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Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Perez: Live gladly
By Joy G. Perez
Sensitivity
MY MOTHER'S friend Molying would always remind her friends on the importance of prayer in this life and in the next.
She once gave a leaflet to my mother titled "Let's Talk About Prayer" authored by Rev. Fr. John Catoir. I read it in detail. I really liked the message. So I asked my mother that particular leaflet which she continues to keep in her bag full of recollections of different religious messages given her by friends. Molying died four years ago.
For the observance of the Holy Week and even after it, this is good for meditation. Let me share the message of this leaflet. Fr. Catoir mentioned that his favorite quote is from Juliana of Norwich, a 15th century mystic who wrote, "The greatest honor you can give to Almighty God, greater than all your sacrifices and mortifications, is to live gladly because of the knowledge of His love."
The thought quoted had given the priest a whole new perspective in living his faith. He noted that it freshened up his prayer with Joy. The following texts are taken verbatim from what Fr. Catoir wrote. The entire message is quite long, so I just selected the text for this issue.
* How can I live gladly in a world like ours? By deepening your prayer life and by praying for the grace to know God's love in a real and vivid way.
* I find it so difficult to pray, when do I begin? Just pray as you can, and don't try to pray in a way that is false for you. Take yourself as you find yourself and begin from them.
* How do you define prayer? Prayer is essentially a conversation with God. You might say it is your personal way of giving yourself to God. This can be done with or without words, in a place of worship, or in the silence of your heart as you go about your daily work.
* Teach me how to pray. The only way to pray is to pray, and the way to pray well is to pray often. There is no best way. Just be yourself into feelings of any kind.
* What do you mean? Aren't we supposed to strive to love God with our whole heart? YES, but you can do that without forcing yourself to feel something that isn't there. Don't worry if you cannot produce loving feeling or even if you find yourself rebellious during prayer, just remember that prayer isn't essentially a matter of feelings. Pure prayer is in the will. It is the will to give yourself to God and to cling to Him. Feeling can be helpful when they spur you on, but often they are in the way, and when they are, you have to rely on your will alone.
* Can you give an example of how this works? Yes. For instance, if you desire to be serious about prayer you'll commit yourself to live a certain amount of time to it everyday. When you get up in the morning, set aside some time to give yourself to God as best as you can, whether you feel like it or not. Acknowledge that you are totally dependent on Him and can do nothing without Him. Then draw from His strength, be grateful. Later, proceed confidently through the day as though you can do all things because He is there guiding and sustaining you.
* How much time do you recommend? The amount of time you spend is up to you. I would say, at least five minutes in the beginning. You will want to increase it later. Sometimes the hardest thing about prayer is stopping everything else. This is when you are in the proper frame of mind. If you do that, you may go days without praying. When the time you have chosen for prayer comes, stop whatever you are doing and give up yourself to God in your own way.
* Morning prayer of Mother Theresa of Calcutta, M.C. I come to thee to take They touch before I begin my day. Let your eyes rest upon my eyes for a while. Let me take my work with assurance of Your friendship. Fill my mind to last through the desert of noise. Let Your blessed sunshine fill the peaks of my thoughts. And give strength for those who need me. Amen.
(April 13, 2006 issue)
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