“God’s going to get sick of hearing from me.? I better stop bothering Him.”
“What’s the use…God never answers my prayers.”
While the above quotes represent two completely opposite?reasons for ceasing to pray, they share one thing in common…they’re wrong!
As illustrated by the parable of the Friend at Midnight (Lk 11:5-13), the Lord wants us to be persistent in prayer.? We should never feel that God?is “sick of us asking for things”.? Likewise, we shouldn’t stop praying for something because the Lord didn’t respond quickly enough.? As I mentioned on my radio show tonight, if St. Monica had stopped praying for her son Augustine, the Church would have been deprived of one of her greatest theologians!
Jesus loves each of us with an infinite love and wants us to speak to Him every day.? He wants us to turn to Him for our needs and enjoys hearing from us, even when we ask for the same thing each day.? As our relationship with the Lord grows, it would probably be a good idea to mix in a few “Thank you’s” and “Thy Will be done’s” with our numerous requests, but?don’t ever stop praying!
Want to hear more about the parable of the Friend?At Midnight?? Listen to the podcast of the show:
As someone who has a public presence defending and educating others about the teachings of the Catholic Church, I’m sometimes tempted to gloss over some of the less desirable elements of my personality.? When I see this happening, I usually take a step back and remind myself that hiding my imperfections wouldn’t be fair to my readers/listeners.?
One of my biggest weaknesses has always been my tendency to worry.? When I was a child I worried that one or both of my parents would die, when I was a teenager I worried that I’d never have a girlfriend, when I was in my 20’s I suffered panic attacks and feared that I would end up having a heart attack,?in my 30’s and 40’s I worried that I’d lose my job.??Now that I’m in my 50’s (barely 🙂 ), I’d like to inform you that I’ve finally learned to trust completely in God’s Will and that I’ve finally stopped worrying.? Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that because…
IT’S NOT THE TRUTH!
The ugly reality is that, despite knowing that God’s Will is perfect and that anything He allows to happen in my life is best for my eternal salvation, I’m afraid to suffer!? People worry about many different things – jobs, finances, health, addiction…My major area of worry is my family.? I worry that something will happen to them, physically or emotionally and it often renders me paralyzed.? I usually have to fight off the desire to worry about them several times a day.? And guess what?? Satan knows all about my weakness?and he makes use of it every chance he gets!? The devil doesn’t want me to be happy and he is thrilled when he convinces me to reject the peace granted to me by Jesus.? Although the Lord’s peace is available in all situations, good and bad, it doesn’t help me if I don’t accept it!
Similar to alcoholism, chronic worrying is not curable, but it is controllable.? I’ve learned to control my “condition”? with frequent prayer, reading the Bible, and reception of the Sacraments.? Some people will read this post and think, “Boy, that Gary’s a real nut and a hypocrite!”? Others will look at it and feel better because they’re not the only one who is struggling with worry.? The bottom line is that I’m human and, if I had a choice, I’d rather take the “easy way out”.??? By admitting my weakness, I acknowledge that I can’t stop worrying on my own.? However, through the graces received from prayer, Scripture and the Sacraments, the Lord helps me to trust Him.?
Worry is useless and Jesus warns against worrying numerous times in the Bible.? However, He knows that we are weak and we can’t conquer it by ourselves.? He wants to help us, but we have to ask for and accept His help.? If you’re a worrier like me, take it one day at a time and always remember this simple formula:
Prayer, Scripture and the Sacraments…repeat as needed!
I am often frustrated with some of the things that I see taking place during the Mass.?? Rather than blame people for intentionally trying to sabotage the Mass, I honestly believe that these practices arise out of a genuine desire to get closer to the Lord and exhibit Christian charity.? Unfortunately, the end result is a lack of appreciation for what is taking place at Mass and, ultimately, a diminished respect for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
As a lukewarm and clueless Catholic for many years, I understand what it’s like to be “in the dark”.? Now that I’m a little less “clueless” (depending on who you ask 🙂 ), I?understand the need for educating Catholics about the teachings of the Faith, so that they can come to know Christ as a person and share the Faith with others!
While written in a “tongue in cheek” style, here’s a blog post that touches on some of the more common issues that occur in Catholic congregations.? What’s the answer?? In my opinion it involves education.? If Catholics understood that at every Holy Mass, Our Lord’s sacrifice at Calvary is made present? and that the fruits of that sacrifice are made present for each of us… then some of these behaviors would go away.
One word of caution – Before anyone runs out and starts accusing and criticizing anyone who is known to partake in any of these behaviors at Mass…
People often ask me, “How do you know whether something is God’s Will in your life?”? I say, “Ask me next year, and then we’ll know whether it was God’s Will.”
The Lord isn’t going to come down and say, “Now, look sweetie, I want you to do this little thing for me.”? He’s not going to do that.? He gave you a brain.? He gave you a memory, an intellect, a will.? Do you realize that if you’re a Christian, you have Sanctifying Grace in you?? The Holy Spirit is in you.? Pray.? Move forward in His grace, and you will discover His Will for you.?
(Mother Angelica, from Mother Angelica’s Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality, ?2007? by Doubleday Publishing)
One of the most difficult struggles for Christians is determining God’s Will in our lives.? We want to do what God wants us to, but how do we know for sure what “it” is?? One of my?favorite sources of wisdom?on this topic is?Mother Angelica, the foundress of the EWTN Global Catholic Network.? Throughout her life, Mother has trusted in God even when it didn’t make sense.? Despite having no experience in broadcasting, she felt that God was calling her to start a television network and she did just that!? ?
When I read?Mother’s quote, the main thing that hits me is the fact that sometimes you just have to try things, even when you’re not sure it’s what God wants.??If we feel moved to do something, pray about it and still feel moved to do it, we should probably “go for it”.
You can be sure that?the Lord will?let you know if you made the wrong move.? Even then, God specializes in bringing good out of everything…
even our mistakes!
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The Gospel from today’s Mass (Jn 10:1-10) reminds us of the importance of listening to the voice of Jesus, but what if we can’t hear His voice?? Unfortunately, there are many competing voices speaking to us on a daily basis.? The voices of comfort, fear, greed, and the media are often heard loudest in our ears and drown out the voice of the Lord.? If we can’t even hear Jesus speaking to us, how can we obey Him?? As my friend Matt Swaim states in his book, Prayer In The Digital Age (Ligouri Publications, 2011), “Silence is the great fear of the modern age.”
Obviously, we first need to focus on hearing the voice of the Lord.? According to St. Ignatius of Loyola, “It is true that the voice of God, having once penetrated the heart, becomes strong as the tempest and loud as the thunder.? But before reaching the heart it is as weak as a light breath that scarcely agitates the air.? It shrinks from noise and is silent amid agitation.”? To put it simply, if we don’t make an effort to listen, we’re not going to hear the Lord’s voice.
Daily prayer and meditating on the Bible are critical to being able to hear the Lord’s voice.? Unfortunately, and I know that it’s difficult, but sometimes you have to turn off the tv!? While there’s nothing inherently wrong with watching tv, listening to the radio or surfing the Internet, we need to make some quiet time for the Lord each day.? Otherwise, we’ll never hear Him speak.
Once we begin to hear His voice, the next thing we have to do is obey His instructions.? Although it sounds simple, this is often difficult?especially when He ?tells us to stop doing things that we enjoy.? Unfortunately, many of our sinful habits are also a lot of fun!? However, as Catholics, we are blessed to have a body of clear Church teaching that guides us and keeps us on the right path.? In an attempt to determine God’s will for their lives, many people erroneously?ignore the teaching of the Church.? That, my friends, is a mistake that could lead to disaster!
Although it may be difficult at first, making some “quiet time” for the Lord will gradually get easier.? You’ll even find yourself looking forward to the time you get to spend each day with your good friend, Jesus.? You’ll also begin to feel a sense of peace that comes from following God’s will.?
Give it a try and see what happens…
I spoke about this topic on today’s edition of Following The Truth.? You can listen to the podcast here:
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
Tonight at 7 PM Eastern time, I will be at the adoration chapel with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.? I would be honored to pray for all of your intentions.? If you have anything specific that you’d like be to present to Jesus, please comment to this post or email me (gary@followingthetruth.com).? I also encourage you to pray along with me (from wherever you are), even if its only for 5 minutes.
We often make the mistake of failing to pray about the problems and issues in our lives, instead choosing to worry about them or to try and solve them without God’s help.? In the above excerpt from his Letter to the Philippians, St. Paul reminds us that the Lord is anxious for us to ask for His help.? Don’t pass up that golden opportunity!
Please tweet,?email, like and share this post with your friends, as I’d like to extend the offer of prayer to as many people as possible!
I had the pleasure of being a lector at daily Mass this morning and got to read one of my favorite readings – Saul’s (a.k.a St. Paul) conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-20).
If you ever doubt that God can use you to accomplish His work, this story should make you think otherwise.? Why God chose a notorious persecutor of Christians to proclaim His message to the Gentiles is beyond my comprehension, but that’s why He’s God and I’m not!
God saw something in Saul (Paul) and chose him to become the “Apostle to the Gentiles”.? With the Lord’s help, St. Paul went on to be a great evangelist and apostle.? This all happened because Paul said “yes” to the Lord’s call.
How can God use you to accomplish His work?? That’s something you have to work out with the Lord, so I recommend you pray about it.? You might end up being surprised by your mission.? The Lord knows your talents better than you do and he may present an idea that never occurred to you before.? Don’t worry, you’re in good company…
Saul never expected to be used as an apostle and he didn’t do too bad!
I used to have a problem with Marian apparitions.? Claiming to be a “meat and potatoes” Catholic, I had no time for? private revelation, even if approved by the Catholic Church.? Over the course of the past few years, I’ve grown to realize that I was wrong to feel this way.? While Catholics are not obligated to believe private revelation, failure to do so can prevent us from getting closer to Jesus.? As evidenced by her intercession at the wedding at Cana (John 2: 1-11), Mary takes our problems directly to her Son and that’s a good thing!
Today, the Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Fatima.? Between the dates of May 13 – October 13, 1917, the Blessed Mother appeared 6 times to 3 young children (Lucia,Jacinta and Francisco) in the Portugese village of Fatima.? Among Mary’s requests that were made known to the children:
“Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace in the world . . . for she alone can save it.” (Our Lady, July 13, 1917)
“”When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: ‘O Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy.’ ” (June 13, 1917)
Praying the rosary daily has been a practice of many saints and holy people throughout the centuries.? There is no doubt that our world is greatly in need of peace – both spiritual and physical! Adopting this practice has changed my life and will change yours.? The Latin adage, “Ad Jesum Per Mariam” (To Jesus Through Mary) reminds us that growing close to Mary will bring us closer to Jesus.
If you don’t currently pray a daily rosary, today would be a great day to start.? In fact, we’ll be praying one together on my BlogTalkRadio show tonight at 8 PM Eastern.? Please try to join us!
Those of us who are Catholic are blessed to be members of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, Himself!? If you have any doubt, I recommend that you take a look at 1o Bible passages.? Here’s my latest article for Catholic Lane, A Biblical Roadmap To The One True Church.?
