Suffering is beyond our understanding so we can only bless it with the CARE we give!  Joy is a gift we receive that permits us a glimpse of heaven.

        

Bishop Barron shared this insight, during the storm, Jesus’ disciples cried out to the Lord in desperation: "Lord, save us! We are perishing!"  

This is a de profundis prayer.  Do you know the de profundis prayer?  

It comes from Psalm 130: "Out of the depths, I have cried to you, O Lord.  O Lord, be attentive to the voice of my pleading."  It is the prayer offered at the darkest times of life, when we feel utterly incapable of helping ourselves.

When we suffer or when one of our loved one suffers we know what it is to cry out to the Lord, may we, also, experience the Lord’s healing.

  

In the Gospels we read – Jesus rose early and went off to a deserted place, where He prayed.

Prayer was vital for the Son of God (our Savior Jesus Christ) – so how much more important/vital is it for us!

A father took his small son with him to town one day to run some errands.   When lunchtime arrived, the two of them went to a familiar diner for a sandwich.

The father sat down on one of the stools at the counter and lifted the boy up to the seat beside him.

They ordered lunch and when the waiter brought the food, the father said, "Son, we'll just have a silent prayer."

Dad got through praying first and waited for the boy to finish his prayer, but he just sat with his head bowed for an unusually long time.

When he finally looked up, his father asked him, "What in the world were you praying about all that time?"  With the innocence and honesty of a child, he replied, "How do I know? It was a silent prayer."  

{Solitude and Silence Sermons (02/05/12) Our Daily Bread, Adapted}

 Many of our prayers are silent, but whether our prayers are silent or spoken – God already knows our hearts.

So why pray?  One reason to prayer and to work diligently at our prayer life is to prepare our hearts for God’s answer.

So, we are to go into the world and announce the Gospel, announce the Good News, primarily by the way we live.

What is that Good News?   That God:

1.    Created you

2.    Loves you

3.    Redeemed you

4.    Chose you as a disciple

5.    Called you to share His Gospel in deed and in word and to be with Him forever in Heaven.

That is the reason for Joy.

May God Be Praised!