Thursday, November 21, 2013

Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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The Holy Rosary – Phrases added according to John Paul II (2002) – Lourdes Shrine

(You simply add after “Jesus” for each decade the phrase corresponding to that mystery and then continue with “Holy Mary…”)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus… (E.g.: Who wanted to take on our human condition;)…

Joyful Mysteries Monday, Saturday  

The Annunciation – Who wanted to take on our human condition;

The Visitation – Who did great things for you;

The Nativity – Who found no place in the house of men;

The Presentation – Who enters the Temple to purify it;

The Finding – Who returned with you to Nazareth and submitted to you;

Luminous Mysteries – Thursday

The Baptism – To whom the Father grants all his favour;

The Wedding – Who makes the Sacrament of Marriage the sign of the eternal Covenant;

The Proclamation of the Kingdom – Whose Kingdom is so near to us;

The Transfiguration – Whose glory transforms us in his image;

The Institution of the Eucharist – Who offers us the New Covenant in his blood;

Sorrowful Mysteries – Tuesday, Friday

The Agony – Who asks that the Father’s will be done and not his own;

The Scourging – Whose wounds heal us;

The Crowning – Who is turned to mockery;

Jesus carries his cross – Who falls to the ground to lift us up from our falls;

The Crucifixion – Who commends his spirit into the hands of his Father;

Glorious Mysteries – Wednesday, Sunday

The Resurrection – Whom the Holy Spirit raised from among the dead;

The Ascension – Who makes us reign with Him;

The Descent of the Holy Spirit – Who sends the Holy Spirit from next to the Father;

The Assumption of Mary – Who makes of you the living Temple of the Lord;

The Crowning of Mary – Who makes of you the Mother of the Church;

…Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us (poor) sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

** translated 160904 by Fr Gilles A Surprenant, MHA Associate priest & poustinik, Montréal QC Canada


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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Friday, December 30, 2011

THE LORD’S DAY REST IN A R.C. FAMILY – PREPARING THE LORD’S DAY TOGETHER

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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From Fr. Gilles A. Surprenant – Family Life Chaplain – Diocesan Centre for Marriage, Life, & Family

Don’t Worry About Immediate Results – Just Try To Observe the Lord’s Day of Rest!


THE LORD’S DAY REST IN A R.C. FAMILY – PREPARING THE LORD’S DAY TOGETHER

There is such manipulation from culture pressurizing us to frantic activity 24/7 that we need to help each other to enjoy the rest God offers: to remember our own name, why we are alive, and how to open ourselves to God’s blessings. Our Father wants us to put aside work and worries once a week for a whole day or even for 36 hours straight, to catch our breath, to breathe freely again, to rest; so He can bring us into the joy of the Trinity.

We can put aside work and worries by anticipating the Sunday Rest and doing in advance whatever we can to free up the Lord's Day from chores. Some make Friday supper and evening a time to plan ahead the Lord's Day and tell each other what they would need and like to do on the Sunday in order to enjoy rest in the Lord: to spend time with Dad or Mom, to do sports, to get a nap, to go for a walk, to read a novel, to go for a movie together, to do sports or another activity together... and they discuss how and in what order they can help each other accomplish what they need and hope to enjoy on the Lord's Day in order to enter into the Lord's rest.

(This young family’s first attempts to observe the Lord’s Day of rest at Becket were a start.  They had mixed results with the Sunday, but after a family move, were inspired to try the Saturday – the Sabbath – like our Jewish brothers and sisters.  Then they broke through and it worked like a charm for them.)

Our observance of the Sabbath (or Pray and Play Day as the children call it) has developed as we have gone along. We enjoy lots of cuddling, reading, resting and listening to beautiful music together. We have taught our children to respect one another’s need for peace and quiet, and have helped them to find ways of playing that are restful to them and respectful to others in the family.

We take family walks or play games (cooperative games or non-competitive are best – as the pleasure is in the playing and not in the outcome as winner or loser).  We prepare meals ahead of time if possible or make them very simple affairs (soups, sandwiches or frozen lasagna) where all can enjoy sharing food preparation. We tidy up together at a leisurely pace. We avoid TV and videos except for a small collection of Christian values videos (Veggie Tales, Joseph or Prince of Egypt, Sound of Music, A Dog of Flanders etc, that we may watch together or the children can choose if the parents need to nap). 

We listen to Classical music or Christian contemporary music (we dance around the house).  We generally switch off popular culture during the Sabbath. We don’t answer the telephone. The children do not have friends over, nor do they have any outside activities to attend during the Sabbath. We don’t shop, do laundry or clean the house.  We may do a little gardening for exercise: but never with the focus of completing a task that needs doing.  Even our reading is limited to wholesome (and often Christian) fiction or non-fiction.  We avoid catalogues and flyers as well as newspapers – anything that is task or outcome related.

We have told our extended families and friends that we will not be available from Friday evening until Saturday evening (we will sometimes plan ahead to get together Saturday evening for dinner) for family events or phone calls.  We know we will find many challenges in keeping the Sabbath holy as our family grows. There will be birthday parties missed, concerts, and courses and other seemingly wonderful opportunities.  But we are sure that God will continue to guide us in embracing this very much needed day of rest from the world of work and of outside expectations.

It is a day to be restored and rejuvenated by God’s love and our gift to one another as family.  The results of giving this time to God have been so far beyond our wildest expectations; we are in awe.  The Sabbath is truly the Crown of God, and worth the effort to protect and cherish.

This family even found their children eager to go to Sunday Mass – because it made their family rest last longer, and because they felt God’s love and peace there more than before. Be assured that your every attempt to observe the Lord’s Day as a day of rest will result in some blessing from the Lord.  It doesn’t matter how successful you think your day was.

Our Lady Immaculate, Guelph, ON – Jane Phillipson Di Libero – August 26, 2002 – Updated 181028

From Fr. Gilles A. Surprenant – Family Life Chaplain – Diocesan Centre for Marriage. Life, & Family

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Sabbath Vigil for a Young Family

Begin this family prayer at the end of the day (Friday or Saturday) before a leisurely evening.

Leader (Father or Eldest child): Come in peace, Crown of God.

All repeat: Come in peace, Crown of God.


Mother
: Come with joy and cheerfulness among your faithful people.

            Like a gentle touch, the Sabbath comes – wiping away fear, sadness

            and memories of pain.

Father: Do not give yourself over to sadness and do not worry.

            A joyful heart is life itself. Joy is what makes your life long.

            Care for your self, lift up your heart and chase sorrow far away.

As the Mother lights the candles,

Leader: Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe,

            Who has made us holy by your laws

            And asked us to kindle the Sabbath lights.

Father: Light and rejoicing to God’s chosen people.

            Sabbath; Soother of sorrows, Healer of broken hearts,

            Banish despair! Here is hope come!

Mother: And now bless the God of all,

            Who everywhere works great wonders;

            Who fosters our growth from the moment we are conceived,

                        And deals with us according to his mercy.

            May he give us gladness of heart and may there be peace in our days.

            May he entrust to us his mercy and may he save us in his time.

Leader: Come in peace, Crown of God.

All repeat: Come in peace, Crown of God.

Father: Come with joy and cheerfulness among your faithful people. Amen.

This family ritual will help you create a “cathedral in time” and open you and your children to God’s love and – making your Sunday Worship a more meaningful and powerful connection with the Father in Jesus – “opening time” for the Holy Spirit to “breathe the life of the Holy Trinity” into each heart. 

Our Lady Immaculate, Guelph, ON – Jane Phillipson Di Libero – August 26, 2002 – Updated 181028

Fr. Gilles A. Surprenant – Family Life Chaplain – Diocesan Centre for Marriage. Life, & Family – 181028

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A Christian Sabbath Vigil

Sabbath Reflection, Lights, and Prayer of Praise

            “What we are depends on what the Sabbath is to us.  The Sabbath is a sanctuary which we build, a sanctuary in time.  When all work is brought to a standstill, the candles are lit.  It is the woman who ushers in the joy and sets up the most exquisite symbol, light, to dominate the atmosphere.  The Sabbath comes like a caress, wiping away fear, sorrow, and somber memories.  It is already night when joy begins, when a beautifying surplus of soul visits our mortal bones and lingers on.”                             (Rabbi Abraham Heschel) 

The Lord’s Day belongs to Him – He wants us to give it back to Him to remember his love for us and find our rest in Him; find refuge from the troubles of the world and burdens of this earthly existence.


Leader:         
            (As candles are lit.)

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by your commandments and commanded us to kindle the Sabbath lights.

All:            Light and rejoicing to Israel.  Sabbath, soother of sorrows, comfort of downtrodden   Israel, healing the hearts that were broken.  Banish despair!  Here is Hope come! 

Leader & All:           The Liturgy of the Hours – especially Evening Prayer and Night Prayer

 https://divineoffice.org/ or http://www.ibreviary.org/en/ or http://www.universalis.com/

Where and when possible, multiply the opportunities for participation: Leader, Cantor, Reader, alternating “choirs” for reciting the psalm(s), etc.

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Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

In a chapel or church setting, the Blessed Sacrament may be exposed as usual, a brief few minutes of silence, Benediction as usual, the Diving Praises, and a period of silent adoration; which could extend through the night.

Variations – Sabbath themes: wakefulness, stillness, rest, joy, thankfulness, light, radiant presence of

God, trust, faith, Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Light, comfort in sorrow and pain, trouble and distress, carving out a refuge in time for a soul-filling encounter with the Lord in the cusp between the week ending and the new one coming, and seasonal variations in liturgy.

            One can develop variations on the above Sabbath Reflection, Lights, and Prayer of Praise with the addition of readings from the Old Testament (Jewish Scriptures) such as:

 

Sir 30:21-24; 50:22-24; Rev 22:5; Ps 35:19; 2 Chr 36:21; Ps 67:33; Ps 103:1; Is 43:18;

Ex 15:14,17; Ps 42:2; Ps 83:9,12; Ps 26:4-5; Ps 83:2; Ps 72:14; Is 54:1,4; Is 62:1,2-5;

Lk 8:16-18; Jer 17:21-22; Mt 11:28; Is 9:2-3; Ps 106:10; Ps 115:7; Ps 80:7; Ps 60:3; Is 2:5; Gen 1:1-5; Song of Songs (various verses); Ps 17:29; Jn 1:4; Ps 9:1; Ps 26:1; 1 Jn 1:5-7; Ps 96:11; Ex 31:12-13; Ez 20:12; Is 56:6; Ps 42:3; Ps 88:16; Ps 49:2; Ex 16:4-5, 6-7, 13-15, 21-26, 29-30, 31; Jn 6:32, 35, 49, 54, 57; and so on.

Fr. Gilles A. Surprenant – Family Life Chaplain – Diocesan Centre for Marriage. Life, & Family – 181028

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There's just not enough hours in the day. 

Technology was supposed to free us. Instead, the opposite has happened. 

DONNA NEBENZAHL              The Gazette            Monday, December 01, 2003

          It's called role overload, and we're all too familiar with it. That's when your day is so full - getting kids out to school, rushing through a few chores, fighting traffic to work, the increasingly stressful workday, hurrying home to feed the family, overseeing homework, going to a meeting or checking in on an elderly parent, doing more chores, catching the news, then heading to bed so you can rise and do it all over again - that nothing feels good.  Simply put, according to the principal investigator of a Health Canada study, Work-Life Conflict in Canada in the Millennium: a Status Report, it means having too much to do in a given amount of time.  Or, as the report says, "when the prescribed activities of multiple roles are too great to perform the roles adequately or comfortably."

                             The study outlines the worst-case scenario: almost 60 per cent of Canadians who are employed outside the home cannot balance work and family demands.  Carleton University professor Linda Duxbury, an expert in work-family conflict, led the team whose research findings, conducted in 2001, were published in October.  It's a strong study, using 31,571 Canadian employees who work in medium and large companies, 46 per cent in the public sector, 33 per cent in the not-for-profit sector and 20 per cent in the private sector.  Among the respondents, 46 per cent work in managerial and professional positions, while 54 per cent work in clerical, administrative, retail and production.  As the study shows, the stresses are high - and growing.  The majority of employees - 58 per cent - report high levels of role overload, and another 30 per cent report moderate levels.

                             More troubling is the increase in these stats - 11 per cent since 1991 - caused in part, the study suggests, by the increased amount of time respondents in the 2001 sample spend with work and family. Not to mention organizations that still reward long hours at the office rather than performance and - an event many are now familiar with - the downsizing that has taken place in many companies (which the researchers aptly refer to as "organizational anorexia").

                             But there's another culprit, and this one's insidious, but pretty obvious to anyone with eyes or ears.  That's the proliferation of information and communications technology in our daily lives.  It seems apparent now the happy predictions technology would free us from the workplace and give us more leisure time were a load of bunk. In fact, the opposite has happened.  "Comparisons done using 1991 and 2001 samples suggest that time in work has increased over the past decade," researchers write.  "Whereas one in 10 respondents in 1991 worked 50 or more hours per week, one in four does so now. ... This increase in time in work was observed for all groups and all sectors."

                               As if that wasn't bad enough, it turns out we careful, ready-to-please Canadians are working more at the expense of our families.  "Three times as many Canadians give priority to work at the expense of their family," the study points out.  It's not a great leap to realize that this is no way to run a business, or to work for one.  That's because employees with high role overload are less satisfied with their jobs, less committed to them and more likely to want to leave.  As a result, they're more likely to take time off because of physical and mental-health problems.  And that's not all.  The companies lose as well because of increased absenteeism (3 1/2 times more from employees with high role overload), and because they're more likely to have problems with employee turnover and retention.  Clearly, our workplaces need some readjustment.  And it should start with reducing employee workloads.  Next week: Why we should care about work-life conflict.

https://montrealgazette.com/author/donna-nebenzahl-special-to-montreal-gazette   © 2003 The Gazette

Copyright © 2003 Can West Interactive, a division of Can West Global Communications Corp. All rights reserved.

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This whole document began to come into being in 1997 at St. Thomas à Becket Parish in Pierrefonds QC when we started doing research on and preaching about the Lord's Day and God's plan for our rest.

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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Saint Augustine's Letter to Proba on Prayer

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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From a letter to Proba by Saint Augustine, bishop

Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. IV, pp. 407-9; 412-3; 416-8; 421-2; 425-6; 429-30. Office of Readings - 29th week Ordinary Time

Why in our fear of not praying as we should, do we turn to so many things, to find what we should pray for? Why do we not say instead, in the words of the psalm: I have asked one thing from the Lord, this is what I will seek: to dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life, to see the graciousness of the Lord, and to visit his temple. There, the days do not come and go in succession, and the beginning of one day does not mean the end of another; all days are one, simultaneously and without end, and the life lived out in these days has itself no end.

 So that we might obtain this life of happiness, he who is true life itself taught us to pray, not in many words as though speaking longer could gain us a hearing. After all, we pray to one who, as the Lord himself tells us, knows what we need before we ask for it.

Why he should ask us to pray, when he knows what we need before we ask him, may perplex us if we do not realize that our Lord and God does not want to know what we want (for he cannot fail to know it) but wants us rather to exercise our desire through our prayers, so that we may be able to receive what he is preparing to give us. His gift is very great indeed, but our capacity is too small and limited to receive it. That is why we are told: Enlarge your desires, do not bear the yoke with unbelievers.

The deeper our faith, the stronger our hope, the greater our desire, the larger will be our capacity to receive that gift, which is very great indeed. No eye has seen it; it has no color. No ear has heard it; it has no sound. It has not entered man’s heart; man’s heart must enter into it.

In this faith, hope and love we pray always with unwearied desire. However, at set times and seasons we also pray to God in words, so that by these signs we may instruct ourselves and mark the progress we have made in our desire, and spur ourselves on to deepen it. The more fervent the desire, the more worthy will be its fruit. When the Apostle tells us: Pray without ceasing, he means this: Desire unceasingly that life of happiness which is nothing if not eternal, and ask it of him who alone is able to give it.

Let us always desire the happy life from the Lord God and always pray for it. But for this very reason we turn our mind to the task of prayer at appointed hours, since that desire grows lukewarm, so to speak, from our involvement in other concerns and occupations. We remind ourselves through the words of prayer to focus our attention on the object of our desire; otherwise, the desire that began to grow lukewarm may grow chill altogether and may be totally extinguished unless it is repeatedly stirred into flame.

Therefore, when the Apostle says: Let your petitions become known before God, this should not be taken in the sense that they are in fact becoming known to God who certainly knew them even before they were made, but that they are becoming known to us before God through submission and not before men through boasting.

Since this is the case, it is not wrong or useless to pray even for a long time when there is the opportunity. I mean when it does not keep us from performing the other good and necessary actions we are obliged to do. But even in these actions, as I have said, we must always pray with that desire. To pray for a longer time is not the same as to pray by multiplying words, as some people suppose. Lengthy talk is one thing; a prayerful disposition which lasts a long time is another. For it is even written in reference to the Lord himself that he spent the night in prayer and that he prayed at great length. Was he not giving us an example by this? In time, he prays when it is appropriate; and in eternity, he hears our prayers with the Father.

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The monks in Egypt are said to offer frequent prayers, but these are very short and hurled like swift javelins. Otherwise their watchful attention, a very necessary quality for anyone at prayer, could be dulled and could disappear through protracted delays. They also clearly demonstrate through this practice that a person must not quickly divert such attention if it lasts, just as one must not allow it to be blunted if it cannot last.

Excessive talking should be kept out of prayer but that does not mean that one should not spend much time in prayer so long as a fervent attitude continues to accompany his prayer. To talk at length in prayer is to perform a necessary action with an excess of words. To spend much time in prayer is to knock with a persistent and holy fervor at the door of the one whom we beseech. This task is generally accomplished more through sighs than words, more through weeping than speech. He places our tears in his sight, and our sighs are not hidden from him, for he has established all things through his Word and does not seek human words.

We need to use words so that we may remind ourselves to consider carefully what we are asking, not so that we may think we can instruct the Lord or prevail on him.

Thus, when we say: Hallowed be your name, we are reminding ourselves to desire that his name, which in fact is always holy, should also be considered holy among men. I mean that it should


not be held in contempt. But this is a help for men, not for God.

And as for our saying: Your kingdom come, it will surely come whether we will it or not. But we are stirring up our desires for the kingdom so that it can come to us and we can deserve to reign there.

When we say: Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are asking him to make us obedient so that his will may be done in us as it is done in heaven by his angels.

When we say: Give us this day our daily bread, in saying this day we mean “in this world.” Here we ask for a sufficiency by specifying the most important part of it; that is, we use the word “bread” to stand for everything. Or else we are asking for the sacrament of the faithful, which is necessary in this world, not to gain temporal happiness but to gain the happiness that is everlasting.

When we say: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, we are reminding ourselves of what we must ask and what we must do in order to be worthy in turn to receive.

When we say: Lead us not into temptation, we are reminding ourselves to ask that his help may not depart from us; otherwise we could be seduced and consent to some temptation, or despair and yield to it.

When we say: Deliver us from evil, we are reminding ourselves to reflect on the fact that we do not yet enjoy the state of blessedness in which we shall suffer no evil. This is the final petition contained in the Lord’s Prayer, and it has a wide application. In this petition the Christian can utter his cries of sorrow, in it he can shed his tears, and through it he can begin, continue and conclude his prayer, whatever the distress in which he finds himself. Yes, it was very appropriate that all these truths should be entrusted to us to remember in these very words.

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Whatever be the other words we may prefer to say (words which the one praying chooses so that his disposition may become clearer to himself or which he simply adopts so that his disposition may be intensified), we say nothing that is not contained in the Lord’s Prayer, provided of course we are praying in a correct and proper way. But if anyone says something which is incompatible with this prayer of the Gospel, he is praying in the flesh, even if he is not praying sinfully. And yet I do not know how this could be termed anything but sinful, since those who are born again through the Spirit ought to pray only in the Spirit.

We read, for example: May you receive glory among all the nations as you have among us, and May your prophets prove themselves faithful. What does this mean but Hallowed be your name?

We read: Lord of power and might, touch our hearts and show us your face, and we shall be saved. What does this mean but Your kingdom come?

We read: Direct my ways by your word, and let no sin rule over me. What does this mean but Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven?

We read: Do not give me poverty or riches. What does this mean but Give us this day our daily bread?

We read: Lord, remember David and all his patient suffering, and Lord, if I have done this, if there is guilt on my hands, if I have repaid evil for evil…. What does this mean but Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us?

We read: Rescue me, God, from my enemies, deliver me from those who rise up against me. What does this mean but Deliver us from evil?

If you study every word of the petitions of Scripture, you will find, I think, nothing that is not contained and included in the Lord’s Prayer. When we pray, then, we may use different words to say the same things, but we may not say different things.

We should not hesitate to make these prayers for ourselves, for our friends, for strangers, and even for enemies, though the emotions in our heart may vary with the strength or weakness of our relationships with individuals.

You now know, I think, the attitudes you should bring to prayer, as well as the petitions you should make, and this not because of what I have taught you but thanks to the teaching of the one who has been pleased to teach us all.

We must search out the life of happiness; we must ask for it from the Lord our God. Many have discussed at great length the meaning of happiness, but surely we do not need to go to them and their long drawn out discussions. Holy Scripture says concisely and with truth: Happy is the people whose God is the Lord. We are meant to belong to that people, and to be able to see God and live with him for ever, and so the object of this command is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience and a sincere faith.

In these three qualities, “a good conscience” stands for “hope.” Faith, hope and love bring safely to God the person who prays, that is, the person who believes, who hopes, who desires, and who ponders what he is asking of the Lord in the Lord’s Prayer.

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You may still want to ask why the Apostle said: We do not know what it is right to pray for, because, surely, we cannot believe that either he or those to whom he wrote did not know the Lord’s Prayer.

He showed that he himself shared this uncertainty. Did he know what it was right to pray for when he was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to bruise him, so that he might not be puffed up by the greatness of what was revealed to him? Three times he asked the Lord to take it away from him, which showed that he did not know what he should ask for in prayer. At last, he heard the Lord’s answer, explaining why the prayer of so great a man was not granted, and why it was not expedient for it to be granted: My grace is sufficient for you, for power shines forth more perfectly in weakness.

In the kind of affliction, then, which can bring either good or ill, we do not know what it is right to pray for; yet, because it is difficult, troublesome and against the grain for us, weak as we are, we do what every human would do, we pray that it may be taken away from us. We owe, however, at least this much in our duty to God: if he does not take it away, we must not imagine that we are being forgotten by him but, because of our loving endurance of evil, must await greater blessings in its place. In this way, power shines forth more perfectly in weakness. These words are written to prevent us from having too great an opinion of ourselves if our prayer is granted, when we are impatient in asking for something that it would be better not to receive; and to prevent us from being dejected, and distrustful of God’s mercy toward us, if our prayer is not granted, when we ask for something that would bring us greater affliction, or completely ruin us through the corrupting influence of prosperity. In these cases we do not know what it is right to ask for in prayer.

Therefore, if something happens that we did not pray for, we must have no doubt at all that what God wants is more expedient than what we wanted ourselves. Our great Mediator gave us an example of this. After he had said: Father, if it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me, he immediately added, Yet not what I will, but what you will, Father, so transforming the human will that was his through his taking a human nature. As a consequence, and rightly so, through the obedience of one man the many are made righteous.

The person who asks for and seeks this one thing from the Lord makes his petition confidently and serenely. He has no fear that, when he receives it, it may harm him, for if this is absent, anything else he duly receives brings no benefit at all. This is the one, true and only life of happiness, that, immortal and incorruptible in body and spirit, we should contemplate the Lord’s graciousness for ever. It is for the sake of this one thing that everything else is sought and without impropriety requested. The person who has this will have all that he wants; in heaven, he will be unable to want, because he will be unable to possess anything that is unfitting.

            In heaven is the fountain of life, that we should now thirst for in prayer as long as we live in hope and do not yet see the object of our hope, under the protection of his wings in whose presence is all our desire, so that we may drink our fill from the plenty of his house and be given drink from the running stream of his delights, for with him is the fountain of life, and in his light we shall see light, when our desire will be satisfied with good things, and there will be nothing to ask for with sighs but only what we possess with joy.

            Yet, since this is that peace that surpasses all understanding, even when we ask for it in prayer we do not know how to pray for what is right. Certainly we do not know something if we cannot think of it as it really is; whatever comes to mind we reject, repudiate, find fault with; we know that this is not what we are seeking, even if we do not yet know what kind of thing it really is.

            There is then within us a kind of instructed ignorance, instructed, that is, by the Spirit of God who helps our weakness. When the Apostle said: If we hope for something we do not see, we look forward to it with patience, he added, In the same way the Spirit helps our weakness; we do not know what it is right to pray for, but the Spirit himself pleads with sighs too deep for words. He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for he pleads for the saints according to God’s will.

            We must not understand by this that the Holy Spirit of God pleads for the saints as if he were someone different from what God is: in the Trinity the Spirit is the unchangeable God and one God with the Father and the Son. Scripture says: He pleads for the saints because he moves the saints to plead, just as it says: The Lord your God tests you, to know if you love him, in this sense, that he does it to enable you to know. So the Spirit moves the saints to plead with sighs too deep for words by inspiring in them a desire for the great and as yet unknown reality that we look forward to with patience. How can words express what we desire when it remains unknown? If we were entirely ignorant of it we would not desire it; again, we would not desire it or seek it with sighs, if we were able to see it.

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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Seminar / Workshop on God - "Introduction to Prayer" - Marriage Preparation Course "From This Day Forward" - Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 at St. Monica Parish - Marriage is a great adventure for LIFE! Workshop Seminar 07.6

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity, as reported in Jeremiah 31:31-34, every human being can know God from...