The Quickest Ways to Pray

Photo by Devin Kennedy

Sometimes we feel that we don’t have time to pray. Sometimes we feel that we don’t know what to say or don’t have the words to express all that’s going on in our hearts and minds. Let me share with you two of the quickest ways to pray.

When we feel we don’t have time:

Just think of God. Give God little shout outs. Say hello. Invite him to speak to you. Ask for something. This practice can be used by anyone -- people who never pray and for those who pray a lot. Here’s what it could look like:

Hi, God.

Thank you, God.

Help me, God.

What should I do, God?

He gets so overjoyed when we think of Him, and he will use any opening we give him to bless us with his grace and to draw us closer to him. 

When we don’t have the words:

Lift your heart to God. Do this by telling God you’re giving him your heart or picture yourself offering it to him. God will lovingly receive your heart. He hears and understands the cares of your heart -- even when we don’t understand them ourselves!

“In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27

The Lord is near and he waits in great anticipation to hear from us! He has a lifetime of gifts he wants to give each one of us, and he’s eager to do so at any and every opportunity. ...Hi, God.

“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.” St. Therese of Lisieux

First a Daughter or Son

Photo by Maureen Kennedy Macel

When Jesus was about thirty years old, he was baptized by John the Baptist and began his ministry. We read in Scripture that at Jesus’ baptism, the voice of God the Father was heard from the heavens saying:

“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22

Jesus is a lot of things: Word of God, Savior, Healer, Miracle Worker, Preacher, Teacher, Prince of Peace, Carpenter, Friend, Lord, Suffering Servant, Son of Mary, the Christ, the one who sets people free, and many other titles and attributes.

But here he is defined by God as a Son above all other things.

Let us be mindful of this Truth: We are not defined by our work, life circumstances, strengths or weaknesses, successes or failures, or status. Our identity is first and foremost as a son or daughter of God.

Hear God speak this to you: “You are my daughter/son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Know that he delights in you simply because you exist. He created you with love, and he will always claim you, and his loving heart is there to embrace you in every moment of your life.

Oops! Sometimes I’m an opinionated control freak.

Photo by Maureen Kennedy Macel

… Jesus’ mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now. … John 2:5-10

While reading this the other day, I was struck by the servants’ silence and obedience. I became aware of my own tendency to weigh in on things and to share opinions and viewpoints that I feel are correct and justified.

If I was in the story, it would probably read much differently: Jesus would say, “Fill the jars with water. … Now take them to the chief steward.” And I may say to him or those around me, “What does he think he’s doing? What is this going to fix? They don’t need water, they need wine.  Dang, these jars are heavy. Great, now this steward is going to think I'm out of my mind. If Mary would have asked me to take care of the wine, I would have done it another, better way instead.”

I’m grateful the helpers in the story were servants; I can learn a lot from them. If you’re like me and if opinions, criticisms, and complaints sometimes creep out of your mouth, this is a friendly reminder that we are not the center of the universe. God is at work in each of our lives. Would you like to join me in prayer and ask for the grace to walk where God is leading and to trust his plan?

Good and loving God, come into my heart and help me to follow you with obedience, trust, and faith. Create in me a willingness to be led. Free me from the desire to be in control and to be seen as "right" or better than others. Help me to recognize my ego at work and to bring it low so that your work may be accomplished and that you may be glorified. I believe in your love for me, and I trust you. Amen.

We are not alone - God is pursuing us.

Photo by Maureen Kennedy Macel

When my 2-year-old niece and I play outside at my parents’ house, she loves to run down the sidewalk to the end of the street. A few weeks ago on a warm and sunny day, she took off running, never looking back, and laughing with delight the entire way.

I didn’t want her to get too far, so I was running quietly and closely behind her. Suddenly, a dog barked from inside a neighbor’s house, and I saw fear flash across her face and she froze. She quickly turned to run back to the safety of our family, and as she turned, I was there within arms length, and I reached for her. She saw me, and I saw her fear disappear in an instant. She flashed a big smile, turned around, and started running away again.

My niece's running is totally beautiful and innocent, but through this God allowed me to see:

• Sometimes we are running full speed toward our own desires and away from God's best for us. No matter where we go, or how far go, or how lost and alone we feel, Jesus never leaves our side. He is pursuing us. When we stop, he is there. When we turn toward what is good and true, the way back is not as long as we may expect because at that exact moment, God is reaching for us. He closes the distance. He will carry us to the way of real love and possibility.
• When I reached out for Nora, I was so deeply happy to see her fear disappear because she knew she was safe.  If this is my human experience of love and joy of being there for a child, imagine how much more God who is holy and the source of all love experiences love and joy for his children.
• God will always chase us with only love in his sight. And in the moments when we stop, he reaches for us and rejoices that he can be our Savior, Protector, Rescuer, and Friend.

The Lord will always be pursuing and waiting for us. He rejoices when we stop, when we turn back, and when we grab hold of his arms and let him carry us.  His heart is pure mercy.

A Beautiful Reconciliation

By Maureen Kennedy Macel

At confession I confessed my sins, including a few I have been holding on to for a while. It was hard to confess them. Not because I don’t regret them, but because it is hard to say them aloud and admit them - to another person, to God, and to myself. Even though God already is aware of my sins, I felt it hard to admit my sins and ask for forgiveness.

But there I was in the confessional admitting my sins, one after another. It sounded like I was a terrible person. I felt like a terrible person. In some ways I wanted to put some caveats on my sins, explain to the priest “well this one happened way back when…” or “that sounds bad but let me explain the circumstances a bit more…”. But when it comes down to it all there is the sin and me. God doesn’t want my excuses. God wants my sorrow, my regret, my repentance.

And then he wants to forgive me. He loves me despite my sins, but he wants me to come to Him and seek repentance and then change my ways and sin no more. He offers me His light and He wants me to live in it. When I sin it is I who choose darkness instead of light. But God is great, loving, forgiving, ready to welcome me back with open arms when I seek reconciliation.

To face your decisions, especially your regrettable ones, requires surrender. To surrender to your ego, your denial, your avoidance of the truth. It is not easy. But when you do it, after it is all done and you’ve been given a beautiful penance (yes, a penance can be beautiful) and you are restored into his light, you see that surrendering in Reconciliation is a beautiful surrender.

When we stand before God on our Judgement Day we will be a sum of what we have done - in thought, word, and deed. God will not ask us to explain our decisions. The fear (and beauty) of that day inspires me to make the decisions God wants me to make. I am the sum of my decisions. Since every moment I exist He sees the true me, I should live in a way that acknowledges this so that when I stand before Him on that day, I will not fear Him seeing me in the truth of who I was.

At my moment of judgement all that I try to cover myself with to hide my failings will be stripped away. My soul will be naked before God. Jesus will be my advocate at my side, but it is I who will face judgement and decide if I am worthy of God’s grace or not. I pray to God that I find myself to be worthy enough to choose His eternal love. Contemplating that moment strikes me with fear - because I know I don’t fully understand his love and grace, but I hope that I understand it enough to prepare myself to meet that moment as best I can.

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/index.cfm
http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catechesis/catechetical-sunday/sacramental-forgiveness/theological-reflection-dumont.cfm

Are you in the Light?

By Maureen Kennedy Macel

At 9pm on a late December Sunday night I stood outside of St. Bonaventure waiting for Ryan and Nora to pick me up after my program was complete. It was an unseasonably warm night and a light rain had just finished misting. I stood on the sidewalk near a lamppost in what looked like it was in the light. “Ryan will see me here,” I thought, since I was in the light. A few moments later I thought to go to the other side of the lamppost and onto the edge of the driveway so that when Ryan did stop it would be easier for him to turn around. I went to the other side and stood and immediately realized that this new spot was where the light was truly shining.

I turned around and looked at my previous spot on the sidewalk, and yes, some light was shining there, but it was a shadowy light because the light first had to get thru some bare branches of a tree to reach it.

Only when I was in the true light did I see that I hadn’t been standing in the best place.

*Lightbulb* and a “Thank you God for that moment.” followed.

On my faith journey I continue to grow towards God, make room for Him, do what He is calling me to do. But I know that where I am and where I can be is the difference between the one side of that lamppost and the other. I am out of the darkness. I am in His light. But I have a ways to go and grow before I come fully into His light. And I am sure that His full light is beautiful, even more than anything I could ever imagine it to be. And I am blessed to know that I want to live in His light - now and forever.

Sometimes God gives you a “Thank you for saying “Yes” to me.” moment. He doesn’t need to remind you that saying “Yes” to Him is what He calls you to do. But He loves you and wants to help you continue to live and grow in the Light and so He shines a little thanks down. I thank God for the moments He gives me thoughts about lampposts and light and how well (or poorly) I am doing what He calls me to do compared to where he is calling me to be.

“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.” - Psalm 27:8

“Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.” - Psalm 25:5

Let God Embrace You. Embrace Him Back.

by Maureen Kennedy Macel

One time during mass Fr. Joe paused right before Holy Communion and addressed everyone saying, “As you come up for Communion really allow God to embrace you.” It was a beautiful interjection that of course left me thinking and reflecting for awhile.

It was beautiful in its own right because God is always there ready to embrace you. It’s really a matter of you being willing to let Him embrace you. But then I realized an important piece was missing to this sentiment.

God can embrace us day after day and when you let Him embrace you get to experience the joy of His peaceful, freeing, perfect and loving embrace. It was nice to be reminded of “Hey Maureen, I’m here waiting for you. Let me hug you!” But that’s not where it stops - you need to go one step further. You need to Embrace Him Back.

Embracing Him Back requires you not only let God in and into your heart and soul where He can fill you with His love, but that you open up your arms and fully open your heart back to Him and truly accept His love and that He is calling you His and wants you to live for Him.

A one-sided hug is not as satisfying as a two-sided one.

I talked about this with Bridgette and we realized this same situation plays out in our own lives. We love hugging Nora. We often chase her around requesting hugs. Nora will run around and be her amazing independent self and sometimes when you ask her for a hug she says yes but sometimes she says no. And when she says “Yes” and lets us hug her we are filled with great joy. And Nora is funny because she often lets you hug her but doesn’t raise her arms up to hug you back  - it’s like she knows we really, really, really want that hug and so she agrees to let us hug her, but she is just doing it to make us happy. But sometimes when we hug her she hugs us back and when she gives us that hug we are filled with such great joy that our hearts could burst.

This is just a microcosm of an experience compared to who God is and how He wishes to embrace us. His love is infinite and truly incomprehensible, but being able to relate what this might be like for God and His hopes for me - it makes me feel so loved. God loves me so much that all He longs to do is embrace me. And He patiently waits for me to embrace Him back. There is no good reason to not lift my arms, open my heart, and enter into His embrace. And luckily for me (and for you!) it’s a hug that does not ever need to actually end. And the good news is God doesn’t hug us one by one - I don’t have to wait for Him to finish hugging you before He can hug me. We are blessed because we have a God who embraces each and everyone one of us every moment. We just need to remember that He is there and that we can turn to Him and stay in His embrace. And then with God’s grace hopefully we will find ourselves open enough to embrace Him back and smart enough to never let go.

As for me getting to embrace Nora - well that looks like I will be a long life of chasing her and waiting for those fleeting beautiful moments when she let’s me hug her and she hugs me back.