any amulet or lucky charm that we could carry around. It is not a way of bargaining with God that in praying the rosary God will be indebted to us that God has to grant our petitions. This is not a mere decoration of our identity but a tool for us to contemplate the life of Jesus.

    The rosary has its own history and indeed developed into a religious instrument for us to carry and pray easily the mysteries of our faith. In fact, the rosary reminds us of the life of Jesus and of Mary’s participation whose life is so significant in the story of our salvation.

    The mysteries assigned in each decade allow us to reflect on the actions of God within our human context, within human experiences. Take for example the joyful mysteries.

    The Annunciation of the Angel to Mary allows us to see how God fulfills his promise through us. Mary’s participation tells us that humanity can be pregnant with God and that we can bring God’s presence to others.

    The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth reminds us of God visiting us in an ordinary but surprising way. When we are mindful of God’s presence, we would leap with joy just like the baby John in the womb of Elizabeth. This kind of excitement tells us how our heart and soul really long for God.

    The Birth of Jesus tells us that God is not far out there but He is here living among us. God tells us that He is not a God of anger, or punishment and condemnation but of peace and gentleness. God shows compassion to the humble and sinners for He has come to live among us.

    The Presentation of Jesus to the Temple reveals our innate desire to be with God, to dwell in the house of God, where God wants us to be.

    The Lost and Finding of Jesus reminds us of our anxieties and worries that may distract us. As Mary were so worried about Jesus, she pondered all those things in her heart that allowed her to encounter God even in a seemingly confusing situation.

    Other mysteries would certainly, also bring us deeper into the mysteries of the life of Jesus and also into our own lives. Praying the rosary is a life-journey to take with Jesus and Mary, to be able to make ourselves present in the life of Jesus. Consequently, this allows Jesus through Mary to be present in our everyday life and experiences.

    Thus, just as the disciples asked the Jesus to teach them to pray, pray the rosary also with the intention to change our heart and mind according to God’s desire for us and not the other way around. Pray the rosary and develop it into a habit but not merely to just murmur prayers, but a way to realize God’s manifestation in our life. Pray the rosary with Mary who is our powerful companion that we may also clearly see Jesus, and discern clearly His desire for us.

    Let us remember this, that as we pray the rosary, let us also allow God to be ever present in our life so that as we take our steps, we will be assured that God truly journeys with us. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR