Pastor's Letter 20230813 - 13 August 2023 - The Power of Prayer

Father Michael · August 11, 2023

August 13^th, 2023

19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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“It is I; do not be afraid.”

A Message from Father ^†Michael

Today’s Theme: The Power of Prayer”

Reflections on Today’s Scripture

(1 Kings 19:9-13) In soft and whispering silence, the Lord can reveal Himself and His ways.

The prophet Elijah adopted a very militant, even bloodthirsty approach in his battle against idolatry. On the run for his life, he learned that God’s ways are not man’s ways. God is as gentle as a breeze.

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(Romans 9:1-5) ^†Paul tells us about the sorrow and anguish he suffered because his fellow Jews refused to accept Christ as the Messiah. Even though his words revealed God’s love, there were those who chose not to listen.

In Romans 9-11, ^†Paul assembled a sound presentation of the Christian position, challenging the Jewish “hardness of heart.” They comprise the first organized theological defense of the Christian sect over against the theology of the synagogue. One can pray for another, instruct and teach the other, but faith, like the growth of a seed, must come freely and from within.

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(Matthew 14:22-33) Amid fearful cataclysms of nature and tempests of human discord, God can speak to us with power and reassurance, calming our fears and bringing us peace.

As ^†Matthew related it, the incident in today’s Gospel is clearly symbolic. The boat represents the Church; the disciples are beaten by the winds and waves of persecution. Jesus is not with them, physically; He is in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father. However, in their hour of need, He came to them. ^†Peter’s sinking and being saved is a likely reference to his failure during the Passion, and his restoration after the resurrection. He represents the typical disciple, caught between faith and doubt.

The Efficacy of Prayer

For each individual, “praying” has a different meaning. For some, it means to reach out to the Almighty in times of distress, for inspiration, hoping to find answers to life’s problems. Or, they may pray for favors, or some consideration from God.

For others, it may mean sitting quietly, perhaps during a special time of day, and attempting to shed extraneous thoughts—clearing one’s mind, so to speak. The mystics term this activity, “meditation,” and it has many devotés among all societies.

Still others, concern themselves with the problems or situations of others, and offer prayers hoping they might be blessed with wisdom, good choices, health and safety.

Finally, there are people who seldom or never pray, formally. They may even believe it to be a form of “folly,” or even, “self-delusion.” Theirs is a rather hopeless view, in my opinion, for they rely on mere happenstance for the events they experience.

Whatever form prayer takes for you, most people would agree that there exists “power” beyond ourselves that defies explanation. We have witnessed examples of this, when people experience a series of “lucky” events out of all proportion to their own efforts, or, for those who suffer from illnesses—having defied medical science—suddenly receive cures that can only be termed “miracles.” Historical apparitions leading to such marvels such as those at Fatima, Lourdes, and Medjugorje come to mind. (Martin Luther said, “None can believe how powerful prayer is, and what it is able to affect, except those who have learned it by experience.”)

Many people take great solace when beholding a beautiful sunrise, a sunset or some stelar phenomena, which, in turn, stimulates them to spirituality. (We can recall astronaut’s first views of earth from space, moving them to deep reflection.) Then there are instances in life, such as the marvel of human birth or the blush of “first love,” that can literally “take one’s breath away.”

Whatever “moves us” outside ourselves, and spurs us to consider what may “lie beyond,” can be said to be a form of prayer. How we interpret it is open to individual bent. Understanding its import to personal well-being, and that of others, is something that resists universal explanation.

There is no denying that we cannot comprehend, or properly interpret everything in our universe. Empirical science can only go so far to offer rationale, and that changes, as our collective intellect improves. The realm of metaphysical—that is, “beyond physical”—knowledge has occupied the minds of philosophers and great thinkers for time immemorial, and will continue to do so.

The first “medicine men” in recorded history, may well have been those who offered explanations to others for things that occurred, for which there was no prior understanding. (Perhaps they were simply “unlucky,” having to remain “outside the cave” during some perilous event, and somehow, survived to tell of their experience. “How else could they have not been killed?” (by whatever disaster occurred.) “Surely, they must be endowed with some special gift or power.”

Most of us, today, have become desensitized to things that would have been considered “supernatural” only generations before. From the advent of fire, in ancient societies; innovative methods of architecture; the invention of the wheel; to the marvels enjoyed since the industrial revolution; understanding of flight, quantum physics, medical breakthroughs, space exploration in our computer age, mankind has steadily advanced in knowledge and comprehension and acceptance of the material world.

Still there remains an arena of the human psyche that defies enlightenment—the mind, or, the soul. We have little to no concrete, transcendent information to help us grasp the intricacies of thought. Therein is the realm wherein prayer can offer comfort and hope.

Faith is that belief that the “power beyond us all” is real, and offers us purpose to deal with the quandaries of our existence. Proponents of free will firmly believe that we are the agents of our own happiness, based upon the choices we make. (^†Augustine said: “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.”)

If we could “prove” everything, there would be no need for faith. Whether it is as complex as determining the nature of God, or how one should approach something as ordinary as dealing with interpersonal disputes, we must often look outside our own purview for understanding, in order to find resolution to our queries. Frequently, we are called upon to postulate an answer to a question for which we have no capacity to solve. (Lincoln said: “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”)

Whenever we present ourselves in quiet meditative prayer, we also may hear the soft whisper of the Holy Spirit, from within our immortal soul, offering wisdom—if only we are open to the possibility.

May God Richly Bless You!