Prayer Types (17th Sunday, Year C)

To listen to this homily, click here.

About a month ago I bought my truck. Really wished I could have taken Abraham with me. Barters with God in our great 1st reading. Somehow gets God to agree to save Sodom if Abraham can find 10 righteous people. Gets the Lord to that number from 50, a 

savings of 80%!

First reading describes one type of prayer with God, prayer of petition, asking God for things. This is the type of prayer most people think of, probably the most common or popular and it is a fundamental and important part of developing a relationship with God. He wants us to ask him for things and we need to tell him what we want and desire. We should not be afraid to show him our heart.

Catechism defines prayer as the lifting of the mind and heart to God. John Henry Newman says prayer is “cor et cor loquitur” which is Latin for “heart speaking to heart.” St. Teresa of Avila called prayer, “nothing more than sharing between friends”. 

How do we look at prayer? Do we think of it in terms of the saints, who saw it as an exercise of friendship with God? How often do we make it complicated? Or worry about saying the right words? As a result we miss out on the beauty of prayer and see it as a chore or boring obligation!

No matter who we are, our prayer will go through cycles: highs and lows, feast and famine, consolation and desolation. This is normal. St. Theresa of Avila had about 20 years where her prayer was difficult and felt dry. Blessed. Teresa of Calcutta revealed that much of her prayer felt uninspired and unfruitful. What makes our prayer life-changing is not how it feels but how faithful we are to it. We cannot let our feelings decide whether we pray or not.

I can tell you that my prayer has been affected by the some of the troubling events of the past few months. These tragedies have made it more difficult to pray, which I am sure the devil wants. The killing of innocent people, especially the terror attacks in France, Orlando, and Turkey, have really filled me with anger and made me ask God, “where are you right now?” Is there any hope for our world which is filled with so much hatred and violence? Three of my family members are police officers and that too has been part of my prayer. Prayer for their safety and all who uphold law and order. Sadness for the officers who have been ambushed in the name of revenge. To be really honest, I have been asking God for the help not to let my own heart become contaminated by hatred for those who have so little regard for the lives of others. I need his help not to become bitter or cynical about the world. Sometimes I just  have to sit before God and share with him the nasty feelings and thoughts that I am experiencing. Even this can be prayer as long as it is turned over to God; it doesn’t have to be nice and perfect like some holy card.

Our readings today teach us about prayer. Prayer of petition for sure. But we also learn about the other three types of prayer as well. There is prayer of adoration, where we praise God for all the good he has done and for his beauty and perfection. Nature has a wonderful way of moving our hearts in this direction. This prayer reminds us that God is God and we are not…and that is a very good thing. There is also prayer of reparation, where we tell God we are sorry for our sins and offenses against him and others. This type of prayer is very healing for our souls and often leads us to repair the damage of our pride and selfishness against other people. Properly done, prayers of reparation bring peace, joy, and new life to our friendship with God and other people. Finally, there is prayer of thanksgiving, where we thank God for the blessings in our life, large and small. The more we practice this type of prayer, the more we see God’s hand taking care of us and providing for what we need. It’s almost magical, to be honest with you. If you take a few moments each day to thank God for 3 , 4, or 5 blessings in your day, you will start realizing how close he is to you, guaranteed! And you will be so content and grateful as well! 

To wrap things up on prayer today, I want to leave you with beautiful little meditation on the “Our Father,” a version of which we heard from St. Luke’s gospel. 

"I cannot say `our' if I live only for myself. I cannot say `Father' if I do not approach God like a child. I cannot say `who art in heaven' if I am not laying up some treasure there right now. I cannot say `Hallowed be thy name' if I am careless with that name. I cannot say `Thy kingdom come' if I am not working to make it a reality in the here and now. I cannot say `Thy will be done' if I am resentful of that will for me at this moment. I cannot say `on earth as it is in heaven' if I don't look on heaven as my future home. I cannot say `Give us our daily bread' if I am overanxious about tomorrow. I cannot say `Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us' if I am waiting to settle a score with someone. I cannot say `Lead us not into temptation' if I deliberately put myself in a place to be tempted. I cannot say `Deliver us from evil' if I am not prepared to pray as though everything depends on God and work as though as everything depends on me."  

May we be people of prayer. May we deepen our friendship with God for our own good and the good of the world.

Martha and Mary (16th Sunday, Year C)

To listen to this homily, click here.

Today’s short gospel is the famous story of Martha and Mary, a story that most of us are quite familiar with. This account of two sisters, one active, one contemplative is somewhat controversial. Most of us can’t help but take sides, more than likely, being Americans, we sympathize more with Martha than with Mary.  Our country was founded by and large by Puritans with a solid protestant work ethic. In other words, being a productive member of society, providing for yourself and your family was a sign of your personal salvation and a fulfillment of your personal calling. Unconsciously, this work ethic has influenced every aspect of American life and commerce. The upside is that in a relatively short time we have become the most prosperous nation on earth. The downside is that Americans tend to be workaholics and focused on results, dividends, and the bottom line at the expense of enjoying life and quality time with family. 

Believe it or not, this little sociological fact influences the way that we pray, interpret the gospel, and relate to God!  

Let’s take another look at the gospel. Jesus and his disciples are traveling and preaching and they are welcomed into the house of Martha and Mary to find some rest and food. These sisters are practicing the impeccable hospitality that is expected in Middle-Eastern cultures, an openness to visitors that was exemplified by Abraham and Sarah’s example some 2000 years earlier. Now there were no phones in those days, so Jesus was unable to call ahead and say, “hey, I should be there around 5 or 6 in the evening.” And there were certainly no Schnucks or Dierbergs or Jimmie Johns to run to and get a quick meal! When a guest like Jesus arrived, it was often a frantic race to get everything prepared. There were a variety of tasks to be accomplished from drawing water for washing and cooking to preparing the meal from scratch. 

With this chaotic picture in mind, we can now proceed to the scene of the gospel.  Poor Martha is running around making sure everyone is being adequately cared for. Food had to be prepared, an animal had to be slaughtered and processed, everything had to be cooked and the guests had to be checked on. I suspect that most of the moms here in Church know exactly how Martha was feeling that day! Overwhelmed, Martha sees her sister Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus instead of helping her get dinner ready. This is too much and Martha snaps. She goes up to Jesus and says like any frustrated, hard-working sister would, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." 

This seems reasonable enough. Certainly Jesus was aware of the tremendous burden experienced by Martha and would want her sister to lend her a hand. It seems to most of us, myself included, that Mary needs to get with the program and do her fair share. She can sit and listen during dinner or after everything is ready. However, Jesus does not answer as we might expect. He tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part and it shall not be taken from her!

But what does this mean? Why is Mary’s choice the better one? What does it say about Martha’s diligent efforts to preserve customs of hospitality? Does Jesus take the side of loafers and listeners over the efforts of hard-working souls?

It is important for us to understand the nature of Jesus’ response to Martha’s request. It is not so much a rebuke or scolding as it is an invitation for her to enjoy what her sister Mary has already discovered. Martha focused so much on feeding Christ she failed to realize that Christ first desired to feed her with his saving message. Nor does Christ condemn the good things that Martha is trying to accomplish. He does not say that hospitality or hard work are bad things. Rather, he makes it clear that spending time in contemplation of the saving truths of the gospel is even more important. Finally, Jesus is not advocating some sort of escapism from reality or responsibility. I imagine our story today would have ended much differently if Mary was sitting at the Lord’s feet simply to get out of work.

The story of Martha and Mary is not a story about right or wrong, good or evil. It is more accurately a story about two good things, one better than the other and the importance of priorities. I can’t think of a more relevant lesson for you and me, living as Americans in the 21st century. Most of us spend our time doing a great deal of work and making most of our choices between two or more good things. So many of us have no trouble filling up a day with all of the different responsibilities we are expected to fulfill, from cultural customs, caring for family, to meeting our goals, and the expectations of others. It’s easy to become like modern Martha’s, decent people, busy doing lots of good things, and we ignore the example of Mary. How many of us take time each and every day to sit in silence before God for an hour, for 30 minutes, for even 15 minutes? How often do we pray in a spirit of silence and openness, not asking for favors but simply listening for what God has to say?  How willing are we to turn off the TV, silence the cell phone, shut down the computer, and give God some quality time to speak to our minds, hearts, and souls?

The beautiful story of Mary and Martha and the reaction it provokes, shows us something about ourselves. As Americans, we are pre-disposed to give our work and our responsibilities the highest priority. And there is good in that. But this is not what is most important. The better part is to take time daily to sit at the feet of Jesus in quiet prayer, to waste time with the Lord as many of the great saints have described it. No one is too busy for this, it is not the exclusive privilege of priests or religious, and there is no excuse for any of us to neglect this quiet time which gives life and grace to all that we do. We will always have work that is unfinished, things to check off our lists, and more practical things to do but we will only have so much time on this earth to come to know Christ and love him as Lord.  

So embrace the example of Martha, who so graciously sought to serve and feed the body of Christ, when he came. But first, and always first, imitate her sister Mary in placing yourself quietly at the feet of the Lord, so that you may be fed with the words of everlasting Life and experience the peace and grace that comes from choosing the better part.