29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME–10/18/98
by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL READINGS: EX 17:8-13; LK 18:1-8
A. For forty years the Israelites had wandered in the desert and now they were approaching the Promised Land. And it was then, as their long journey came to an end, that they faced the most fearsome enemy since Pharaoh had sent his horses, his chariots and his charioteers after them. The nation of Amalek had come to give battle, to prevent the Chosen People from going further towards the Promised Land--the nation of Amalek, the Amalekites, had come to destroy Israel. And this time there was no Red Sea to swallow up the enemy; there was only dry, desert land between the People of Israel and the armies of Amalek.
1. The People were afraid, but Moses was not. He was old and could no longer lead the People in battle, but he asked Joshua to lead the fighting men. Old he may have been, but Moses knew what was needed. After all, he had spoken face to face with God! And he could speak again to the Lord.
2. Moses climbed a hill and he stood with his staff, the staff of God, his staff outstretched so that all could see. And he prayed; he prayed for Israel. And an amazing thing happened. Against all odds, the Israelites fought well. As long as Moses held up his arms, the Israelites had the better of the battle. But Moses was old, and he tired easily, and gradually, his arms got lower and lower. And when that happened, the Israelites began to lose the battle. Two men came and got Moses a tall rock to sit on, and they stood by his side and held up his arms. All day long they did this, and the Israelites again had the better of the battle. And at sunset, the victory was theirs.
3. The moral of the story: Prayer takes effort, but the effort brings results.
B. In the Gospel today, Jesus says to pray always and not lose heart. He tells a story about the persistent widow who keeps coming to a corrupt and evil judge. The judge does not like doing good; he does not like widows, but to shut her up he gives her what she wants. And Jesus says, if even evil people will do good if they are badgered enough, God who is all good will surely listen to the prayers of a persistent pray-er. Prayer takes effort, but the effort brings results.
II. Frustrations in Prayer
A. We all feel frustrated in our prayers. We either feel we cannot reach God, or we don't know how to pray well, or we wonder if praying does any good. There is one fact you should know: human beings pray no matter what religion they belong to. It is a natural thing among humans so I'm not going to take time to justify whether we should pray or not--people pray. But what happens, particularly among the young, and among many adults is that our prayer is ineffective and we get discouraged because we don't know the basic facts of how to pray.
B. Think about this. There are some basic points of effective prayer. I’m not expecting you to remember all of these but maybe some will be helpful. Let’s apply these points to Mass and then you can apply them to your own personal prayer life.
III. Basic Points Of Effective Prayer.
A. Decide to Pray. The first step in effective prayer is choice. Each of us has to choose to pray. Notice I frame this as a decision, not whether I like to pray or not. Sometimes, I don't feel like praying, but I still decide to pray, because I know I need it. To the young who are at Mass today, particularly the high school folks--this is the big step for you. A decision to pray means I decide that I need to pray. If I just go with my feelings--a headache, a more exciting alternative like sleeping a little later, something better to do with friends--if I just go with my feelings, I will not come to Mass. But if I have determined I need God, then I decide to pray, to go to Mass whether I feel like coming or not. I love God; therefore, I will do what is necessary to preserve my relationship with God, whether I feel like it or not. Prayer takes effort.
B. Get Your Body Ready To Pray. We are creatures of flesh and blood. If our bodies are not prepared to pray, chances are we won't pray well. How does a person get his/her body ready to pray?
1. Fasting. Did you know that we are required to fast an hour from food and drink before receiving Communion? Why? Because we need to tell our bodies that we are going to receive someone special--our Lord. We need to get our bodies a little bit on edge so that we can be more aware of what's happening around us. Think about it, you wouldn't go play a football game after you just ate a huge meal--you would be sluggish, you would not be at your most alert, you wouldn't be paying attention. The same is true with meeting God. Fasting heightens our awareness. Prayer takes effort.
2. Personal Appearance and Manners. In my time as priest, I've seen people come to Mass wearing Playboy T-shirts, shirts with risque or obscene or vulgar lettering, people who chew gum, wear hats in church, or are in filthy clothes. They probably don’t mean to be disrespectful; they’re just not thinking. We would never go see an important person doing those things--why would we want to see God like that? What people wear–as long as it isn’t offensive–isn’t that important to me; I’m just glad to see them here. But when we take a little extra time to look a little extra good, we prepare our minds and hearts to welcome God–it’s an attitude thing. If we don't, we remain kind of dense and unable to recognize the presence of God. As far as manners go, I think we would all get a lot more out of Mass if we remembered who we are--the Church--and who we are coming to see--Christ. The Mass is the holiest action we do as Christians, and when we are popping up and down in our seats to go out to the bathroom or go get a drink of water, we become disrespectful of God. It's distracting to others, it disrupts that person's own prayer, and it's disrespectful to God. Besides, we just don't need a stretch break during Mass. Of course there are always exceptions: taking a child out who is crying--that just makes sense, and bless you parents who do so, or if there is an emergency--of course that's ok, but we all ought to try to get more into focussing on what we are all about here at Mass. That's also why I am so strongly against leaving early--unless it's an emergency–it's like slapping Christ's face. To leave Christ in order to be first out of the parking lot?--that's pretty bold and disrespectful. Again there are exceptions, but not many. Christ asked his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemani--"Can you not stay with me one hour?" If we answer no, then we betray him just like his disciples did. Prayer takes effort.
3. Posture and Gesture. Getting our bodies ready to pray also means understanding the postures and gestures we do. We stand when we praise God; we kneel when we adore God or say we are sorry to God; we sit when we hear God's teaching. Folding our hands reminds us that we are God's servants. Genuflecting reminds us that God is present here. Blessing ourselves with holy water reminds us that we are baptized and Christ has saved us by means of the Cross. All these postures and gestures help discipline our bodies so that we can really be aware of the presence of God. Trust me, it works. It's a time honored tradition practiced by centuries of Catholics. Prayer takes effort.
C. Focus On The Lord. If we've done the above, then our minds are ready to focus on the Lord. And here's how we do it:
1. Take Your Distractions to God. Whether its wiggling squirming kids, or the bad week you've had, or the burdens you carry, just take them to God. Everybody worries about distractions in prayer--we are to pray out of our need. Turn to God and tell him about those things that distract you; lay those things at God's feet and you will find it easier to pray.
2. Realize That God Is With You. God is not up there, or someplace else--he is here with us in prayer. At Mass, I do something that our Bishop taught me to do. At the elevation, when the Host is held up and when the Chalice is held up, he stops for a long time, and I do that too. Why? Because at that moment, Christ becomes truly present in the Eucharist, and in that silence I want you to really turn your minds to what has happened here. Because we come here as a Church, Christ comes to visit us in a real way. Bread and wine are changed and become our God. Today and in the Sundays to come, during that silence as I hold up our God, think about what Christ has done for you and worship him.
3. Adore God. Don't just ask for things; adore the Lord. God doesn't need our worship, but we do. We need to worship Christ as Lord and Savior and pledge our loyalty and fidelity to him. When you receive Communion, sign yourself before or after you receive and go back to your pew and pray and talk to the Lord in song or in private prayer. Prayer takes effort.
D. There--that's Basic Prayer 101. If we try these little practical helps here at Mass, we can also try them in our own prayer life. I guarantee that they will make you more aware of God. The Scriptures are clear about the basic message for this Sunday: Prayer takes effort; but that effort brings results. If Moses could conquer an army through prayer, we certainly should be able to win the battles in our lives through the power of prayer.
I. Prayer Takes Effort!
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