Dear Friends,
On this Sunday when we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit into our midst and the beginning
of the Church, I thought it would be good to continue some of Pope Francis recent letter to you about
holiness and prayer. The following excerpts are from the fourth chapter of the letter:
“…though it may seem obvious, we should remember that holiness consists in a habitual openness to the
transcendent, expressed in prayer and adoration. The saints are distinguished by a spirit of prayer and a
need for communion with God. They find an exclusive concern with this world to be narrow and stifling,
and, amid their own concerns and commitments, they long for God, losing themselves in praise and
contemplation of the Lord. I do not believe in holiness without prayer, even though that prayer need not be
lengthy or involve intense emotions.
Saint John of the Cross tells us: “Endeavour to remain always in the presence of God, either real,
imaginative, or unitive, insofar as is permitted by your works”. In the end, our desire for God will surely
find expression in our daily lives: “Try to be continuous in prayer, and in the midst of bodily exercises do
not leave it. Whether you eat, drink, talk with others, or do anything, always go to God and attach your
heart to him”.
For this to happen, however, some moments spent alone with God are also necessary. For Saint Teresa of
Avila, prayer “is nothing but friendly intercourse, and frequent solitary converse, with him who we know
loves us”. I would insist that this is true not only for a privileged few, but for all of us, for “we all have need
of this silence, filled with the presence of him who is adored”. Trust-filled prayer is a response of a heart
open to encountering God face to face, where all is peaceful and the quiet voice of the Lord can be heard in
the midst of silence.
In that silence, we can discern, in the light of the Spirit, the paths of holiness to which the Lord is calling us.
Otherwise, any decisions we make may only be window-dressing that, rather than exalting the Gospel in our
lives, will mask or submerge it. For each disciple, it is essential to spend time with the Master, to listen to
his words, and to learn from him always. Unless we listen, all our words will be nothing but useless chatter.
We need to remember that “contemplation of the face of Jesus, died and risen, restores our humanity, even
when it has been broken by the troubles of this life or marred by sin. We must not domesticate the power of
the face of Christ”. So let me ask you: Are there moments when you place yourself quietly in the Lord’s
presence, when you calmly spend time with him, when you bask in his gaze? Do you let his fire inflame your
heart? Unless you let him warm you more and more with his love and tenderness, you will not catch fire.
How will you then be able to set the hearts of others on fire by your words and witness? If, gazing on the
face of Christ, you feel unable to let yourself be healed and transformed, then enter into the Lord’s heart,
into his wounds, for that is the abode of divine mercy…
…If we realize that God exists, we cannot help but worship him, at times in quiet wonder, and praise him in
festive song. We thus share in the experience of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, who said: “As soon as I
believed that there was a God, I understood that I could do nothing other than to live for him”. In the life of
God’s pilgrim people, there can be many simple gestures of pure adoration, as when “the gaze of a pilgrim
rests on an image that symbolizes God’s affection and closeness. Love pauses, contemplates the mystery,
and enjoys it in silence”.
Peace,
Fr. Damian