Dear Friends,
Pope Francis makes headlines when he says things that surprise the public, yet he is constantly teaching
us about things that truly matter in the lives of Christians. This week, at his Wednesday audience, he
continued his teaching on prayer:
“Today we will complete the catechesis on the prayer of the Psalms. Above all, we see how there often
appears a negative figure in the Psalms, called the ’wicked’ person, that is, he or she who lives as if God
does not exist. This is the person without any transcendent referent, whose arrogance has no limits, who
fears no judgment regarding what he or she thinks or does.
For this reason, the Psalter presents prayer as the fundamental reality of life. The reference to the
absolute and to the transcendent – which the spiritual masters call the ’holy fear of God’ – and which
makes us completely human, is the boundary that saves us from ourselves, preventing us from venturing
into life in a predatory and voracious manner. Prayer is the salvation of the human being.
There certainly also exists a false prayer, a prayer said only for the admiration of others. The person or
those persons who go to Mass only to make it seen that they are Catholics or to show off the latest
fashion that they acquired, or to make a good impression in society. They are moving toward false
prayer. Jesus strongly admonished against such prayer. But when the true spirit of prayer is sincerely
received and enters the heart, it then allows us to contemplate reality with God’s very eyes.
When one prays, everything acquires ’depth’. This is interesting in prayer, perhaps something subtle
begins but in prayer that thing acquires depth, it becomes weighty, as if God takes it in hand and
transforms it. The worst service someone can give God, and others as well, is to pray tiredly, by rote.
To pray like parrots. No, one prays with the heart. Prayer is the center of life. If there is prayer, even a
brother, a sister, even an enemy becomes important. An old saying from the first Christian monks reads:
’Blessed the monk who regards every human being as God, after God.’ Those who adore God, love His
children. Those who respect God, respect human beings.
And so, prayer is not a sedative to alleviate life’s anxieties; or, in any case, this type of prayer is
certainly not Christian. Rather, prayer makes each of us responsible…’And this commandment we have
from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.’ Scripture acknowledges the case of the
person who, even though he or she sincerely searches for God, never succeeds to encounter Him; but it
also affirms that the tears of the poor can never be repudiated on pain of not encountering God. God
does not support the ’atheism’ of those who repudiate the divine image that is imprinted in every human
being. That everyday atheism: I believe in God but I keep my distance from others and I allow myself to
hate others. This is practical atheism. Not to recognize the human person as the image of God is a
sacrilege, an abomination, the worst offense that can be directed toward the temple and the altar.”
Hopefully, we can have an experience of prayer at a depth encouraged by Pope Francis. May prayer help
us to discover the presence of God in each and every person we meet. May it be the center of our life.
Peace,
Fr. Damian