Themes
of the
Lenten Season: Prayer
By
Cardinal Justin Rigali
We have all probably heard the expression “getting into the spirit”
of something. The idea is to embrace an event not just in a momentary,
superficial fashion but to involve our whole self, so that we may appreciate
it to the fullest extent possible. We are already living in the liturgical
season of Lent and I am sure that many of us have made our Lenten programs
and are doing our best to fulfill them. In order to make yet another
effort to place ourselves fully into the Lenten spirit, over the next
few weeks I would like to treat the three main themes of Lent, which
are found in the Gospel passage that is read on Ash Wednesday: prayer,
almsgiving and fasting. Here we have an example of Jesus coming not
to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, because these three elements were
also basic to Jewish piety (cf. Matthew 5:17). Jesus is taking what
was already good and well known to His hearers and drawing them, and
us, into a deeper understanding of them. This week, we will discuss
prayer.
Definitions of prayer
We know that communal and liturgical prayer is an essential part of
the Christian life. Jesus tells us: “For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”
(Matthew 18:20). The Second Vatican Council teaches us that the offering
of the Eucharist, the Church’s greatest prayer, and its communal
celebration is “the summit toward which the activity of the Church
is directed; and the source from which all her power flows.” However,
the Church also reminds us of the need for private, personal prayer.
The Council continues: “The spiritual life, however, is not limited
solely to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is indeed called
to pray with others, but he must also enter into his bedroom to pray
to his Father in secret; furthermore, according to the teaching of the
Apostle, he must pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)”
(Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10 and 12).
The definition of prayer so familiar to us, as “the lifting up
of our minds and hearts to God,” is actually a very ancient one
and comes to us from Saint John Damascene (ca. 676-787). It is one of
the definitions of prayer given in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Sometimes, when people are asked if they pray, they respond by saying
that they are not sure whether they pray or not but they “just
talk to God.” That is exactly what prayer is! Saint Thérèse
of Lisieux said: “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is
a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of
love, embracing both trial and joy.” I once heard a marvelous
definition, describing prayer as “the miracle by which the creature
is able to speak to the Creator.” Pope John Paul II has said:
“Prayer is strength for the weak.”
Vocal and mental prayer
We know that there are two types of prayer, vocal and mental. In our
relationship with God, both are necessary. When His disciples asked
Jesus to teach them how to pray, He gave them the Our Father, which
we call the Lord’s Prayer, because it came from Him (cf. Luke
11:1-4). This is certainly a type of vocal prayer. The prayers of the
Liturgy, both of the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, are the greatest
vocal prayers of the Church. These are what we sometimes call basic
Catholic prayers: the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father,
Apostles’ Creed, Hail, Holy Queen, Act of Contrition, Prayer to
our Guardian Angel and so on. Many of us have prayers that are beloved
to us because we have said them for a very long time or because they
are directed to a favorite Saint or to our Lord or our Lady under one
of their particular titles. Vocal prayers are certainly good and they
are helpful to us because they often put into words what we would like
to express but are not able to do so on our own.
In comparing and contrasting vocal prayer with mental prayer, we might
use the example of a day that many people celebrated last week: Saint
Valentine’s Day. Several weeks before February 14, the greeting
card stores are filled with a remarkable variety of cards expressing
sentiments for Valentine’s Day. No doubt, many of them are very
beautiful and many people spend a great deal of time in these stores
picking out “just the right card.” The “right card”
is the one that expresses in words what the person buying and giving
the card feels in his or her heart. Someone else has written the sentiment
but it expresses the idea of the giver. We may liken all of this to
vocal prayer.
Mental prayer can be likened to words which are written or spoken by
an individual, without having someone else write them. Obviously, this
manner of expression is also important in both our relationships with
other people and with God. This is why it is important not only to make
use of written vocal prayers but also to speak to God using our own
words. Saint Francis de Sales wrote: “If you have the gift for
mental prayer, always reserve for that the principal place above private
vocal prayers” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 2, 1).
Purposes of prayer
It is sometimes said of a certain prayer: “That prayer speaks
to me.” We have to be a little cautious about a sentiment such
as that. The purpose of prayer, while fulfilling to ourselves in a personal
way and often bringing us great peace, is not primarily about us! Just
as we do not see someone we know or love and immediately start talking
about ourselves (or at least we shouldn’t!), so in our prayer,
we also want to remember that there is an element of adoration of God
and an expression of dependance upon Him that should begin our prayer.
Adoration of the Divine Majesty is one of the great purposes of prayer
and it should not be forgotten. We also should express sorrow for our
sins from time to time in our prayers. This is especially appropriate
at the end of a day, when we should briefly examine our consciences,
tell God that we are sorry for our sins and ask Him for the grace to
do better the next day. Although sacramental Confession is necessary
when we have committed mortal sin and praiseworthy at other times for
the graces that it gives us, it is not the only time that we should
express sorrow to God for our sins.
The Liturgy puts before us one of the other purposes of prayer: thanksgiving.
In each Mass, the priest invites us to exercise this purpose of prayer
when he says: “Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.”
We are all prone to feeling sorry for ourselves at times. In effect,
we find ourselves saying “poor me.” An antidote to this
attitude might be to sit down and make up a list. On this list, we might
write down all the things that we should be grateful for. If we frequently
tend to discouragement, we might take this list and keep it with us,
so that we may look at it from time to time and be reminded of all the
things for which we should be thanking God. We should thank Him for
all He has given, for all He has taken away, for the things we haven’t
thanked Him for and for the things we did not recognize as blessings
because of the weakness of our faith.
Finally, prayer also takes the form of petition. Sometimes we feel guilty
when we ask for something in prayer. We may feel that we are forgetful
of God, except for when we need Him. Do not be discouraged by that thought.
When you love someone, you also love to do things for them. In fact,
one of the saddest feelings is loving someone and not being able to
help him or her in their need. Asking God for something is a sign of
our confidence in Him and faith in His ability to help us. His response
to our petition is a way in which He can show His love for us. We present
our prayer to God with faith and confidence and then we should be filled
with great peace, knowing that He will answer us in the way that is
best for us. Saint Padre Pio used to say, wisely and simply: “Pray,
hope and don’t worry.”
Where to pray
As we look around us at the beauty of Creation we are reminded that
God’s majestic presence is everywhere. We already mentioned the
words of Jesus: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there
am I in the midst of them.” We know that the Most Blessed Trinity
dwells in every soul that is in the state of grace. However, it is only
in one reality on earth that we can say we find the fullness of the
Real Presence of Jesus: the Holy Eucharist. Jesus, truly present under
the appearances of bread, is present in the Tabernacles of our churches
and exposed upon our Altars for our adoration. While we can, and should,
pray anywhere and should not hesitate to pray outside of a church, it
is in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament that we experience
Him most intimately because He is truly there.
As we encourage our people more than ever to spend time with Jesus in
the Blessed Sacrament, we are reminded that there is no better place
to pray than in His Presence. Jesus tells us: “My house shall
be a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13). Our churches are not museums
or merely beautiful buildings which we open up for a few hours a week.
They are not merely settings for weddings or soothing spaces for funerals.
They are the places where Jesus dwells. Just as in our human relationships,
nothing is better than speaking with someone in person, so it is in
our relationship with Jesus. I urge you to seek out your own parish
church or a church near your place of work and make every effort to
pray there as often as possible. It is the closest that we can come
here on earth to speaking with Him face to face!
February 21, 2008
Cardinal
Rigali's Lenten Letter 2008