"Christ and Paul commanded us to make our prayers short, and to say them frequently, at brief intervals". (Sr. John Chrysostom).
"Prayer is a Single Point such that in Praying for Oneself, One Prays for All". (Luisa Piccarreta).
TUESDAY, TWELFTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR I
A READING
(Hannah’s barrenness and her prayer: 1 Samuel 1:1-19)
There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill
country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu,
son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; the name of the one
was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but
Hannah had no children.....
Tuesday of the
Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year I
A READING
FROM THE HOMILIES
ON HANNAH BY ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
As Hannah continued praying in the presence of the
Lord, says Scripture,
Eli watched her mouth. The
writer bears witness here to two virtues in the woman: her perseverance in
prayer and her attentiveness. He refers to the first by saying, She
continued, and to the second by adding, in the presence of the Lord;
for we all pray, but not all of us pray in the presence of the Lord.
Though our bodies may be in an attitude of prayer and our mouths babbling some pious formula, can we really claim to be
praying in the presence of God when our minds are wandering hither and thither
in home and market-place? Those people pray in the presence of the Lord who
pray with complete recollection; who, having no worldly attachments, have
removed from earth to heaven and banished all human preoccupations, just as
this woman did then. Recollecting herself completely and concentrating her
mind, she called upon God in her deep distress.
But why does Scripture
say she continued praying when
actually her prayer was very short? She made no long speeches, she did not spin
out her plea to great length, but spoke few and simple words. What then could
the writer have meant by saying, She
continued? Surely he meant
that she said the same thing over and over again; she spent a long time
ceaselessly repeating the same words. That indeed is how Christ also commanded
us to pray in the Gospels. When he told his disciples not to pray like the
Gentiles and not to use empty repetitions, he also taught them the right way to
pray, showing them that it is not a multiplicity of words but mental alertness
that wins us a hearing.
Why then, you may ask, if prayer should be brief, did Christ tell them a parable to show that it should
be continuous? There was a widow, he said, who by her persistent requests, by
her going to him again and again, overcame a cruel and inhuman judge who
neither feared God nor regarded other people. And why does Paul also urge us to
keep praying, to pray without ceasing? Is it a contradiction to tell us
not to make long speeches, and yet to pray continually?
No; there is no
contradiction – God forbid! The two commands are in complete agreement. Christ
and Paul commanded us to make our prayers short, and to say them frequently,
at brief intervals. For if you spin out your words to any length you are often
inattentive, and so give the devil freedom to approach and trip you up and
divert your mind from what you are saying. But if you pray continuously and
frequently, repeating your prayer at brief intervals, you can easily remain
recollected and fully alert as you pray. That indeed is just what this woman
did, not making long speeches but drawing near to God frequently, at brief
intervals. That is true prayer, when its cries come from the depths of one’s
being.
18 May 2015
Book of Heaven, Luisa Piccarreta, Vol. 7.
May 30, 1907.
Effectiveness of prayer. Prayer is a Single Point such that in Praying for Oneself, One Prays for All. As I was in my usual state, I saw blessed Jesus for a short time, and I ...
“My daughter, prayer is one single point, and while it is one point, it can grasp all other points together. So, whether the soul prays for herself alone or for others, she can obtain by supplication just as much. Its effectiveness is one.”
Sancta Maria Abbey: http://www.nunraw.com.uk (Website)
Blogspot :http://www.nunraw.blogspot.co.uk, Doneword :http://www.donewill.blogspot.co.uk |domdonald.org.uk, Emails: nunrawdonald@yahoo.com, nunrawdonald@gmail.com
Blogspot :http://www.nunraw.blogspot.co.uk, Doneword :http://www.donewill.blogspot.co.uk |domdonald.org.uk, Emails: nunrawdonald@yahoo.com, nunrawdonald@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment