Offered by Dcn. George Kelly

                                                 Thoughts on Prayer

 

Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, says, “To love another is to see the face of God.”  That is the gift that prayer sometimes sends our way. 

 

 

 

St. Francis de Sales outlined “… the conditions necessary to pray ….  The first … we must be little & humble; second … we must have a goodly supply of hope; and third keep our minds fixed on Jesus Christ crucified.”  Valjean without saying it or possible without realizing it points to a basic teaching of the Catholic Church, we are made in the image and likeness of God.  de Sales gives us this insight on praying, “When you come to the Lord, talk to Him if you can; if you can’t, just stay there, let yourself be seen, and don’t try to hard to do anything else.” And “To mutter with the lips is not praying if one’s heart is not joined to it …. Prayer is nothing other than speaking to God.”  (Sermon in a Sentence, p.140)

 

 

 

In his Treatise on the Love of God, de Sales teaches, “Prayer is … a conversation of the soul with God.”  He recommends the morning as the best time to pray, “If possible, [pray] in the morning, which is the best time for spiritual exercises, and think of them during the rest of the day.”  (Sermon in a Sentence, p.133) 

 

Silence is many times the best prayer; like sitting with a love, one watching a sunset, no words are necessary; the two hearts are one.  God already knows our needs, our wants and our desires before we utter a word; we need to be attuned with what God wants for us, for our good.

 

For St. Francis de Sales our history, salvation history is the story of love lost and love found; the Incarnation is really God kissing earth, urging us to follow the Way of the Lord.  Fr. Lewis Fiorelli, OSFS in The Spiritual Directory Today wrote, “In Salesian spirituality … union with the will of God must always be situated in the deeper context of a loving, personal relationship with the Beloved that is expressed in and deepened through daily prayer ….”  Salesian Scholar Wendy Wright asks, “What claims your love?”  “Where do [your] deepest desires lie?”

 

 

 

To find true peace and contentment we must give our heart, soul and will to God – for God’s good pleasure.  Pope Francis said, “Prayer is not a magic wand that fulfills your desires, but it is what helps you keep the faith when you don’t understand God’s will.”

 

 

 

 

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

 

Saint Andre Bessette intercede for us.

 

May God Be Praised!