Persistence and Confidence in Prayer
We try to pray and sometimes we lag behind this very important activity. There are basically two reasons why: there is no time, and we are discouraged because God does not give us what we want. Let’s try to address these.
We have to make time! Our schedule is not magically going to open up so we can have time to pray; it has to be penciled in our daily program. In a generation where social media beckons us every moment, where streaming services offer something to watch any time we want, and where we seem we rush through life – this is exactly when we need to pray because it slows down our life.
The problem with not slowing down our life is we might not be able to see the good in it or the graces that God has given us. My favorite example is when we sit in a doctor’s office for an appointment. At first, we read magazines. If the doctor is not yet available, our mind wanders off looking at the different things around the office – the certificates on the wall, the wallpaper, the desk of the receptionist. When we have exhausted all we think we can see, we start to notice the cracks in the floor and dents in the furniture. It is when our mind slows down that we notice – really notice – the things around us. It is the same with prayer. It slows us down so we can see the goodness of God in the things and people he surrounds us with.
Prayer is also a response to God’s nudging. Regardless of our motivation to pray, it is God who always initiates it – even if we are asking something from God. The stories of the Bible are always about God responding to prayer. He “hears” the cry of the Israelites in Egypt so he frees them and takes them to the Promised Land. He responds to the Israelites who desire a king, so God first gives them judges, and then kings. He “listens” to Judith and Esther who makes them victorious over their enemies. But, the great mystery is that God has planted these longings in their hearts in the first place so he can finish his work of salvation. Since God always initiates prayer, wouldn’t it be rude for us to ignore him?
The high school friends, who were our best friends forever, faded into the dust of our memories because we lost touch over the years. Prayer is also our relationship with God. The daily conversations with him keep our relationship with him alive. It is what keeps him as our best friend forever. This is why we have make time every day as if it were an appointment. How sad would it be that the one who loves us most is cast into whatever time we can spare?
In the Garden of Eden, the devil tricked Adam and Eve into forgetting two qualities of prayer: persistence and confidence. This attitude is expressed in the story of the persistent person who begs a friend, in the middle of the night, to lend him bread (Luke 11:5-13). We must continue to ask things from God because he always hears us, and always answers us.
The other quality of confidence means we must trust the timing of God and his wisdom in whatever he answers us even if the answer is no. If we believe he is all-knowing and all-loving, then we should have confidence that he will not give us something that might be bad for us. It is this quality of being a child that fully trusts his Father that Christ exhorts in all of us.
If the Christian martyrs in the Coliseum prayed even if they were literally facing the jaws of death, how can we, who are free to pray, say we can’t pray? “Pray unceasingly,” Saint Paul tells us. Make an appointment with Our Lord every day.
Typology for Beginners
A Catholic Perspective on understanding the New Testament through the Old Testament
First-century Jews converted to Christianity in droves because of the way the New Testament was written to show Jesus was the Messiah promised by the Old Testament. We also learn about how Mary is the New Eve and the Ark of the Covenant in the way the writers portray her.
Through typology, the patterns that connect the Old and New Testaments make the Bible stories more accessible so that one becomes excited to read Sacred Scripture again.
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Beyond the Veil
Contemplating the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary
Prayer giants like Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Paul VI, Bl. Archbishop Fulton Sheen, and Bishop Robert Baron advocate that we contemplate on the mysteries of the rosary while we say the vocal prayers. Unfortunately, there are not many books that teach us how to do this. Beyond the Veil comes to the rescue by suggesting seven ways we can pray the rosary the way it was intended.
The larger part of the book offers mental images for each of the mysteries we can use in our contemplation, for how can we imagine the scenes in the rosary if we don't know about them?
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A Sky Full of Stars
Know Our Lady through her Titles in the Litany
The Church helps us understand who Mary is by honoring her with different titles in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Unfortunately, over time and difference of culture, we might not grasp what it is the Church is ascribing to her and lose that opportinity to get to know her.
In A Sky Full of Stars, each title of the Litany is explained so we get know Mary more and fall in love with her all over again.
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100 Things Every Catholic Should Know
Whether or not you are new to the Catholic Church, or struggling, or lapsed, or dynamically involved, this book will enlighten you with the essentials of the Faith that have been handed down to us by the apostles.
Each of the 100 topics is easy to read and distilled into bite-sized portions. Through cross-referencing, the book also shows how the topics are interrelated. Those who are new to the Faith will find this book an edifying handy reference, and those who have simply forgotten will find it a great review material that might spark a new love for God and religion.
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Posted by Joby Provido
