Dear Friends.
Each person has a secret spiritual life. I have come to
believe this is a closely guarded secret for many, but over the years, I have
experienced unplanned leaks of this human truth.
One day last week, Fr. Jim Lawlor and I took Communion with
us as we went for a pastoral visit to a long-time friend who was recovering
from a fall. After Communion, Fr. Jim was about to offer a closing prayer, when
our friend began to pray out loud. Hers was a prayer that was warm and
personal. It embraced God, expressed gratitude, and was marked by peacefulness,
and openness to the future. This was a profound moment for all of us, including
the woman’s caregiver who was with us. Our friend wondered afterwards why we
always left the prayers to the priest. I wonder that too. There is nothing in
Jesus’ words or ministry that limited who could pray in public or private
moments.
I can think of my grandparents who surrounded themselves
with icons or who made time to pray after lunch or supper. Many are the times I
found my mother’s rosary in her bed in the morning. My father was one of the
early Communion ministers in his parish, invited for who he was to people.
Whom do you recall seeing,
hearing pray, in unexpected moments? Have you revealed these blessings out loud
yourself?
It takes a certain confidence in God to pray out loud or to
stand in a place where your ministry of prayer is seen. We might think, “Lord,
I am not worthy,” but that was also the thought of the centurion who came to
Jesus seeking healing for his boy (Matthew 8.8). Jesus did not judge the
centurion’s worthiness, nor does the prayer that wells up inside us have to do
with our worthiness. Instead, everything depends on God, who holds each of us
close – without exception. At times, when we are talking with someone who is
stressed or sad or at a loss to know what to do next, ask that person if you
could pray together for a few moments. If the person says yes, let the words
roll out of you. They are a gift of the Holy Spirit, who pray in us when we do
not know how to pray.
Through Baptism, believers have been given many gifts,
including the gift of articulating prayer in the presence of others. Let’s not
be afraid to do that.
~ Sister Joan Sobala
