Having a conversation with God

(Originally written for Church bulletin)

In our Gospel for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus tells us “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night?” What is this calling out that Jesus is telling us to do? The answer is prayer.

We communicate with God through prayer. When there is communication between two beings, a conversation is taking place. When we pray, we are conversing with God. Conversation is how we grow in knowledge; it is how we learn about others and it is how we fall in love. These are all the things Jesus desires us to do with his Father. Honest prayer will keep us grounded in humility as we acknowledge our weaknesses. Prayer will build us up in faith as we allow God to work through us in our humility. God is waiting to hear you call out to him through daily prayer. You will be blessed by many graces when He answers your call.

Astros Baseball, Technology and Our Prayer Life

I grew up listening to the Houston Astros baseball games on the radio.  This was a time before cable or satellite television. It was before Internet streaming and the MLB At Bat app.  I remember walking around the house carrying my little transistor radio tuned to the game.  When the Astros played on the west coast, the games would not start until after 9:00 pm so I would tie my radio to the bed rail.   I could not stay awake for the whole game and was afraid my radio would fall off the bed.

Over the years though the radio broadcast of the baseball games were either dropped or carried by a station whose power output at night was so weak I could not pick up the games anymore.  Then the MLB At Bat app. came along.  For one small yearly fee I could again listen to the radio broadcast of the Astros.  Technology kept improving to the point I was then able to receive televised broadcast of all the Astros baseball games. It was offered through the digital television provider I was using.  I was now able to watch every Astros baseball game on television.  That first year I watched every televised Astros game except for the few day games that were played during the week.  Everything was right in the world of baseball.

This past winter though I switch my digital television provider.  It was just better for me and my family.  The drawback: no more Astros televised baseball games.  I went back to using the MLB At Bat app. and listening to the radio broadcast of the games.  Do I miss watching the games?  Yes.  I miss not seeing the great catches, the homeruns and the multiple reply angles that are shown.  What I do not miss was the feeling of being tied down to the television.  I felt if I moved away from the television I could miss some exciting moment of the game.  By listening to the radio broadcast I "see" the game in my mind as I did when I was a little kid.  I am free to move around more and do other things as I listen to the game.

What I have learned from all of this is that sometimes we do not need everything we think we do.  If you feel your spiritual life waning maybe you do not have the prayer life that is best for you.  I did not give up on the Astros just because I could not watch their games anymore?   No, I found another way to keep them part of my life.  God is calling us and wants to be part of our lives.  If one form of your prayer life is not working, find one that keeps God as the central point of your life.  We are all different and so is our prayer life.  What one person may praise as a wonderful form of prayer may not be the best form for you.  There are millions of people following the game of baseball but not every one of them is an Astros fan.  They all though have ways of keeping their favorite team part of their lives.  That same effort should be part of our prayer life.

My thoughts on Praying, 1 of 2

We pray to God with the faith that he will hear our prayer. Part of our faith is that God will not only hear our prayer but will also answer our prayer. There are verses in the Bible that attest to God answering our prayers. We read in Matthew’s Gospel (21:22) that if a prayer is said in faith, then we will receive whatever is asked for. It is through our faith that there is the hope that God will answer our prayer.

I say hope because when we pray, our prayer usually includes the answer we desire. When sick, we ask for healing. When there is a problem, we ask God for a certain outcome. Our hope is that God will not only answer our prayer but in the way we feel it should be answered. We may not be able to see God’s answer to our prayer due to our own expectations. The outcome is not we are praying for. This may cause us to feel as if God has not answered our prayer.

God is love; he created us out of love and therefore can only act out of love. In the Gospel of Luke (11:11) we read of the father who would not give his son a snake when he asks for a fish. God our father can only answer our prayers in a loving way. God is active in our lives but we may not be aware of it at that moment. Sometimes we can only see the love of God when we look back in time, after we have stripped away all of our own expectations.

There will be times thought that we will never fully understand or recognize how God has answered our prayers. Know that it is given and is given out of love. It is up to us to accept God’s love in the form he desires, to grow with it spiritually and to respond accordingly.

Never to Late to Pray or to Post

I logged in to update my blog and was surprised to see how long it has been since my last post.  I know there is a cliché that goes Time flies when you're having fun but I wonder if there is one for when time flies because you are busy?  Maybe there is one but who has the time to search for it.  Sadly, there have been things I have written for the Cathedral that could have been posted.  Since I did not post them timely they are now dated and cannot be used.  I will try to start adding weekly updates even if the post are more personal in thought and nature.

Thinking about being busy has also made me reexamine my prayer life.  I will admit that some days I do not pray the evening prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours.  I never have trouble praying the morning prayers, it is always the evening prayers.  This tells me that I am not putting the proper emphasis on these prayers.   I should never be too busy to take a few minutes to recite my prayers. Praying the morning and evening prayers is part of my Diaconate and is something I should do every day.

Maybe now is a good time for all to examine their prayer life.  The new liturgical year will be starting soon and the Advent Season will be upon us.  A season of preparation for not only the birth of Christ but his second coming. Review your prayer life.  Make the proper changes now that will enhance your readiness for the coming of Christ.

Gathered together in His name

My wife and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary by visiting Walt Disney World in Florida. Spending a week at Disney World is really not a unique thing for us as both my wife and I enjoy Disney World. The employees are trained to treat everyone special and for a few days you can forget the demands of the world.

On our drive home I thought back on our trips to Disney World and wondered why we would go there so many times. Yes the employees are all nice but it has to be more than just the employees. The Sunday Mass readings from the Gospel of Matthew (18:15-20) may shed some light on my thoughts particularly: 

     "For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
     there am I in the midst of them.”

Now I am going to use a very simplistic view of this verse. Growing up I would always think Jesus was talking about gathering in a church, an actual building. It is where I would see people praying together as a group. Now imagine a group gathering everyday but at Disney World.  Every morning during our stay at Disney World my wife and I would go stand in a line to wait for the Disney World transportation. Each day the numbered of people waiting for these buses would vary. Some mornings there were only 4 or 5 people waiting while other mornings there would be close to 50 persons in line. The number of people in line never made a difference though because you always waited in the morning heat for the bus. The unique thing is everyone was happy and smiling.  During the long day of walking you could still see smiling, happy faces. I would see people helping others throughout the day and at the end of a long hot day they would give up their seat on the bus to those who seemed to need it more.

Our praying, our gathering together in the name of Jesus is more than reciting prayers.  It is a way of life. When we gather together in happiness and love we reflect our love of Jesus. Love is the prayer of Jesus. We are offering up to Jesus his prayer when we show love to others.

Maybe it is not the rides and attractions that bring us back to Disney World every year. Maybe it is the happiness and contentment that comes from gathering together in the love of God. Does Disney World give some the opportunity to love Jesus without our vanities getting in the way? I am sure each of us has a place we like to visit that seems to be perfect for us. Where we can let go of worldly expectations, let our guard down and truly be who God created us to be. Where is your place? Find it and try to keep that feeling with you even as you return to your daily routine. God is love. Gather together in love of neighbor and Jesus will be with you.