A Catholic's prayer and understanding of the salvation of our souls.
A short reflection on the reading from the Gospel of Saint Luke 18: 1-14.
My beloved brothers and sisters in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ,
My sharing is in the use of simple and easy
to understand language. I use this method so that those who are weak and do not
have higher education can understand the message and meaning of what is written
here. I am also the same as all of you, I don't have any advanced studies and
only know how to read the Catholic Bible, that's a simple understanding and the
way of the village people.
I am grateful and thankful to God because through reading the Gospel of Saint Luke, I discovered something new that it is good for me to do what Jesus Christ actually taught in prayer, namely that I should truly repent and believe in Him, but also that I should be vigilant in prayer. This is my expectation and hope in prayer and reflection for my personal preparation to await the coming of the Lord when the time comes. I say this because these words of Jesus remind me to continue praying and to wait attentively for Him as Lord and true God to come, remembering His first coming in the humility of the flesh and hoping for His second coming in glory (Gospel of Saint Mark 13, Gospel of Saint Luke 21: 34-36). Saint Luke has given us three important parables about prayer, namely; the first is about the shameless friend (Gospel of Saint Luke 11: 5-13) and asks us to pray urgently: "Knock, and the door will be opened to you". The Father in Heaven will give to those who pray in this way, what they need especially from the Holy Spirit, the sum of all good gifts. The second is about the widow who always insists (Gospel of Saint Luke 18:1-8). This parable leads to another characteristic of prayer, which is praying without ceasing in the patience of faith. "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?" The third parable is about the Pharisee and the tax collector (Gospel of Saint Luke 18:9-14) which demands humility when praying. "God, be merciful to me a sinner." The Catholic Church often uses this prayer during the Holy Mass.
From this reading, I began to realize that whoever truly prays in communion with Jesus Christ will definitely not enter into temptation (Gospel of Saint Luke 22: 40. 46). This is where I want to invite all of you that if boredom and laziness begin to appear in our spiritual lives, re-read this reading from the Gospel of St. Luke. It would be even better if we returned to praying like little children who always ask for this and that while hoping for mercy from God the Father. If we make a mistake in praying and then find ourselves alone without God's presence, it means we have the opportunity to change and return to God. These words of Jesus were, "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?" (Gospel of Saint Luke 18: 8) is our general call to pray, our call to participate in prayer in the church, and our call to participate in the prayer of Mission and Vision throughout the world. This is what we need to do and return to understand what Catholic prayer is because God calls every creature from non-existence into existence. Let us no longer assume that humans have lost their likeness to God because of their sins. But remember again that humans are still created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1: 26-27). And the parable about the widow who always insists is aimed at reminding us all to always pray without ceasing in patience as believers. Do we all still remember the homily of our Catholic priests when attending Holy Mass about prayer and the Words of Jesus? In this excerpt from the Gospel of Saint Luke, there is a prayer that we can do. And the prayer is something like this, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” (verse 13).
I want to explain again what this prayer of Jesus is. What we need to do is sit in a quiet and calm place. Bow your heads, close your eyes, breathe calmly, and imagine that you are all looking at your own hearts. Collect all thoughts from head to heart. Take a breath and say; “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” with soft lips or in the heart. Try to drive away all thoughts, be calm and patient, and repeat this verse as many times as you can. This can be done daily. What I am saying here is about Jesus' prayer. And after we have done this and it seems we are still unable to live up to Jesus' prayer, the next step is to examine where the cause is and why we are unable to achieve it. It seems that your humility still needs to be tested. Perhaps it is still too early for you to be allowed to enter the highest stage. There is a danger that you all will fall into the danger of spiritual greed. But don't ignore these feelings. There will come a time when we ourselves will be awakened by Jesus' prayer which we repeat and strive for. For example, we repeat the Jesus prayer at first 50 times, and then up to 100 times, and then 300 times, and then increase to 500 times, and then to a number of our choice so on. All desires are concentrated on one thing, namely praying the Jesus prayer. If you have an experience like the one I have described, all of you may stop continuing the Jesus prayer, which has been repeated since the beginning. And as a result, thank God with all your heart because He has given you all your desires and the gifts of prayer. All of you have received this blessing because of your efforts in repeating the verse of Jesus' prayer.
This is what we will begin to realize because we have been
praying the Jesus prayer regularly. Even though we don't know how things will
happen, we will realize how wonderful the possibilities God has given us in His
love for us as humans. You have all experienced how miracles can happen, even
to someone separated from grace, who is still sinful and has not been purified
from his lust. How noble it would be, how holy and moving, if God pleased to
give the gift of independent, active and spiritual prayer, if God cleansed them
all from all attachment to sensory matters (senses). This is truly a state that
cannot be described, and whoever reaches this stage of mystical samadhi
(mystical contemplation), in this world has enjoyed a state of Heavenly joy.
This is the happiness that is prepared for those who seek God with a simple and
loving heart. Therefore, remain faithful and continue this Jesus prayer. This
prayer is found in our Catholic Church. Then after we are able to live it,
continue the path of this Jesus prayer for only a few times according to your
ability or desire. As long as you are all vigilant, use all the time you have
to call out the holy name of Jesus without counting how many times. Submit
yourself humbly to God's help. I believe that God will not abandon us all now
but will show each of us the right and safe path.
Let us study again what Saint Teresa of Avila said. The words of Saint Teresa of Avila, "Then I will tell you that God is sometimes pleased to give great grace to people who are in a state of sin (and elevate them to perfect contemplation) so that in this way He can snatch them from the clutches of the devil. I think it is necessary to understand that such people are not in mortal sin at that time. They may be in a state of sin, but God allows them to see visions, even very good visions to draw them back to Him. But I do not believe that He gave them contemplation. Because contemplation is a Divine union, where God is pleased in the soul and the soul is pleased in Him and it is impossible for the Purity of Heaven to be pleased in an unclean soul. Even the Angels' joy cannot possibly be in what is not their own. And we know that by committing a mortal sin, the soul becomes the property of Satan and Satan takes pleasure in him because the soul pleases Satan, as we know Satan's favorite, even in this life, is continuous torture." (Saint Teresa of Avila). Then let us continue our reading while reading the passage from the Gospel of St. Luke. I hope that we all find out the reasons and causes of why we are not making progress in prayer based on the Gospel of Saint Luke. Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori has said; “Remember the number of so many, whose lives are corrupt and morally corrupt, far from the Sacraments, far from the examples of good living, and far from the meaning and purpose of salvation found in the Christian faith. All this has been given to you by God, without any merit on your part, and even in His eternal knowledge He has known your failure to love Him fully. For when in His plan to create you and bestow all these graces upon you, God knew beforehand that you would often fail to reciprocate His love as He should.” (Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori).
Now let us compare our spiritual experiences from the past to the present. Are there any differences or confusions in prayer? Is the inner prayer the same as the contemplation prayer? Based on experience, I honestly have to say that both are the same. In contemplative prayer, as lived by the Saints, we want to cross the boundaries of words and thoughts to reach a spiritual reality, which is God himself. Thus, this prayer leads beyond words (verbal prayer) and the limits of the mind (meditative prayer) to a truly spiritual reality. This contemplative prayer can be said to be “prayer of the heart”, “inner prayer”, “prayer of loving attention”, “prayer of realizing the presence of God everywhere.” In her book “The Way of Perfection”, Saint Teresa of Avila said that the Holy Scriptures were a source of support in prayer and were the only book she used in praying. If we want to know Jesus deeply, to love Him truly, we must reflect on His life, as well as His Words found in the Gospels day and night. Now let us go back to reading the Gospel of Saint Luke, have we discovered our sinful way of life, the way we pray and are our prayers a gift from God? I would like to remind all the members of Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels), if you are abandoned by the grace of God, remember well when you all received grace. The progress of spiritual life does not only lie in a peaceful and diligent attitude when people are given the grace of consolation, but also in an attitude of humility, patience and self-denial when people suffer the absence of that grace, so that the habit of praying and doing other exercises remains diligently heeded. In those moments of lack of grace, don't you all forget to express your awareness and repentance every day, and don't because of feeling empty and afraid in prayer, you all start to neglect each other. Such an attitude can lead us to feel bored and lazy to be faithful in prayer.
That is why I sincerely hope that we will all realize that it would be good for us to abandon the way of prayer life that seems to want to be like the Pharisees in Eucharistic prayer, community prayer and personal prayer. Even though we say that we are not pirates, not evil people, not adulterers and not like tax collectors, if laziness and boredom exist in our spiritual life, are we sure that we are justified by God? Even though our presence at Holy Mass or community and family prayers, has our presence been exalted by God or humbled by God? The period and time that God has given us to live today and until we are old explains God's patience with all of us. I don't know how to explain the patience and love of God. However, through this excerpt from the Gospel of Saint Luke, it has been explained that there is a possibility that our way of life and ministry resembles that of the Pharisees and sometimes pretends to want attention because of our ability to fast and make large donations. Let's not look for other people's faults, but let's try to humble ourselves and be humble while asking for forgiveness and mercy from God (Gospel of Saint Luke 18: 13-14).
If I reflect and re-learn how people live around me until now, whether they sin or not, these words of Jesus remind me of who they all really are, "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?" (Gospel of Saint Luke 18:8). Sometimes when living in a community of service, it is easy for us to make a promise of renewed commitment at Holy Mass or a mission as if it were to serve in our parish or in our respective communities. But are the people who have been sent aware that the message and blessing from the Catholic Priest is a reminder to listen to God? My advice is that it is better to be like a good and humble little child. Because that is the goodness that God wants to see from our prayers. That is why Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus said, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” (Saint Thérèse of Lisieux). This means that the personality of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus became like that of a weak little child, but confident that God was able to elevate her to be the highest among all people. This is the gift and calling of life of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, "My vocation is love". I want all members in Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels) to study what is written here. Hopefully this sharing can help you all to get to know more about the Catholic prayers that are in our Catholic Church. Remember that we will be judged by God according to what we do in prayer and discernment.
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