Enter into a conversation with Him through prayer

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 31, 2011
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
Gospel: Matt. 14:13-21 Miracles of loaves and fishes

Homily text: Some of the happiest times for my sisters and I were spent at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. It was like going into another world. Their big old house was full of antique furniture, old pictures, collections of things from the past, great hiding places, and, yes, a stash of grandma’s candy. My imagination ran wild pretending to be on a secret mission or just playing hide-and-go-seek. That was the external experience, but the real joy was in the greeting that we always received from Grandma and Grandpa.  Big hugs sitting on the grandpa lap, while grandma made homemade bread. There was just nothing like this experience of having a home away from home to spend our summer days or time after school.

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This experience of being with grandparents who love and even spoil us is somewhat like the first reading today. “All you who are thirsty come to the water!” “Come without pay or cost….” The unconditional love of God can be experienced through the love of others. But what if others do not have this experience of unconditional love from their family? Admittedly, it is more difficult to discover who God is without having tangible examples of his greatest attributes. But, our God is bigger than any evil or hurt that others can cause! He can overcome this and bring great good from suffering.

God cannot cause evil

The reality is that God is all-knowing, all-present, all-powerful, and all-loving. It is not in God’s nature to be uncharitable or to cause evil. He allows evil to happen at times to respect our free will, and that good may come from it. He does not cause evil, but at times allows it. This is a very important Christian doctrine that we must believe.  God’s providence is that he has created all human beings to share in the divine life of the Trinity. By the merits of Christ’s suffering and death the Father gives every person the opportunity to achieve salvation. The Lord even more than our parents or grandparents wants to welcome us into the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The beginning of this relationship with God is in Baptism. Here the Trinity embraces us, as grandparents would, and welcomes us into the family of God.

So St. Paul tells us, “What can separate us from the love of Christ?” The answer is not suffering, anguish, persecution… etc. Only we ourselves can separate us from the love of Christ. People choose to separate themselves from communion with God. Hell is in reality the absence of God. People do go there because they do not want to live in communion with the Trinity. God’s offer of salvation is for everyone, but not everyone accepts it. They make their own free choice.

“Pray constantly”

How do we increase the relationship with God that began at our baptism? We do so by continually uniting ourselves to him through the Sacraments, a life of virtue, and prayer. Prayer is essential nourishment for us as we travel on our pilgrimage to heaven. Jesus himself gives us a wonderful example of a life of constant prayer. He prays all throughout his earthly journey, but also takes time to “withdraw…to deserted place(s).”  We are told in the scriptures to “pray constantly.” We can call upon God wherever we are and whatever we are doing. But it is necessary for us to set aside some time for prayer each day. In our busy fast-paced society, it is difficult to find the time for prayer. We should not neglect our responsibilities, but make a commitment to spend some time each day in prayer. It may only be 15 or 20 minutes. The important thing is that we are faithful to the time set forth.

Three types of prayer

Traditionally, there are three different types of prayer: vocal, meditation, and contemplation. Vocal prayer is saying prayers out loud and uniting our heart to the words we are saying. We all know so many vocal prayers that can be said: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. A second form of prayer is meditation. Meditation is beginning with the Bible or a spiritual book or a mystery of the rosary. Using these words we engage our thoughts, imagination, emotions, and desire to discover God speaking to us. The last form of prayer is contemplation. Contemplative prayer is simply gazing upon God in silence and love. It is an intimate sharing of friendship with our God. These types of prayer are all gifts of God and we cannot achieve them on our own. We always begin with vocal prayers, but God will lead us to meditation and contemplation if will persevere in prayer each day of our lives.

Say “yes” and begin the journey

To experience the unconditional love of God is life changing. This love is there for all people. The Lord stands with his arms out to embrace every human being, but he will not force his love on us. God respects our free will. We can respond to his love by entering into a conversation with him through prayer. This journey into a life of prayer opens us up to a whole new world of excitement and experiences of the living God. All we need to do is say “yes” and begin the journey.