[joke] Little Jason and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house.
Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served.
When Little Jason received his plate, he started eating right away.
"Jason! Please wait until we say our prayer." said her mother.
"I don't need to," the boy replied.
"Of course, you do" her mother insisted, "we always say a prayer before eating at our house."
"That's at our house," Jason explained "but this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook."
In the Anderson household, we always said a prayer before we ate. Not because the food was bad (my Mom is a great cook), but we prayed because that’s just what we did. And we always said the traditional "Before Meal Prayer" and it went something like this [say Before Meal Prayer extremely fast]. Then we’d immediately reach and grab food . . . because with six boys and one girl we were always hungry.
I wonder how many of you say some prayers without ever thinking about what you say? A classic one is the traditional Act of Contrition prayer that many of you old timers learned for the sacrament of Reconciliation. It is supposed to start with "Oh my God I am
heartily sorry for having offended thee. . ." But so many times I have heard, "Oh my God, I am hardly sorry . . ."
The gospel story is the about Jesus calling the disciples. He asks them to come and follow him. Their response is powerful: they left their fishing nets; they left what they were routinely doing; they left what was familiar and safe for them. I believe that Jesus calls each of us also, and maybe Jesus is asking us to leave our "regular routines" of doing things, especially our routine ways of praying." That is, to leave the security of "praying as we have always done" and to trust Jesus to bring us along further using some different forms of prayer.
Prayer is something that we can never do wrong, but it is something that we can always improve. Just like breathing . . . we can’t breathe wrong, but we could improve it by better posture, etc. So how can we improve our prayers? Well the most obvious one is actually to make the time for prayer. That is, pick a time of day that is good for you.
My best time for prayer is first thing in the morning. For some of you that’s not realistic . . . so choose another time, like before you fall asleep, or as you’re driving, or as you take a shower. Today we will have the Church open all afternoon (as we do once a month) for you to come and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. The secret is to be consistent. I don’t mean to be rigid, but generally to set a time each day to spend with God.
[Joke] One person’s prayer goes like this:
So far today, God, I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or over-indulgent. I'm really glad about that. But in a few minutes, God, I'm going to need some help because I am about to get out of bed and start my day. Amen.
Next, give yourself the time to pray. If you are too busy for 30 minutes, well then aim for 5 minutes. Perhaps it is lying in bed before you get out, or arriving here early before Mass to spend time in prayer?
Next find a place to prayer. It’s best for a place where you won’t be easily interrupted. For example a corner in your apartment, out on the patio, in your bed . . . and here’s my favorite: the bathroom! Hopefully you can have some privacy there.
So what do we say when praying? St. Teresa of Avilla says, "
Think of prayer as a conversation between friends, and good friends tell each other the truth." Think of your prayer as simply talking with God (aloud or in your head). Just talk . . . tell God about what is going on in your life. I tell people to tell God two things each day: one thing/event that occurred recently that was great (or fun) and one thing that was a challenge (or difficult). Just talk about it. Many of us use prayer only when we need something. What kind of friendship is that, if we only connect when we want something from the other . . . i.e. help me here, give me that? It’s OK to ask for things, but don’t make that your only kind of prayer. Connect with God. Connect with this friend wanting to hear about your day, your life.
Meister Eckhart (my favorite mystic from the 15
th century) says, "If the only prayer you make is one of ‘thanks’ that is enough." When we ask God for things those are called prayers of petition. Jewish Rabbi Abraham Heschel recommends, "Don’t prayer to get things, pray to be worthy to get things."
[Joke] Which reminds me of the story of little Natalie was kneeling beside her bed with her mother and her grandfather and softly saying her prayers, "Dear God, please bless Mummy and Daddy and all the family and please give me a good night's sleep." Suddenly she looked up and shouted, "And don't forget to give me a bicycle for my birthday!!" "There is no need to shout like that," said her mother, "God isn't hard of hearing." "No," said Natalie, "but Grandpa is."
But perhaps you could try some different kinds of prayer, especially if you haven’t tried them before. Or try a combination of these ideas . . .
-reading scripture. We are in Matthew’s gospel. That’s a great place to start.
-journaling. That’s my favorite.
-praying the rosary.
-meditation. That is, focusing on being quiet with God.
-using memorized prayers. Or memorize a new prayer.
-reflecting on a Christian song. Our Diocesan radio station FM129 is fabulous source for good music.
-praying with the newspaper, i.e. pick one world crisis and pray for the people involved.
-praying through a saint, reflecting on their example.
-a prayer of expression . . such as telling God what’s going on (or how you are feeling) through
drawing, or playing an instrument, or free dancing.
-meditating on one line that you heard here today at Mass (a line of a prayer, or song, or scripture).
[Joke] As the storm raged, the captain realized his ship was sinking fast. He called out, "Anyone here know how to pray?" One man stepped forward. "Aye, Captain, I know how to pray." "Good," said the captain, "you pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets . . . we're one short."
The key is to place yourself in the presence of God, however and wherever that works best for you. So if you have a style of praying, and you are feeling God’s presence . . . keep it up. But if you get stuck, or more likely if you haven’t been too faithful lately, try some different styles. Again, you cannot do it wrong, but you can always improve.
Theologian Fr. Karl Rahner says,
"Prayer is the opening of the heart to God." Isn’t that good?
Poet Mary Oliver wrote a wonderful poem about prayer titled "Thirst." In it, she says,
"I wake up with thirst for the goodness I do not have." That’s about as good a definition of prayer we can find.
"I wake up with thirst for the goodness I do not have."