Exploring the depth of our prayers
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.” — Luke 3:4
On this Second Sunday of Advent, we anticipate the birth of God’s only Son to become part of humanity.
It’s an amazing and unique event in the entire history of the world.
Our mother Mary was, herself, born without sin. That’s why this feast day is about Mary’s conception, not that of Jesus.
One explanation that I’ve heard of this is that the Ark of the Covenant must be unblemished. And since Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, Jesus, it is appropriate that she also be unblemished.
So it’s about faith, not scientific proof. And I’m quite fine with that.
For a while now, I’ve been praying my Rosary totally inside my head. Of course there’s the guilt … maybe I’m doing it wrong!
But I also know that God is in everything, and silent prayer is a powerful part of our tradition. So I figure that God, Mary, Jesus and the saints can hear me even when it’s just in my head.
What’s interesting is that I find it MUCH harder to stay on track when it’s just in my head. I lose the thread quite easily, and even switch from one prayer to another right in the middle.
So it’s good mental discipline for me to try to stay focused as much as I would if I were speaking out loud.
And I do need discipline and focus in my prayer life.
Today is the culmination of our Church Year, the feast of Christ the King.
It doesn’t seem that we relate much to monarchy in this country, so the concept of “King” seems distant, even quaint. It’s more like putting our Lord up on a pedestal of glory and honor.
Which is fine, I suppose, but it doesn’t really grab me. It might even cause me to distance myself from Christ.
I’ve realized that many of our prayers are asking God for something. Or Mary, or Jesus, or Joseph, or St. Michael the Archangel.
But here we have this unique celebration to … just say thank you. Not to ask for more. Or to have God fix things for us.
I need to switch that up!
We’re nudging up towards the end of the Church year – just a few weeks away!
Our readings today talk about the end times:
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.
“But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.”
— Daniel 12:2-3
Our sign of the cross seems like an imcomplete sentence: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
But WHAT exactly is in the name?
For me, the most powerful beginning to this sentence is: I strive to live my life in the name …
God is love.
And, as we read today, the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love others.
Sure, we would all like to be in a world where everyone’s all loving each other: supportive, generous, sharing. So if that’s what we all want, why is it that we haven’t created a world like that?
Yesterday was our celebration of all the saints, and today we’ve expanded it to All Souls.
It seems to be a uniquely Catholic tradition: spending a day considering ALL of humanity. Each and every one of us.
Even people who didn’t make it to heaven. Because we have to pray for everyone on The Journey, through all time and all space.
I get blown away by the concept of Communion of Saints. I’m connected to everyone, living or dead, past, present, or future.
Which is appropriate, as we’re all on the same journey, striving for communion with God.
Our Saints are those who have completed (or will complete) the journey. And I want to be there with them.