My Way Sunday
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happy pesach / passover
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how shall i pray?
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Regarding the laity during the mass, Pope Benedict XVI says in The Spirit of the Liturgy, “It must be plainly evident that the oratio (prayer/praying) is at the heart of the matter.” Elsewhere in the same document, “In this prayerful approach to participation there is no difference between priests and laity.” [from Fr. V.]

This refers to the efficacy and prominence of prayer in the liturgy, not to physical posture or gesture. That is another issue.
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2nd-3rd century instructions for personal prayer
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Origen (c.185-253), priest and theologian
Prayer, 31, 2-3 (©Classics of Western Spirituality)
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"Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son"

It seems to me that the person who is about to pray should withdraw for a little and prepare himself, and so become more attentive and active for the whole of his prayer. He should cast away all temptation and troubling thoughts and remind himself, so far as he is able, of the Majesty whom he approaches, and that it is impious to approach Him carelessly, sluggishly, and disdainfully; and he should put away all extraneous things. This is how he should come to prayer: stretching out his soul, as it were, instead of his hands; straining his mind toward God instead of his eyes; raising his governing reason from the ground and standing it before the Lord of all instead of standing. All malice toward any one of those who seem to have wronged him he should put away as far as anyone would wish God to put away His malice toward him, if he had wronged and sinned against many of his neighbours or had done anything whatever he was conscious of being against right reason. And although there are a great many different positions for the body, he should not doubt that the position with the hands outstretched and the eyes lifted up is to be preferred before all others, because it bears in prayer the image of characteristics befitting the soul and applies it to the body. I mean that this position must be preferred barring any chance circumstance. For under certain circumstances it is allowed to pray properly sometimes sitting... or even lying down... And kneeling is necessary when someone is going to speak against his own sins before God, since he is making supplication for their healing and their forgiveness. We must understand that it symbolizes someone who has fallen down and become obedient, since Paul says, "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named" (Eph. 3:14-15). And spiritual kneeling is called this because every single existing creature at the name of Jesus has fallen down before God and humbled himself to Him. The Apostle seems to me to indicate this by the phrase "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Phil 2:10).
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okay, guys, let's step up to the plate
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a mini-series: leadership requires core values - part 1
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do the right things for the right reasons
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In one of the sermons recorded in Matthew's gospel, he spotlights Jeus' major emphasis on values. This week we'll look at Mt 6:1-8, 16-18 [NJB-ce].
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¹ 'Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract attention; otherwise you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven. ² So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win human admiration. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward. ³ But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; ⁴ your alms-giving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you. ⁵ 'And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward. ⁶ But when you pray, go to your private room, shut yourself in, and so pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you. ⁷ 'In your prayers do not babble as the gentiles do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. ⁸ Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

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¹⁶ 'When you are fasting, do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they go about looking unsightly to let people know they are fasting. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put scent on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
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Now we have more instruction regarding prayer. How do we stack-up?

The key thing to remember here is this: we're working towards developing specific core values - values we need if we're going to be leaders in the kingdom here on earth. Now, how do I interpret Matthew's rendering of Jesus' words? How do I apply them?

uncle jim
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My Way Sunday
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life is hard - a living death is harder still
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Several years ago, I went to the hospital to visit a late 50's year old woman. It was a combination of pulmonary and heart issues that had her hospitalized again.

She had endured a long hard-lived life of alcohol and cigarettes and a number of former 'husbands'. Her first husband, by whom she bore 5 children, died at an early age in an automobile accident. She worked several low-paying jobs to make ends meet.

I know one of her sons. He greatly admires his mother for the hardships she endured while trying to raise him and his brothers and sisters. He himself has suffered similar problems [alcohol and cigarettes] and has done 'hard time' in a state penitentiary.

Since out of prison, he has a good skilled job, is married, and does have several children born of previous relationships. He tries hard to enjoy the toys of the material life he's working so hard to acquire.

His family had never been 'church' people. In the past 5 years or so, he has asked me to pray for particular needs in his family several times. That's why I visited his mother. At the conclusion of our visit, I asked her if she would mind if I prayed for her.

Within a few days, she was sent home. She was placed on heart medication and had to use a portable oxygen tank. She was instructed to stop smoking and drinking.

A few years earlier she had a cancerous breast removed. Shortly before this hospitalization a lump was discovered in her other breast. She just knew she was going to lose that breast, too - she just knew it. Somehow, this seemed more significant to her than her heart and respiratory problems.

She finally went in to follow-up on the breast lump - it no longer existed. Unexplainable to her and her physician, they ordered another round of exams. They came back with the same results - no lump.

She attributed it to my visit and my prayer that God would heal her. She still had heart and lung problems, but her breast had been healed. My experience is to praise God and not try to explain the rest.

A couple of weeks ago, mom was back in the hospital ... couldn't breathe ... lungs filling up with fluids - and she had been smoking and drinking again. I visited on her second day. Her current 'husband' was there in the room, as was one of her other adult sons who had his 12-year old boy with him to visit grandma.

At the conclusion of the visit, I asked if I could pray with her. She seemed eager. Her husband bowed his head; the son did like-wise, and I heard the grandson say to his dad, "What should I do?" - dad replied to just bow his head and be quiet. When done, I told her I'd be back in a couple of days.

I went back, but the day after my previous visit, her lungs were cleared, and her heart was functioning pretty normally. They kept her an extra day and sent her home.

Medicine, or miracle? I surely do not know, but I know God loves her.

She's on medication, and oxygen, and for now has quit the cigarettes and alcohol. Life is hard - I hope she can stay off both of those, but I will not be surprised to hear she is not.

God meets us where we are. Sometimes we recognize Him and welcome Him and start to listen to Him. I don't know where she is in that part of her experience, but I know God is reaching out to her. He is 'thirsting' for her, as He does for all of us.

uncle jim
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Commentary of the day

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), foundress of the Missionary Sisters of Charity
Letter to all her community, called her “Spiritual Testament”

"Give me a drink"

Jesus’ words “I thirst” (Jn 19,28), written on the wall of all our chapels, are not something from the past but are alive, here and now; they are spoken for you. Do you believe this? If you do, you will understand and feel his presence. Let him be as intimately within you as he is in me; that is the greatest joy you could give me. I will try and help you to understand this but Jesus himself is the only one who can say to you “I thirst!” Listen to your own name. And not just once. Every day. If you listen with your heart, you will hear, you will understand. Why did Jesus say: “I thirst”? What is its meaning? It is very difficult to explain it in words… Nevertheless, if you could grasp one, single thing from this letter, let it be this: “I thirst” is an even more profound word than if Jesus had simply said “I love you”. So long as you fail to realise, and in a deeply intimate way, that Jesus thirsts for you, you cannot possibly know what it is he wants to be for you, nor what he wants you to be for him. The heart and soul of the Missionaries of Charity consists entirely in this: the thirst of Jesus’ heart, hidden in the poor. This alone is at the origin of all that makes up our life. It sets before us both the goal … and the spirit of our Congregation. To quench the thirst of Jesus living among us is the entire justification for our existence and our exclusive goal. Is there anything more than this we could say about ourselves, namely, that this is our sole motive for living.

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worry...TRUST...worry...TRUST...worry...TRUST...TRUST...TRUST...

Vid Way Tuesday
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There are moments every day when I lose faith - when I no longer place my trust in God. You, the onlooker, may not see it, but it happens. Some days I just worry all day...or at least it feels that way. I can say a prayer for help but my mind just doesn't stop easily - it keeps reminding me of this problem or that situation or the one that hasn't yet arrived.

Solitude with the Lord is so hard for me at times - yet I know it is what I need. I read on someone's blog recently, in a quote by a Saint, [paraphrased] that everyone needs to pray for one hour every day - and for those who don't have the time to pray one hour a day, they need to pray for two hours. I need the two.

My business has not been doing well lately.
A key employee is hospitalized.
I don't have enough money saved for the future.
Insurance costs are doing me in.
Why do other people succeed financially and I struggle?
There just are not enough hours in the day to get it all done.
I want to do more for others, but I seem to drop the ball.
Memory gets shorter - list of things to remember gets longer.
I seldom make enough time to pray like I should.
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'Click' the above > then relax before the Lord for a few minutes.
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STOP WORRYING.
Yeh, right ... easy for you to say.

Place my TRUST in God and not myself.
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Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the universe...

Any Way Saturday

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As a Christian, have you ever celebrated the 'opening of' or 'start of' the Lord's Day on the vigil of Sunday - that is, on Saturday eve after sundown? That is what the Jews do on Friday eve, the vigil of their shabbat [sabbath] . They celebrate this special day in their week with a special meal on Friday evening. For Christians, we can do the same thing on Saturday eve, the vigil of our Lord's Day. Many of the prayers used in the ceremonial blessings of this meal are in the form of:

Berakhot [Hebrew] = Blessings

A berakhah (blessing - singular) is a prayer that is very common in Judaism. Berakhot (blessings - plural) all start with the word barukh (blessed or praised).

The words barukh and berakhah refer to the practice of showing respect by bending the knee and bowing. There are several places in Jewish liturgy where this gesture is performed.

According to Jewish tradition, a person should recite 100 berakhot each day! There are dozens of everyday occurrences that require berakhot.

Who Blesses Whom?

Many English-speaking people find the idea of berakhot confusing. To them,"blessing" seems to imply the conferring of some benefit on the person being spoken to. In Catholic tradition, confession begins by asking the priest for a blessing [Bless me , Father, ...]. In a berakhah, the person saying the blessing is speaking to G-d. When we recite a berakhah we are expressing wonder at how blessed G-d is.

Content of a Berakhah

Berakhot recited before enjoying a material pleasure, such as eating, drinking or wearing new clothes, acknowledge G-d as the creator of what we are about to use. The berakhah for bread praises G-d as the one "who brings forth bread from the earth." The berakhah for wearing new clothing praises G-d as the one "who clothes the naked."

Berakhot recited before performing a mitzvah (commandment), such as washing hands or lighting candles, praise G-d as the one "who sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to..." do whatever it is we are about to do. A person who performs a mitzvah with a sense of obligation is considered more meritorious than a person who performs the same mitzvah because he feels like it. The berakhah focuses attention on performing a religious duty with a sense of obligation.

Berakhot recited at special times and events acknowledge G-d as the ultimate source of all good and evil. When we see or hear something bad, a berakhah underscores that things that appear to be bad happen for a reason that is ultimately just.

Form of a Berakhah

All berakhot use the phrase "Barukh atah Ha-shem [or Adonai], Elokaynu, melekh ha-olam," Blessed art thou L-rd, our G-d, King of the Universe.

Thou (and the corresponding Hebrew atah) is the informal, familiar second person pronoun, used for friends and relatives. This expresses our intimate relationship with G-d.

Immediately after this phrase, the berakhah shifts into the third person. This grammatical faux pas is intentional. This shift is a deliberately jarring way of expressing the fact that G-d is simultaneously close to us and yet transcendent. This paradox is at the heart of the Jewish relationship with G-d.
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For a more complete treatment of this topic, link to Judaism 101.
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Now it is your turn.

Try it this week end - tonight, Saturday eve - the vigil of our Lord's Day. Write your own berakhot [blessings] using the form above - ie: Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who commanded us to keep holy the Lord's Day.

Share with us some of those prayers by writing them in the 'comment box'. We may post them in an article on this blog.
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