Thoughts on Prayer
“Saint Paul tells us: God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has caused light to shine in our hearts, so that we might receive the revelation of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. We know then the place where Christ is shining within us. He is the eternal splendor enlightening our minds and our hearts. He was sent by the Father to shine on us in the glory of his face, and so enable us to see what is eternal and heavenly, where before we were imprisoned in the darkness of this world.” (1)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reveals that we were created for an eternal relationship with God. The very desire in the heart for this communion comes from God himself, it is already his promise making itself known in the center of the heart; and when God begins his work in us, he will “bring it to completion.” (2)
According to the Catechism, “the wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours.” (3)
“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (4)
Josef von Hempel, Chistus und die Samariterin, 1823; Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain; additional artwork and collage by Juliette Pierce Kent.
God meets each of us exactly where we are, in all our worries, struggles, and sufferings; as well as in our hopes and dreams, especially those we keep buried deep within, those we are afraid to even hope for, that may have been discarded somewhere during the long march through the valley of life. Our Father knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what truly makes us happy, and He invites us into His peace.
Andreas Achenbach, Sunset after a Storm on the Coast of Sicily, 1853: Met Museum Open Access; Public Domain; additional art and collage by Juliette Pierce Kent.
In the writings of the Catholic saints, the human heart is often likened to a cloister, or a sanctuary. In Church tradition, the heart is closely related to the soul. The great mystic, St. Teresa of Avila described the soul as a radiant crystal; or as a mansion with many rooms. When I read what the saints have to say about the soul, I sense their struggle to convey in words, or even with images, the reality of its beauty and inestimable worth. They all agree that it is a treasure beyond our comprehension.
In prayer, we become aware of the soul as the most essential aspect of our being. When we give ourselves over to God we become our most true and unique self. Far from being absorbed into a Godhead, we are actually set free from the tiny prison of our false understanding of ourselves.
The Catechism of the Church defines the soul as the “spiritual principle of human beings. The soul is the subject of human consciousness and freedom; soul and body together form one unique human nature. Each human soul is individual and immortal, immediately created by God.” (5)
Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, likened Christian contemplation (a deep form of prayer) as “finding the point in you where you are here and now being created by God.” (6) This is the fundamental mystery of our existence: we were not only once created, but are continually being created by God, moment to moment. We are held in His gaze. In a very true sense, if God were to ‘look away’ from His creation it would vanish. Prayer is resting in this point of our being, the source of all we are and can ever be; it is waiting on God, listening long and deeply, to His voice.
Prayer is spending time with God: speaking and listening, giving and receiving. I have heard that God works in secret, weaving His grace through the fabric of our being. When we give ourselves over to Him, we can only wait patiently; but there is tremendous peace and joy in this obedience, in this anticipation of His kingdom. Here and now.
“If we draw near to God in prayer, we will discover his presence in our lives. We will discover his love. We will discover his peace. We will discover who we really are and our ultimate calling and purpose.” (7)
References:
(1) Explanations of the Psalms, by Saint Ambrose, bishop; a reading from the Book of Hours.
(2) Phil 1:6
(3) Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2560
(4) John 4:10
(5) Catechism of the Catholic Church, 362
(6) Bishop Robert Barron, on Thomas Merton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X8fp2CvQmA
(7) Dan Burke, Into the Deep, Finding Peace Through Prayer, Beacon Publishing, 2016.