The Precedence of Prayer

LENTEN RETREAT
Day 29

balon amade ye

HEMÛ me di vê Paşvekêşana Nûzanê de heya nuha nîqaş kir ku ez û hûn bi me dike ku ber bi bilindahiyên pîroziyê ve û yekbûna bi Xwedê re hilkişin (û bi bîr bînin, bi wî re, her tişt gengaz e). Yet hê jî-û ev ji pir girîng e-bê dûa, ew ê mîna kesê / a ku balonek hewaya germ daniye erdê û hemî alavên xwe saz bike. Pîlot hewl dide ku hilkişe nav gondola, ku daxwaza Xwedê ye. Ew bi pirtûkên xwe yên firînê, ku Nivîsên Pîroz û Katekîzmê ne, nas e. Baskê wî bi têlên Sacraments ve li balonê tê girêdan. Last ya dawîn, wî balona xwe dirêjî erdê kir - ango, wî hin dilxwazî, terikandin û xwestina ku bifire ber Ezman ced qebûl kir. Lê heya ku şewatek ji dûa bê ronî dimîne, balona -ku dilê wî ye- dê ti carî fireh nebe, û jiyana wî ya giyanî dê binerde bimîne.

Dûa, brothers and sisters, is what animates and draws everything heavenward; dûa is what draws grace to overcome the gravity of my weakness and concupiscence; dûa is what raises me to new heights of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding; dûa is what makes the Sacraments efficacious; dûa is what illumines and inscribes upon my soul what is written in the Holy Manuals; dûa is what fills my heart with the heat and fire of God’s love; and it is dûa that draws me into the atmosphere of God’s presence.

Ew Catechîzmê teaches that:

Dua jiyana dilê nû ye. Pêdivî ye ku her gavê me zindî bike. Lê em dixwazin wî ku jiyana me û ya me hemûyan e ji bîr bikin. -Katekîzma Dêra Katolîk (CCC), n 2697

You see, this is why many people aren’t growing in holiness, are never advancing much in the spiritual life: if prayer is the jîyan of the new heart—and someone is not praying—then the new heart given to them in Baptism is dimirin. Because it is prayer that xêz dike into the heart the flames of narînî.

… Keremên ku ji bo pîrozkirina me, ji bo zêdekirina kerem û xêrxwaziyê, û ji bo gihîştina jiyana herheyî hewce ne… Van kerem û mal tiştê dua Mesîhî ne. Dua beşdarî kerema ku ji bo kiryarên merîfet hewce ne dike. -CCC, n 2010

Going back to the Gospel of St. John where Jesus calls us to “abide” in Him, He says:

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Prayer is what draws the mêweav of the Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we can bear “good fruit.” Without prayer, the fruit of good works dry up and the leaves of virtue begin to whither.

Now, what it means to pray and çawa to pray are what we will discuss in the days ahead. But I don’t want to end today just yet. Because some have the conception that prayer is simply a matter of reading this or that text—like dropping a coin into a vending machine. No! Prayer, authentic prayer, is the exchange of hearts: your heart for God’s, God’s heart for yours.

Think of a husband and wife who pass each other in the hallway each day without exchanging hardly a word or a smile, or perhaps nothing at all. They live in the same home, share the same meals and even the same bed… but there is a gulf between them because the “burners” of communication are off. But when the husband and wife speak to one another ji dil, serve one another, and consummate their marriage in total self-giving… well, there you have a picture of prayer. It is to become a lover. God is a lover, who has already given himself totally and completely to you through the Cross. And now He says, “Come to me… Come to me, for you are My Bride, and we will become one in love.”

Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him. -CCC, 2560

SUMMARY AND SCRIPTURE

Prayer is an invitation to love and intimacy with God. Therefore, if you desire this, prayer must take precedence in your life.

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thess 5:16)

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