Teach me to pray!

Details: 08 November 2013

As some of you may know, Matthew Kelly, author of "The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic," recently visited our diocese. During his visit at our last clergy study day at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, he pointed out that those who are serious about their faith pray at least 10 minutes daily. Those who pray daily either were taught by someone else to do so, or learned on their own.

Beyond the few who pray daily, there are vast numbers of people who have no idea what prayer is, let alone how to do it. St. Paul said it best, "The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought" (Rom 8:26).

That many do not know how to pray and need to be taught should not be a surprise. Even the disciples who witnessed Jesus spend hours in prayer with His Heavenly Father asked if He would teach them to pray, pointing out that even John the Baptist taught his disciples. "He was praying in a certain place and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples’ " (Lk 11:1).

What is prayer? To answer this is beyond the scope of a brief column, but permit me to remind my fellow Catholics or anyone else who may be reading this that there is a section in the Catechism of the Catholic Church on prayer. In number 2559 there is a quote from St. John Damascene, "Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God, or the requesting of good things from God." In 2558, there is another quote, from St. Therese of Lisieux, which says, "For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." I highly recommend everyone to read this beautiful section in our catechism.

Obviously, prayer is much more than asking God for things we think we want or need. Essential is carving out time each day with God to express our love and gratitude to Him for all of His blessings and benefits, in addition to expressing our sorrow for any sins that we are aware of.

In addition to the countless individuals and families who stop to pray in our six chapels scattered across southern Nebraska, some women have approached the three Marian Sisters at St. Gianna’s saying things like, "Sister, I’ve never prayed. How do you do it? Please teach me to pray!"

Yes, we at Catholic Social Services and St. Gianna Women’s Homes are different. We try to see and love Jesus Christ in the clients that come to us hoping they see and love Jesus Christ Who lives in us. Hopefully that will enrich not only our own prayer lives but the prayer lives of those who come to us in need.

Having mentioned our six CSS chapels, we will be sending a beautiful calendar with our Christmas letter showcasing our six chapels. May our calendar remind all who look at it daily to look to the Lord God in prayer! Please remember that when we at CSS and at St. Gianna’s gather daily in prayer in our chapels, we are praying for you!