By: BR. MICHAEL MARY WEIBLEY

Life gets boring at times, for me at least.  As a Dominican friar I’m not immune to uneventful monotony. In fact, much of the religious life of a student brother can fail to be lively at all. Most of this has to do with falling into some sort of repetitive course of action; if it goes unchecked, it can seem to drain the very vigor of life that once called you into the religious state.

The particular variety of Dominican tedium, however, seems to come from an intense life of study. “The tendency of study by itself,” states the great Dominican Bede Jarrett, “is simply to dry up the emotional side of human nature.” In literature, the erudite professor is often portrayed as so absorbed in his own pursuits that he is unable to disentangle himself from them and realize that there is more to life. His “real world” of academic pursuit deadens his senses to the actual real world before him. His world is evidently so real, whereas the present world, with all its concerns, merely drags on and on.

St. Dominic was all too aware of this tendency. He remedied this danger by having his friars drink deeply of the spiritual life to incite their affections for God. One way this is accomplished is through the chanting of the Liturgy of the Hours. The praying of the Divine Office—a mixture of the singing of psalms and the reading of other biblical passages—marks different hours of the day as time for God; it breaks up the friar’s study in order to incite the heart to praise God. To guard against an inhuman view of intellectual pursuits, St. Dominic insisted upon the need for prayer to soften and safeguard the intellectual outlook that was an unconditional necessity for him and his friars to preach effectively. He urged his brothers to pursue philosophy and theology with the greatest of zeal. But to prevent their study from withering the devotional side of their humanity, he prescribed the deepness of prayer in the Divine Office to mark the moments of each day. A purely intellectual atmosphere makes a friar a recluse; the religious atmosphere makes him an apostle.

No one is immune to the drudgeries of monotony. Whether you are a twenty-something working on Capitol Hill, a retired businessman, or a young mother, your life can fall into a routine that can seem, at times, to deaden your spirit. Moreover, the world of social media tends to have this effect on us; it dries up our affections for the supernatural. Absorbed in sensible stimulation and (mostly) useless information, overuse of social media can be an endless cycle of escapism. It is often an effort to avoid the world we find boring, all while playing a significant role in deadening anything that makes the world lively.

The solution for the layman is no different from that of the friar:  deliberate moments of prayer!Just as the Dominican’s day is marked by specific moments of praise offered to God in the Liturgy of the Hours, anyone can take deliberate moments of their day to offer praise to God through prayer. Creating this kind of routine, rather than instilling a habit of boredom, can instill a habit of lively praise. It helps each of us to look up regularly to the Father and to look upon our lives from His point of view. In other words, each time we make a commitment to prayer and actualize it in a deliberate way, God stirs up love and devotion within us. In fact, we can begin our prayer with that very request: “God, stir it up! Stir up devotion and love for you within me!”

To finish, here are a few concrete ways we can incorporate specific moments of prayer in our daily lives:

• Take a short amount of time each day to pray with the Mass readings of the day. If you’re a daily mass-goer, it can be helpful to read a day ahead in order to reflect upon the readings in advance.
• Commuter? Turn the radio off and pull out your rosary. The rosary can be a perfect way to spend 15-20 minutes of a commute to work. If you take public transportation you can always offer your rosary for the people you share the bus or subway with.
• If music helps you pray, take a few minutes and listen to one of your favorite songs in a meditative way, reflecting on the meaning of the song and its relation to your life. At the very least you will have five minutes of peacefulness, and the song may even develop into a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
• Use the sign of the cross. Beginning various daily projects in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit can mark our work for the purpose of God. Furthermore, frequent use of the sign of the cross is a perfect way to teach kids the presence of God throughout all our activities.
• Learn to turn the simple tasks of the day into concrete prayers. Offering up everything from taking out the trash to doing laundry to cooking dinner can become small moments in which we offer our little tasks to God with great love.

Credit to Br. Michael Mary Weibley

By: K.M. Cameron

“Pray always,” Scripture says (1 Thes 5:17). We say, “Yes, but how?” The desert Fathers tell us how by pointing to a particular verse of the Psalms.

John Cassian is best known as the fourth-century monk who wandered about conducting meetings with desert hermits. Each meeting was a mix between an interview, a dialogue, and a lesson with a solitary yet reputable “Abba.” Afterwards, Cassian gathered his records of the meetings into one volume. This huge volume, called simply  The Conferences, is one of the foundational texts for western monasticism. It served as the personal daily spiritual reading for many mediaeval saints. We have our daily devotional books. The mediaeval saints had  The Conferences.

Two conferences are devoted to prayer. Now, the abbas have much to say about prayer, but they especially have something to say about how prayer can become “permanent.” For if ever anyone tried to live in a state of permanent prayer, it was these desert solitaries. Their advice on the matter, therefore, is expert indeed.

In the second of the two conferences on prayer, we find Abba Isaac in conversation with two young men aspiring to find deep and abiding prayer. Abba Isaac tells them that perfection consists in so purifying and elevating the mind that “one’s whole way of life and all the yearnings of one’s heart become a single and continuous prayer” (Conferences, X, 7.3). At these words, the two young men come close to despair.

For they admit to having no idea where even to begin the quest for such a lofty state of perfection. Further, they recount to Abba Isaac their difficulties in prayer: distractions, mood swings, a wandering imagination, inconstancy, instability, and fatigue. For all these reasons, their hopes for arriving at the heights of perfection seem dashed. So they urge Abba Isaac to explain what this state of permanent prayer is like. Being somewhat naïve, they expect to be able to put on permanent prayer by choice, and to come back to it by choice when they catch themselves drifting because of distractions. Abba Isaac, too realistic to be caught up in their impulsiveness, gives them a different cause for hope.

Abba Isaac points to a single verse from the Psalms and says “every monk who longs for the continual awareness of God should be in the habit of meditating on [this verse] ceaselessly in his heart…” (Conferences, X, 9.2). And when he says ceaselessly, hemeans  ceaselessly. “You should, I say, meditate constantly on this verse in your heart. You should not stop repeating it when you are doing any kind of work or performing some service or are on a journey. Meditate on it while sleeping and eating and attending to the least needs of nature” (Conferences, X, 10.14).

For All Circumstances

In effect, Abba Isaac gives the two young men a western version of what eastern Christianity calls the “prayer of the heart” or the “practice of the presence of God.” Among eastern Christians, it is common for people to pray continuously the words  Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner  (often called the “Jesus Prayer”). By saying the Jesus prayer repeatedly, it sinks into the heart. Its meaning becomes one’s life. Few people know that the western Church has had its own, slightly different, prayer of the heart.

And that prayer, Abba Isaac tells them, is found in the words of Psalm 70:1: “Incline unto my aid, O God; O Lord make haste to help me.”

In another translation: “O God come to my assistance; O Lord make haste to help me.”

Abba Isaac explains that out of all the verses in the Psalms, this verse in particular has been selected and handed down through generations of desert solitaries as being  theverse for continuous and ceaseless prayer and meditation. Why this verse in particular?

Basically, Abba Isaac says, because it fits all circumstances. And fitting all circumstances is just what one wants in a prayer meant to be prayed in all circumstances. Here is a modern rendition of how he illustrates his point to the two young men.

We can imagine Abba Isaac saying to us, Are you a mother busy struggling with four crying children in the supermarket? Say within your heart,  Incline unto my aid O God; O Lord make haste to help me. Are you a college student surrounded by terrible temptations? Say within your heart,  Incline unto my aid O God; O Lord make haste to help me. Are you a middle-aged businessman wondering whether his work really makes any difference in the world? Say within your heart,  Incline unto my aid O God; O Lord make haste to help me. Are you in the middle of debilitating sickness, or in the middle of rush-hour gridlock, or in the middle of workplace strife? Say within your heart,Incline unto my aid O God; O Lord make haste to help me. Are you worried about bills, worried about a sick child, or worried about what the in-laws are saying? Are you doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, fixing the car, feeling a rush of anger toward the neighbors, or wondering when the errands will ever end? Whether it is the quiet hours of the morning, the middle of the noisy day, or the exhausted hours of the evening, you can always say within your heart,  Incline unto my aid O God; O Lord make haste to help me.

And the verse is not only for the hard moments in life. It is for the good moments too — precisely because in the good moments one hazards losing sight of one’s need for God.

Have you just received notice that someone has left you a large bit of money? Say within your heart,  Incline unto my aid O God; O Lord make haste to help me. Have you just received a major promotion at work? Say within your heart,  Incline unto my aid O God; O Lord make haste to help me. Have you just received your newborn infant into your arms? Say within your heart,  Incline unto my aid O God; O Lord make haste to help me.

It Sinks Deep into the Heart

When prayer itself becomes dry, distracted, or difficult, in that moment too the verse fits perfectly. And when prayer becomes sweet, consoling, and abounding in a sense of the divine presence, even then it makes sense to say the verse — as a way of begging God to go higher still in prayer.

Abba Isaac even tells the young men that when they are praying the other Psalms, they should begin by reciting this verse in particular. And thanks to Cassian’s widespread influence on Western monks, he exercised a strong influence on the development of the Western  Liturgy of the Hours. That is why to this day all the hours of the Divine Office in the West begin with this verse.

When this verse has become the last thought before going to bed, and the first thought upon rising, it sinks deep into the heart. And thus the one who prays it continuously becomes the only thing worth being: an empty-handed beggar standing before the divine Self-Gift.

That is how one’s “whole way of life and all the yearnings of one’s heart become a single and continuous prayer.”

That is one way to “pray always.”

Credit to KM Cameron of CatholicExchange.

Dr. Mark Giszczak

When you find yourself on death row, awaiting a show trial, chained up in a prison with sixteen guards, it is probably time to let go and prepare to meet your Maker. But “God’s perfect timing” might just interrupt your preparations. People often refer to “God’s perfect timing” to help us deal with the delays, failures and disappointments of life. However, in certain cases, his timing can work the opposite way, undoing what seems to be an inevitable disappointment. In the Sunday’s reading which commemorates the  Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, we find St. Peter apparently about to die, until God interferes with apparent inevitability. (Find reading, Acts 12:1-11, here:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062914-day-mass.cfm)

Context

Peter is arrested by Herod Agrippa’s agents right before Passover. Herod has put one of the “pillar apostles,” James, to death by sword. Peter would expect to follow his fellow apostle to martyrdom quickly. Herod is on a persecution rampage to please the Jewish authorities at Jerusalem, and nip the nascent Christian movement in the bud. Herod’s violence reminds us that the Church was born in the midst of opposition and persecution. He arrests Peter at the time of Passover, a feast at which Jewish pilgrims would gather in Jerusalem. Herod’s purpose is probably two-fold: he wants to prevent a key Christian leader from preaching to the crowds at Passover and he wants to put Peter on a show trial to ingratiate himself with the opponents of Christianity and as a warning not to join the new movement.

Power of Prayer

When Peter, the Rock, is arrested, the Christian community does not launch a protest or a war, but they get down on their knees and pray. Acts describes the Church’s prayer for Peter as  ektenes, “intense, zealous, instant.” They are praying hard and fast that Peter will be protected from a seemingly imminent fate. Praying in the face of such a situation would be a tough proposition. It would be easy to give up and start praying for a swift end rather than for deliverance. But the early Christians kept believing and interceding for Peter’s rescue. Their faithful determination (and their results!) can teach something about how to pray.

God Has a Plan

The Lord allowed James to die a martyr’s death and the Church could have accepted Peter’s martyrdom, but it was not in God’s timing just yet. Peter would eventually receive the martyr’s crown in Rome, but at this point in his life, God has more for him to accomplish. God is in control of the situation. He knows exactly where Peter is, what he’s doing and the odds he is facing. When the Church prays, and God responds by sending an angel to release Peter from prison, the Lord is demonstrating his mastery of the universe and the veracity of his plan. God’s plan included martyrdom for Peter, but not yet. At this moment, God wanted to save Peter so that he could keep working to build up the early Church. To me, this shows that God’s plan overrides our notions about how things ought to go. He knows what he is doing and when we entrust ourselves to him in prayer and faith, he responds in powerful ways.

Reversal of Fortunes

Herod wanted to publicly humiliate Peter, “intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people” (Acts 12:4 RSV), just like Jesus had been publicly tried by Pilate. After the public trial, Peter would be executed. Herod tries to assure that his wishes are carried out by taking many precautions, including guarding him with four four-man squads of soldiers. But again, God has other plans. After Peter is led out of prison by an angel who seems like a vision, he gets out of Jerusalem and harm’s way. As soon as Herod finds out that Peter has escaped, he has the sixteen guards executed (Acts 12:19). Then Herod, in his own self-aggrandizing way, puts on his royal robes and sits before a crowd whom he does not dissuade from flattering him by calling him a god. Instead of silencing them, his silence consents to the divine title. He thinks himself a god! At this moment of his bogus apotheosis, the moment at which he feels himself becoming a god, the real God sends an angel to strike him down. In a forceful poetic irony, the man condemned and imprisoned is freed by an angel of deliverance, while the man crowned and praised as a god is struck down by an angel of death.

Status Quo  vs. Good News

The conflict and opposite fates of Herod and Peter reveal the power of the Gospel. The Good News disrupts the order that people are accustomed to. Herod stands in defense of the  status quo  which keeps the powerful in power and the lowly low. He realizes the upending, world-changing quality of the gospel that proclaims a new King, a new Lord, a new Way. The old alliances and power structures could (and eventually do) bend and break under its influence. Peter is the representative, the prime minister, of the new King and proclaims his Good News, a dynamic force whose relevance and power can threaten those in authority. Change is the enemy of the  status quo  and Herod tries to stomp it out with force. However, God wants to bring about a serious change, and Herod’s plan backfires on himself. The Lord sends his angels to both deliver mercy and execute justice.

The darkness of some situations can prompt us to give up hope and give in to despair. But when God delivers Peter out of a hopeless situation, we can see that he really is the one in control. Jesus even tells his disciples that they might be put to death, but still “not a hair of your head will perish” (Luke 21:18). God saves Peter for bigger purposes. His work is not yet done. When we are tempted to give up, we might think about what it felt like to be snuggled up with a bunch of chains and soldiers in a dungeon, and then to look into the eyes of an angel. Maybe we too have some work left to do.

Credit to Dr. Mark Giszczak of CatholicExchange.

By:  BR. TOMÁS MARTÍN ROSADO

‘I despair for our country.’ ‘I despair that he or she is ever going to be better.’ ‘I’m never going to be able to stop doing X.’ We often think, say, or hear these words. In the face of both social and personal suffering, it seems reasonable to despair, to stop searching for the good forever out of reach. We stop hoping.

Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (Jn 16:33)

Are our social problems worth despairing over? It depends on what we mean by despair. Despair has both an emotional or natural meaning and a supernatural meaning. In its natural meaning, we can despair of our social and political institutions. We no longer trust people or institutions to achieve the good that they promise. We no longer trust that they want what is good.

Natural or emotional despair can be the correct response to reality. We see that some particular good is no longer possible. We feel despair that our country has enacted unjust laws that cannot be reversed in the foreseeable future. We feel despair that our terminally ill family member will not be making a natural recovery. We feel despair that a good grade will not be possible after we receive our report card. We give up on particular hopes, seeking particular difficult goods, that are now impossible or no longer seen as good.

St. Thomas Aquinas, defining supernatural despair, writes, “Despair consists in a man ceasing to hope for a share of God’s goodness.” This kind of despair does not have to do with a particular difficult good we want, but our ultimate good, namely God. We would be crazy to think that we had the power to obtain this Good, if God had not told us that this is what we are made to possess. We are made to “possess” and be possessed by God.

Supernatural despair is the opposite of the supernatural virtue of hope. In despairing, we do not believe the promises of God can be achieved. We either don’t believe that God has the power to do what He promised or that He isn’t so good as to give us what He has promised to give. This is a serious sin since through supernatural despair we call God a weakling or limit His goodness.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (2 Cor 4:8-11)

Supernatural hope sees the problems of society, personal sufferings, and sin in the light of the Resurrection. Hope knows that God is the very good Lord of History, and all sufferings are seen by the light of His face. Through the gift of hope, we know that God will triumph over all evil and will guide us safely into His kingdom.

By: Fr. William Saunders

Q: Recently a Protestant friend asked me why Catholics do not include, “For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, now and forever,” at the end of the Our Father. I really do not know. Can you help me?

When discussing prayer with His disciples, our Lord said, “This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive those who wrong us. Subject us not to the trial but deliver us from the evil one’” (Mt 6:9-13). (The translation cited is from the New American Bible.) A similar version is found in Luke 11:2-4. Both versions do not include the ending sentence, “For thine….”

The “For thine…” is technically termed a “doxology.” In the Bible, we find the practice of concluding prayers with a short, hymn-like verse which exalts the glory of God. An example similar to the doxology in question is found in David’s prayer located in I Chronicles 29:10-13 of the Old Testament. The Jews frequently used these doxologies to conclude prayers at the time of our Lord.

In the early Church, the Christians living in the eastern half of the Roman Empire added the doxology “For thine…” to the Gospel text of the Our Father when reciting the prayer at Mass. Evidence of this practice is also found in the  Didache  (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), a first-century manual of morals, worship and doctrine of the Church. (The  Didache  also prescribed that the faithful recite the Our Father three times a day.) Also when copying the Scriptures, Greek scribes sometimes appended the doxology onto the original Gospel text of the Our Father; however, most texts today would omit this inclusion, relegate it to a footnote, or note that it was a later addition to the Gospel. Official “Catholic” Bibles including the Vulgate, the Douay-Rheims, the Confraternity Edition, and the New American have never included this doxology.

In the western half of the Roman Empire and in the Latin rite, the Our Father was always an important part of the Mass. St. Jerome (d. 420) attested to the usage of the Our Father in the Mass, and St. Gregory the Great (d. 604) placed the recitation of the Our Father after the Canon and before the Fraction. The Commentary on the Sacrament of St. Ambrose (d. 397) meditated on the meaning of “daily bread” in the context of the Holy Eucharist. In this same vein, St. Augustine (d. 430) saw the Our Father as a beautiful connection of the Holy Eucharist with the forgiveness of sins. In all instances, the Church saw this perfect prayer which our Lord gave to us as a proper means of preparing for Holy Communion. However, none of this evidence includes the appended doxology.

Interestingly, the English wording of the Our Father that we use today reflects the version mandated for use by Henry VIII (while still in communion with the Catholic Church), which was based on the English version of the Bible produced by Tyndale (1525). Later in 1541 (after his official separation from the Holy Father), Henry VIII issued an edict saying, “His Grace perceiving now the great diversity of the translations (of the  Pater Noster  etc.) hath willed them all to be taken up, and instead of them hath caused an uniform translation of the said  Pater Noster,  Ave, Creed, etc., to be set forth, willing all his loving subjects to learn and use the same and straitly [sic] commanding all parsons, vicars, and curates to read and teach the same to their parishioners.” This English version without the doxology of the Our Father became accepted throughout the English-speaking world, even though the later English translations of the Bible including the Catholic Douay-Rheims (1610) and Protestant King James versions (1611) had different renderings of prayers as found in the Gospel of St. Matthew. Later, the Catholic Church made slight modifications in the English: “who art” replaced “which art,” and “on earth” replaced “in earth.” During the reign of Edward VI, the Book of Common Prayer (1549 and 1552 editions) of the Church of England did not change the wording of the Our Father or add the doxology. However, during the reign of Elizabeth I and a resurgence to rid the Church of England of any Catholic vestiges, the Lord’s Prayer was changed to include the doxology.

The irony of this answer is that some Protestants sometimes accuse Catholics of not being “literally” faithful to Sacred Scripture and depending too much on Tradition. In this case, we see that the Catholic Church has been faithful to the Gospel text of the Our Father, while Protestant Churches have added something of Tradition to the words of Jesus. Nevertheless, the Our Father is the one and perfect prayer given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ, and all of the faithful should offer this prayer, reflecting on the full meaning of its words.

Credit to Fr. William Saunders and  CatholicExchange.

By: Fr. Moe Larochelle

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.(Mt.13:16)

I have often been amused by the fact that, while most people believe praying is a good and wholesome thing; if you say, “I actually  hear  God when I pray,” people think you are crazy! But Scripture tells us that indeed, God does want to speak to us. Luke 12:12 assures us that we will be taught by God Himself through the Holy Spirit,  “for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.”

John 14:21 promises that God will surely reveal Himself to us,

“They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”  In Amos 3:7 we are told,  “God does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”

Now you may be tempted to object saying, “I am no prophet.” But I would object saying that any baptized person is a prophet. In our baptismal ritual, at the anointing with the Sacred Chrism, the person is anointed “priest,  prophet  and king.” I dare say that we are card carrying prophets by baptism. It is sad to say that we may not be aware of, nor do we use this God-given gift. But do not despair; in prayer we can use this wonderful gift.

This marvelous gift becomes apparent to us as we desire to hear God and come to know Him. As we come to know God, we will recognize that he has some marvelous ways of speaking to us. Knowing God in prayer  sensi ­tizes  us to the many ways God can communicate. True, he most obviously communicates to us through Sacred Scripture and our Church Teaching. Yet, when one begins to pray, we realize that God is not limited to the constraints of language, but in other ways, He can give us little personal messages throughout the day.

I remember, as a child that our family would have guests for dinner. If any of us kids were not well behaved at the dinner table, we got  that look  from mom or dad. No words were spoken nor were they necessary because, based on past interaction with mom and dad, we knew very well what  that look  meant. Indeed, I am amazed by the way Mothers can interpret the meaning of their babies crying. I am more amazed that people can actually  hear  their pets! I have even seen people carry on a conversation with dogs and cats! Of course, anyone who has had a long standing relationship with their dog can understand this. So, why would it be so strange to presume that might understand our pets more than we understand our God?

Hearing-aids tuned to God’s voice

I suggested that we all have a prophetic gift for  hearing  God. However, we may require some tools,  or “hearing-aids” in developing the art of hearing Him in prayer.

In order to cultivate this gift of  hearing  God (prophesy), we must realize that He is not limited to communicating in American English with a New England accent. As we come to know Him personally through invested time in prayer, we become more sensitive to the intuitive way He speaks to us. It is almost like learning “Windows” computer software. Once we learn “Word,” we have an instinct or intuition about how to use other software applications and the “icons” literally speak to us. One could say that our Christian software manual for hearing God is the Bible. In these pages of Sacred Scripture, we grasp the fundamentals of knowing God so as to be more tuned into hearing His word.

I often suggest that people begin reading Scripture with the Gospel of Mark. Read a chapter each day. Try not to “figure out what it means,” there are bible studies for that. Rather, see the text as a window which lets us view  Jesus  in a  personal way. Soon we come  to  know  His preferences  and feelings and gain a foundation  for intuitively understanding of His Word. Indeed, knowing someone can make a huge difference in communication. An example of this might be seen in a married couple; after a short time, they discover that the word “fine,” stated in a certain tone really means, “I disagree, but have it your way, and later you will realize the consequences!” Let’s just say that after getting to know each other better, lots of couples do come to understand the relationship between “fine” and “consequences.”

Each week, in our parish bulletin the daily Mass readings are published. In daily prayer, after taking some time to offer praise, our heart and mind will open to God’s word. Then we can read the passages of the day and  hear  God. I personally do this each day. I also keep a journal and write notes about my thoughts on the passage I read. The action of writing helps me focus and minimizes distractions. The journaling often becomes the “stuff” of my homily for the Mass. Sometimes when I write in my journal I even begin writing as if God were dictating. I begin, “Dear Moe…” and let my pen “fly.” I am often amazed by what can materialize on the page.

Pray and you will be amazed!  “The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will  show him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed” (Jn.5:20).

And God said… “Can you hear me now?”

As a priest, I am often asked, “How did you get the ‘calling’?” My answer is usually something like, “That’s a long story.” But the short version is; I never heard a voice, I did not hear rushing winds or peals of thunder. In reality the calling came through a collection of persons and events that God used to  gently guide me and lead me on. Prayer was the “cell phone” that I used to hear His voice in all these events.

As prayer increases our sensitivity to God’s word, we are able to hear Him in many ways. It may happen at Mass as we find ourselves minding our own business, very comfortable in our pew; when suddenly Father begins to say something that makes us wonder if he was told exactly what we needed to hear! Perhaps we have been awestruck by a certain prayer that really spoke to our heart as it was read. I have known God to speak through priests, parents, and even, yes, children! If we are open and honest with Him, His voice will get through to us.

When I first began feeling the “calling”, I asked a priest what I had to do to become a priest. He said that I had to have a college degree. I told him that my high school grades were terrible, (barely 2.0) and I never took SAT’s. He said, “If God wants you to be a priest, he will get you into a college.” So I told God, “If you want me to be a priest, you have to get me into a college.” Then I applied to one school and to my surprise, the Dean of Admissions at St.  Anselm’s said I was accepted for studies. This barely “C” student received a BA after four years which left little doubt in  my mind what God was saying!

“OK, I am ready to hear, but how do I know if it is really God speaking to me?” I propose four pillars of discernment for testing what you are hearing.  Scripture and Church teaching are the two primary pillars. What we hear in prayer should not contradict Scripture. As Scripture is God’s Word, He would not make private statements to us that conflict with His definitive Word. We may also take care to guide our understanding of Scripture according to the Church teaching. Since The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, God would not speak contrary to Himself as revealed in Church Teaching. Therefore, adding The Catechism of the Church to our personal library may be very helpful in discerning God’s voice in prayer. It has a marvelous index and is very useful in giving clear knowledge and insight for direct answers and guidance.

A more personal pillar is the consistency between God’s Word and our life history. It is not likely that God would tell us something that is inconsistent with a vocational calling. If prayer brings us to question our vocation, or seems to upset our conscience, it should be carefully discussed with a confessor or a trusted person whom we know is well rooted in the faith.

Finally, the sacrament of reconciliation is an excellent pillar of discernment. For as our personal relationship with Christ grows and we become more intimate with Him, we become more conscious about Truth. We see more clearly the truth about God and about ourselves. Sorting out the truth from the lies often requires the help of a good confessor who is used by God our Loving Father provide us with His voice of healing, mercy and forgiveness.

Once a very humble person told me, “Father, I am so  thick  that God could never get through to me. I don’t think I should bother trying to hear Him.” No doubt, this is an objection to which many could relate. To answer it, I refer to Numbers 22:22-35. It is a story about how God used a donkey to prophesy. The crux of the passage is simply; If God can speak through an ass… He can surly get through to YOU! Indeed, no matter how thick and stubborn we believe we are, He will get through to any person who is prayerfully honest and open His will.

Credit to Fr. Moe Larochelle of Catholic Exchange.

By: Fr. Ed Broom

Pope Benedict XVI encourages us to go deeper in our prayer life  by using a classical method–Lectio Divina.    The retired  Pontiff strongly exhorted followers of Christ to utilize the Word of God as fertile ground for delving into the depths of prayer.

Our intention in this short article is to offer the steps the Holy Father suggests and a touch more to motivate us to never tire in growing in our union with God through a deeper prayer life.  Prayer has no limits given that prayer is union with an eternal and infinite God!    Here are the steps…..

A.)    Lectio–  Take in your hands the text you have chosen to meditate upon and then read it. However, before reading invite the Holy Spirit, known as the Interior Master, to help you in prayer. Then the prayer of the young Samuel can be yours:  “Speak, O Lord, for your servant is listening.”   What a privilege you have–that God now wants to speak to your heart!

B.)    Meditatio–  Now we want to apply the use of our memory and understanding to understand what God is trying to say to us though this text. Rejoice in the fact that God right now has a special message He wants to communicate to you through this reading and meditation! Be open to God; think and pray. Be bold enough to ask the Lord: “Lord God, exactly what is the message you want to communicate to my heart and life right now?”    The Holy Spirit hears you and will respond!

C.)    Contemplatio-—  Now utilize another mental faculty that God has endowed you with and that is the use of your IMAGINATION!      We all have an imagination–maybe a very vivid imagination. However, the imagination is like a two-edged sword; it can be used for good or for evil. For evil, as a married person, it could happen day-dreaming about a past girl-friend, thereby committing adultery of the mind, leading to adultery of the heart. The imagination used for good might be to imagine walking side by side with the Good Shepherd (Psalm 23/John 10) and contemplating the loving gaze of the Good Shepherd peering into your eyes, hearing His gentle and reassuring voice, and experiencing His strong but loving embrace around your weary shoulder. In sum, our imagination must be trained for the  pursuit of good.

D.)    Oracio-—  Now we have arrived at the very heart of the essence and purpose of  Lectio Divina  and prayer itself–oracio, meaning prayer. When the mind or imagination sparks an idea that descends to the heart, it is time to open up in prayer. This means, now open up your heart and talk to the Lord in the most simple, trusting and intimate way.  Our Lord is a great God, but He is never too busy for us and always ready and willing to listen to us whenever we decide to talk to Him.    This conversation with the Lord can be a few minutes, a half an hour, an hour– whatever length the good Lord inspires in the depths of your heart.

E.)    Accio-—  Authentic prayer must be brought into the reality of our lives.    The woman Doctor of prayer, Saint Teresa of Avila, made this acute observation. The acid test to prove that prayer is indeed authentic is by the manifestation of how prayer has affected our lives. Jesus Himself reminds us that we can tell the tree by its fruits. A good tree will bring forth good fruit; a bad tree will bring forth  bad fruit.    A person who is truly praying with sincerity, honesty, rectitude of intention, and love for God will bring forth fruits or virtues in his/her life.    From the tree of his life will blossom and flourish the following: faith, hope, love, humility, purity, meekness, patience, obedience, self-control, mortification, and fortitude. Our Lady is our example at all times. In the Annunciation we contemplate Mary in prayer as a contemplative. In the Visitation, after Mary finishes her prayer, she hurries to bring the fruits of her prayer in service to her cousin Elizabeth! May Our Lady’s example motivate us to be  “Contemplatives in action.”  

F.)      Transformacio–  Indeed if our Lection Divina is true, authentic, the “Real-thing” then there will be a gradual transformation in our daily lives! There is a saying: “Tell me with whom you associate and I will tell you  who you are.” Another one of those timely proverbs of the past hammers it home:  “Birds of the flock stick together.”  Our aim should be to implement the words of the great Apostle Saint Paul:“It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”    This is the ultimate goal of Lectio Divina and all authentic prayer– the imitation of Jesus Christ, the following in His footsteps, and the transformation into His very essence and being.

What are you waiting for? Why not start today your own Lectio Divina! Choose your text, read, meditate, contemplate, pray, live out and allow God, through the working of the Holy Spirit, to transform you into the saint that God has made you to be!

Credit to Fr. Ed Broom of Catholic Exchange

By: Francine and Byron Pirola

Every person is created with a divine destiny: God created us for eternal union with him. Our earthly life is preparation for this union but all too often, we neglect our spiritual development through busyness and pre-occupation with the things of this world.

Some Christians fret and worry about their spouse’s lack of faith. In vain they try to nag, cajole and coax their spouse to attend church more often, pray more fervently, worship more piously and… be more like them! And usually, the harder they try, the more their spouse resists. Their lack of peace and presence causes their spouse to reject their project of reform.

The truth is, we cannot give that which we do not have, so our first responsibility is to develop our own spiritual life and to grow in virtue. This growth increases our capacity for love, making us a better spouse and connecting us with God’s peace. It also allows our spouse the freedom to find their own expression of faith while encouraging them through our example, which becomes a point of attraction rather than an issue of obligation or guilt. Only then do they become true ‘spiritual guardians’ rather than ‘spiritual dictators’.

How’s your Spiritual Health?

1. On a scale of 0 (dead on arrival) to 10 (maxed out), how would you rate your spiritual health:
   1. Peace/serenity
   2. Prayer and devotion
   3. Growth in virtue
   4. Love for others
   5. Spiritual learning/education
   6. Right priorities
2. Identify one growth area on which to focus and set yourself a spiritual goal for the coming week.

Credit to Francine and Byron Pirola of CathFamily.