Review

So far, in these notes on prayer, we have looked at eight subjects:

1. Prayer, Hearing Is Believing
2. A Place To Pray
3. In His Presence
4. First Principle
5. Passage
6. The Heart Knows
7. Who's Voice Do I Hear?
8. Listening

These subjects are connected to a new series, on the New Evangelization. In order to have a New Evangelization we need "New Evangelists". An evangelist is one who knows the Lord; not knows about the Lord, rather, one who "knows" in a personal, intimate way - person-to-person.

It begins with an encounter with the living Christ. This encounter is initiated by the Lord. There is no formula that makes this encounter happen, it is solely dependent upon Jesus and only happens when Jesus chooses to reveal himself.  An encounter with Christ can be sudden and dramatic and unexpected, like St. Paul encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus. It is initiated by Jesus and is sometimes called the "Grace, without previous cause."

Perhaps, the more common way an encounter is granted, begins with a person hearing about the possibility of an encounter with the Risen Lord, and desires this for themselves. They begin by asking for the Lord to come and reveal himself, and the Lord then grants their prayer.

There are different titles we can give to this experience of grace; Encounter With Christ, Grace of Conversion, Baptism In The Holy Spirit, Grace of Renewal. What is common in each of these is Jesus showing himself in a real and discernible way to the person praying, who now has a personal experience of the living Christ. Now they KNOW HIM, and this grace becomes the foundation of their life of faith. 

The way Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after his resurrection, was tangible and demonstrative. "He showed them his hands and his side". He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” This way of revealing himself was necessary to heal the wound of doubt caused by his passion and death on the cross. But after his Ascension, a new way of encountering his risen presence was instituted. 

The Advocate. John 14:15  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows Him. But you know Him, because He remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.

From this time until now, the age of the Holy Spirit has existed. "He remains with you, and will be in you." 

The New Evangelist is:

1. A Person of prayer, immersed in the Word. (i.e. following this or similar approach to praying scripture).
2. Baptized anew in the Holy Spirit.
3. Having a pattern of discernment as they experience the Spirit's call.
4. Developing in communion with the Church, collaborating with others, i.e. sharing groups, spiritual direction, parish programs of formation, team ministry.

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PRAYER FOR THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Jesus my Lord, I confess to you and to all the world / my need for your presence in my life. / I am alone and in darkness without you. / I am influenced and controlled by the many forces that surround me. / Even though I struggle against them,/ it is sin that so easily dominates my life. / Who can save me but you alone, / my Lord and my God. / Deliver me from the Evil One. / Touch my life with that power which flows from your Resurrection. / Cause your Holy Spirit to be born in me anew. / Prince of Peace and Lord of Glory / reign now in my heart. / Baptize me with your Holy Spirit and Fire. / Raise me up to a New Life in you.

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Review the notes on prayer on the the Page, Let Us Pray the Scriptures Together.

Listening

"Say That Again ..." 

As we try to listen and understand what someone is trying to tell us, it is not uncommon that we ask them to repeat what they said. The same can be said of our listening to the Lord in prayer. This being true, there are two practices in prayer that help with this, 
1. Repetition and

2. Writing it down.

When a passage that we are using for our prayer begins to stand out with particular meaning for us, then we need to return to that passage for further prayer. This can be as often as it continues to bear fruit for us. As well as returning to the same text, having a journal and writing down our thoughts is most helpful. 

Some thoughts on writing and prayer.

Writing and prayer have many similarities to classic journaling, but it is more than just writing down the linear sequence of our thoughts. Here, one records the account of an event that has taken place. An appointment was kept, a meeting took place and here is what  happened.

• The meeting, time and place.
• The scripture passage that was chosen.
• Who came - the character of your attentiveness - your sense of the Lord's presence.
• Did you come with certain questions, certain needs, 
• What was your state of mind?
• What in the scripture passage caught your attention? Why?
• How did you picture the scene in the scripture passage?
• Which characters did you identify with - inspired you, most resembled you?
• What images were you left with?
• Characterize the way your spirit is moving.
• What, if any, message were you left with?

The way you record your experience can be your own. Here you are giving the eye witness account. Record it right away and try to be accurate.  When you come back to review your reporting later, you are the interrogator, mining for the real truth, its meaning and message.

"Therefore, write down what you have seen, 

what is, and what is going to happen after this." Revelation 1:19

Who's Voice Do I Hear ...

... and What Is That Voice Saying?

I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, ...

“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” John 10:

In Jesus time, it was the practice for shepherds to coral several flocks into a single sheepfold over night for their protection and safety. In the morning, a shepherd would come to the gate, call out to the sheep, and only his sheep would come out and follow him. Such was the recognition and influence of the shepherd's voice. Knowing this gives us insight into why Jesus chose to use it as an image of his influence in our lives. To be a follower of Christ, we must have His Voice imprinted on our hearts.

This imprinting happens through our reflective, meditative prayer. When the Lord speaks, it has a positive effect on our hearts. When it is not the Lord's voice we are hearing, its effect is negative. In our previous Post, we discussed identifying these movements of our hearts as we prayed. In this Post, we will look at identifying and naming the specific things that are attached to the different movements of heart we feel.  

This is particularly helpful in matters having to do with choices. Here is an example of what I mean.

Supposing a friend invites you to spend a week with them at their new summer home. You are delighted with the invitation, especially since you are desperately in need of a break. You are about to accept when you remember, that it is the same week you promised another friend, that you would help them with some much needed renovations at their house. Both are good propositions; and after some thought, you decide to beg off helping your friend in favour of taking the week at the summer home.

But, having made this choice makes you feel conflicted. You feel sad for turning down a friend in need. What to do?

Now, a third friend calls you to commend you for offering to help your friend in need. They remark how kind and generous you are, especially since your friend could not possibly have done the work without you. This makes you feel very positive about yourself. So you reconsider your decision and choose to decline the holiday in favour of helping your friend in need.

That call from the third friend is likened to the Lord's Voice in prayer. Having been presented with choices, you make a decision. Now you take your decision to prayer. You stack your decision up against the images, examples and thoughts you see as you pray the scriptures. This sheds new light on the process that lead to your decision. In the light of the "grace of prayer", ether a confirmation or a rethinking of your choice emerges. Like the friend's voice in our example, the Voice of the Lord will lead you to a better choice, confirmed by its positive thoughts and feeling.

We can rationalize ourselves into all manner of choices. But there is no deceiving the Lord. A heart sincere and open to listening in prayer, will hear the Good Shepherd's voice. If your choice is a bad one you will want to move away from it. If it is a good one, it will draw you closer to the Lord.

For a more complete and comprehensive treatment of this subject, prayer and choosing, visit the Ignatian Spirituality Site.

"The sheep of the shepherd hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."

The Heart Knows

"Were not our hearts

 burning within us ..."

When we are in conversation with someone, and they are speaking while we are listening, there are certain dynamics happening within us. In our minds we evaluate what we hear, referencing it to what we understand and know to be true. But on an other level, what we hear may evoke certain responses on a deeper level, where our deeper emotions reside. Not only do we think about what we hear, we register various feelings about what we are taking in.

St. Ignatius recognized this to be true as one prayed and reflected on the scriptures, asking for a deeper understanding of its meaning and message to them personally. From this, he formed rules for identifying different ways one's heart may be moved in prayer. These are now known as the Ignatian Rules for Discernment. (Read more about the heart in prayer)

There are two general ways one's heart is moved in prayer; one is identified as Consolation the other as Desolation. Ignatius defines consolation as: 

• Every increase in faith, hope and love, and all interior joy that invites and attracts to what is heavenly, and to the salvation of our soul, by filling it with peace and quiet in its Creator and Lord.

He defines desolation as:

• What is entirely the opposite of consolation … darkness of soul, turmoil of spirit, inclination to what is low and earthly, restlessness arising from many disturbances which lead to lack of faith, lack of hope, and lack of love. The soul is wholly slothful, tepid, sad, and separated, as it were, from its Creator and Lord.

What is clear is that we need to have an understanding of what is going on in our hearts. "Know thyself." When you open the morning paper to look up the sports scores from the night before, you read down the list of scores as a matter of fact until you come to your favorite team. Now it's, "Oh no, they lost", or "Ya, they won". What makes this score different is not the numbers you are reading, rather, that you have a special attachment to the fortunes of this team. It means a lot to you.

When we take up a text to scripture for prayer, what, if any response it may evoke, tells the story of our spiritual state; from none to deep. What follows next is to understand why. This will require that we work at it. Besides our own investigation and study, having the guidance of one who is experienced in prayer and discernment is a great advantage.

For a comprehensive article  on this subject go to; Discernment: Recognizing God’s Voice, by Brian Incigneri.

There is the site, Ignatian Spirituality.

The Message

So far, in these notes on prayer, we have looked at five subjects:

1. Prayer, Hearing Is Believing
2. A Place To Pray
3. In His Presence
4. First Principle
5. Passage

These subjects are connected to a new series, on the New Evangelization. In order to evangelize, one must "know" and "understand" the Message they are proclaiming. Here, knowing flows directly from a personal experience of the Message encounter in prayer. Understanding of the Message is rooted in the heart, as one is deeply moved and their life is transformed by what they hear.

It is good and necessary to study scripture from an academic perspective, drawing on the rich resource of knowledge handed on through knowledgeable and dedicated scholars. But when one is taught by the Spirit in prayer, not only do they know about the Lord, they "know" the Lord as one whom they have met personally.

There is a beautiful and inspiring example of this in the gospel story of the two disciples encountering the risen Lord on the Road to Emmaus.    

• They know Jesus as the holy man of God from Galilee.
• They have heard him teach, saw his works of power and are deeply impressed.
• They number themselves among his followers.
• Their expectation about Jesus, like the others, has been crushed by his Crucifixion.
• They even have heard reports that he may still be alive.

Yet, it is not until they encounter him personally, that their faith becomes a true work of grace, not a product of man's doing. “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”

Only Grace can set our hearts burning within us, when the Spirit opens the scriptures. "...... Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures ......" It is from this experience of grace that the true evangelist springs forth.

What do I hear?

In the account of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, there is a particular sequence of events that serves as a helpful model for our prayer experience.

1. They are reviewing the events leading up to Jesus Crucifixion. We have a passage of scripture that we are pondering for our prayer. So we:

• ... retell the event in our own words, as if recounting it to someone else.
• ... who do I see, who stands out to me, who draws my attention, why?
• ... what are they doing, what are they saying, is it anything like what I would do?
• ... what impresses me, what repulses me, what puzzles me about the event?
• ... of the dialogue, describe what I hear in my own words ... what do I agree with, what do I disagree with?

2. Jesus enters into their discussion, things change.

• ... here I invite the Lord to enter my prayer, to speak to me, to guide and direct the course of what will follow in this prayer.
• ... now I speak to the Lord ... I redirect, what I have been considering, to the Lord, telling him how I see things, what moves me, what stumps me about this text.

3. Now Jesus speaks, they listen!

• ... am I listening or am I still trying to figure things out? (Be quiet myself)
• ... what new thoughts are emerging ... no mater how unusual?
• ... back to quiet, to listening.

4. "Were not our hearts ..."

• ... rather than answers, I look to my heart ... what is moving, changing the way I feel?
• ... what is uplifting, encouraging, inspiring, drawing me to it?
• ... do I feel encouraged to meet what challenges?

5. They urged Jesus, "stay with us ..."

• ... when a certain text stands out, we should stay with it, returning to the text as often as it continues to speak to us; even if we have been following a set outline of texts.

6. “They recounted what has happened … and how he was made known to them          

     in the breaking of the bread.”

• When Grace is at work, positive feelings remain with you, continuing to speak to our hearts, especially in places and at times when Grace is near, especially during the Eucharist.
• As we share what has been told to us, we see how others are moved by what we say.

The New Evangelist

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms. 1Cor. 2:12

Passage

Choosing a Passage of Scripture for Prayer

There are many different approaches one can use for choosing scripture passages for their prayer. In general, drawing on the daily Mass readings provides a very good source for texts. The scripture readings for Sundays  and Weekdays are design to go through the whole mystery of salvation, from beginning to end. Over a three year cycle of Sundays and a two year cycle for Weekdays, the greater part of the bible is read, including the whole of the New Testament.

Another approach is to use a book designed for prayer and meditation, that is structured around various themes. There are many such books from which to choose. Some online sites for suggestions:

* the WORD Among Us  * Salt+Light * Pauline Books & Media *
* American Catholic.org * US Catholic Bishops  *

It is not necessary to have a new passage every day. When a passage stands out for you, going back to it may prove profitable, as it takes you deeper into its particular message for you.

Often a scripture passage may just come from no fixed plan you may be using. You hear it, read it in passing and immediately it stands out for you. Sometimes just opening the bible randomly and pointing to a text allows the Spirit to lead you to the Lord's Voice for you.

Some may have a spiritual director to direct them, suggesting passages they deem appropriate. Being part of a praying group can be a excellent source of passages for prayer.

The key in all of this is to see scripture as your way to HEAR the Lord's voice speaking to you. This is not scripture study, it is a way to listen.

Review the page; Let Us Pray the Scriptures Together. See the different "senses" there are for the scriptures. 

First Principle

Why Am I Praying?

So far, in these notes on prayer, we have looked at three subjects:

1. Prayer, Hearing Is Believing
2. A Place To Pray
3. In His Presence

These subjects are part of the new series, on the New Evangelization.

Saint Ignatius, in his Spiritual Exercise, begins by having the person, praying the Exercises, look carefully at the fundamental reason upon which the whole of the Exercises rests. Why am I praying in the first place; indeed, why am I here in this world? He calls it, The PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION.

In Mark's gospel, we have an account of this very question being put to Jesus. It is framed in the form of a question about the Commandments. 

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,

“Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus replied, “The first is this:

Hear, O Israel!

The Lord our God is Lord alone!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul, with all your mind,

and with all your strength.

The second is this:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these.” 

Mk 12:28-34

Every structure is only as good as the foundation upon which it rests. For a journey to end successfully, it must fix its compass, at the outset, on the destination to be reached.   

Consider these parables spoken by Jesus.

I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the flood-waters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn't obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.” Lk 6:46

 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. He will first sit down and estimate the cost to see whether he has enough money to finish it, won’t he? Otherwise, if he lays a foundation and can’t finish the building, everyone who watches will begin to ridicule him and say, ‘This person started a building but couldn't finish it.’ Lk. 14:28

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it, because what profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? Mtt. 16:24

The corner stone is the most important building block of any structure because of it's perfect shape; and the direction in which it is placed will be used to calculate and set in place every stone to follow. All too often, people loose their way in their lives, because they have no clear direction for their lives. They well may ask the question, "why am I here", but do not have a clear answer to this all important question.

We are in this world by design. Our existence is not merely some happenstance of nature, we are here because the Designer of this universe placed us here. Our purpose is the one He gives us. Therefore, it is true to say, our lives are not really our own to do with as we will, they are to do His will. Since we did not create this world, nor create our selves in this time and place, it makes perfect sense that we should seek to discover who did, and why.

This being true, the decisions I make  in life must be evaluated, measured up to, the cornerstone principle of my life. How do I know if my life is on the straight and true, I draw a plum-line back to my cornerstone principle to see if it lines up. Then I make corrections as indicated. This is called discernment.

+ + + + + + + + + +

PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION - St. Ignatius

Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.

And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created.

From this it follows that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it.

For this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we are created.

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19

In His Presence

The Meeting

One of the most tender and personal encounters with Christ, one that helps us better appreciate this element of prayer, is the story of the Samaritan Woman meeting Jesus at the well. Their meeting was not planned, at least not by the Samaritan woman. Being the hottest time of the day, she was expecting to be alone, away from the accusatory remarks of the other women, because of her failed life. She comes alone bearing the burden of an empty jug and an empty heart. In their meeting, she fills a cup of water for Jesus to drink, but his real thirst is for her empty soul to be filled with the mercy and love only he can give. As their meeting ends, she goes to seek out those whom she had been avoiding, to announce with a joyful heart, "Come and see someone who has told me everything I have ever done - and has forgiven me." John Ch 4:

We often think of prayer as our going to God with our list of needs. While petition is a part of the purpose of prayer, its first purpose is presence, to encounter the Lord and his list of graces he wishes to bestow upon us. In the story of the Samaritan woman, when she discovers that Jesus is a holy man of God, she wants to discus the hot religious question of the day;  when it comes to places of worship, who has got it right, the Jews or the Samaritans? Jesus immediately redirects her attention to his deepest concern, her heart, release from the bondage of guilt, and true peace of soul.

When we pray in this way, our experience is no less real and dynamic than that of the Samaritan woman. Jesus will be present, it remains for us to begin to recognize him and to listen intently to what he has to say to us. He will lead us to that which is of greatest concern for us at this time. Prayer is never in vain. Our part is to bring our thirsting soul to the well of Jesus' love, and to drink fully of his grace. 

"Speak Lord, your servant in  listening."

A Place to Prayer

Choosing a Place for Prayer

Since devoting your whole attention to listening when you pray the scriptures is paramount,  choosing a place to pray with the least amount of distraction is most important. The competition for our attention in today's world is fierce,  so for many, this will be a challenge, one that will require some careful and thoughtful planning. Usually we discover something has to go in order to make room for the Lord's Voice. TV, phones, music, internet, not to mention other people, all contribute to filling the sound waves surrounding us. Some, of course, have control over their space all to themselves. For them, it is a much simpler task.

Some points to consider:

• Have a definite schedule - same time, same place is ideal. Think of it as an important appointment I must keep.
• This appointment is with the Lord. He WILL be there, waiting.
• The earlier, the better, before the day clutters up our minds.
• Inform other members of the household - this is your, "time out".
• Your posture during prayer is a consideration. Comfortable, (while not conducive to sleep of course) helps. 

It would obviously seem, that the sports stadium during a game, is a poor choice for a place for your prayer time. However, when choices are not in  your control, the Lord can deal with whatever the situation provides. Earphones and an a iPad type device can change planes and trains and highway gridlock into one's mobile chapel when necessity dictates. 

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio - Pope Francis

Hearing Is Believing

In the gospels we see accounts of Jesus at prayer, and in the account of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, we hear some of the words Jesus is saying in prayer. Clearly, when Jesus prays he enters into a "communion", presence with the Father. Consider these text:

• + And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness to me. His VOICE you have never heard, his form you have never seen; Jo.5:37
• + It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Jo.6:45
• + I have much to say about you and much to judge; but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him." Jo.8:26
• + I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father." Jo.8:38
• + For I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak. Jo.12:49
• + No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. Jo. 15:15

As Christians, when we pray, we enter into a communion of spirits with Jesus. We too, seek to "hear", (Lord speak ... I am listening.) This form of prayer is essential to the evangelist. Like Jesus, the evangelist is to proclaim what they hear. When Jesus said, "... you have not known him; I know him … and I keep his word." Jo.8:55 , he was showing the religious leaders what was missing in their leadership. How can you talk about someone you do not know?

Praying With Scriptures

The best place to begin praying, so as to hear the Voice of the Lord, is with the scriptures. Scripture is the Word of God. Already, God is speaking through the written Word. 

Listen! What do you Hear?

Learning how to "listen" to the scriptures is different from reading the scripture or studying the scriptures. You see the words on the page, the sound of the words comes to you as the reader speaks. But, what do you hear? Little children are often corrected, "... pay attention, I'm speaking to You!" The dictionary defines "attention" this way: 

(... a concentration of the mind on a single object or thought, especially one preferentially selected from the many, with a view to clarifying receptivity by narrowing the range of stimuli.)

When we come to prayer, our minds may be a blur of thinking about all manner of things, creating so much static in our minds that hearing the Lord's voice will be virtually impossible. Having a passage, even a verse, even a single word of scripture helps us to concentrate, and so begin the process of listening.

"Preferentially selected from the many ..."  Having a structured approach to selecting scripture for one's prayer, is most helpful. There are several approaches one can use. Choosing the best one for your spiritual journey at this time is very important. But it all begins when you open the Word and pray - "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."

More on selecting scripture for prayer to come.