Monday, September 2, 2013
558. What are the sources of Christian prayer? (part 4 continuation)
(Comp 558) They are: the Word of God
which gives us “the surpassing knowledge” of Christ (Philippians 3:8); the
Liturgy of the Church that proclaims, makes present and communicates the
mystery of salvation; the theological virtues; and everyday situations because
in them we can encounter God. “I love
you, Lord, and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally. … My God, if my
tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it
to you as often as I draw breath.” (The Curé of Ars, Saint John Mary
Vianney)
“In brief”
(CCC 2662) The Word of God, the liturgy of the Church, and
the virtues of faith, hope, and charity are sources of prayer.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 2659) We learn to pray at certain moments by hearing
the Word of the Lord and sharing in his Paschal mystery, but his Spirit is
offered us at all times, in the events of each
day, to make prayer spring up from us. Jesus' teaching about praying to our
Father is in the same vein as his teaching about providence (Cf. Mt 6:11, 34):
time is in the Father's hands; it is in the present that we encounter him, not
yesterday nor tomorrow, but today: "O that today you would hearken to his voice! Harden not your hearts"
(Ps 95:7-8).
Reflection
(CCC 2660) Prayer in the events of each
day and each moment is one of the secrets of the kingdom revealed to
"little children," to the servants of Christ, to the poor of the
Beatitudes. It is right and good to pray so that the coming of the kingdom of
justice and peace may influence the march of history, but it is just as
important to bring the help of prayer into humble, everyday situations; all
forms of prayer can be the leaven to which the Lord compares the kingdom (Cf.
Lk 13:20-21). [END]
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