573. Are there objections to prayer?
(Comp 573) Along with erroneous notions
of prayer, many think they do not have the time to pray or that praying is
useless. Those who pray can be discouraged in the face of difficulties and
apparent lack of success. Humility, trust and perseverance are necessary to overcome
these obstacles.
“In brief”
(CCC 2753) In the battle of prayer we must confront
erroneous conceptions of prayer, various currents of thought, and our own
experience of failure. We must respond with humility, trust, and perseverance
to these temptations which cast doubt on the usefulness or even the possibility
of prayer.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 2726) In the battle of prayer, we must face in
ourselves and around us erroneous notions
of prayer. Some people view prayer as a simple psychological activity,
others as an effort of concentration to reach a mental void. Still others
reduce prayer to ritual words and postures. Many Christians unconsciously
regard prayer as an occupation that is incompatible with all the other things
they have to do: they "don't have the time." Those who seek God by
prayer are quickly discouraged because they do not know that prayer comes also
from the Holy Spirit and not from themselves alone. (CCC 2727) We must also
face the fact that certain attitudes deriving from the mentality of "this present world" can penetrate our lives
if we are not vigilant. For example, some would have it that only that is true
which can be verified by reason and science; yet prayer is a mystery that
overflows both our conscious and unconscious lives. Others overly prize
production and profit; thus prayer, being unproductive, is useless. Still
others exalt sensuality and comfort as the criteria of the true, the good, and
the beautiful; whereas prayer, the "love of beauty" (philokalia), is caught up in the glory
of the living and true God. Finally, some see prayer as a flight from the world
in reaction against activism; but in fact, Christian prayer is neither an
escape from reality nor a divorce from life.
Reflection
(CCC 2728) Finally, our battle has to confront what we
experience as failure in prayer:
discouragement during periods of dryness; sadness that, because we have
"great possessions" (Cf. Mk 10:22) we have not given all to the Lord;
disappointment over not being heard according to our own will; wounded pride,
stiffened by the indignity that is ours as sinners; our resistance to the idea
that prayer is a free and unmerited gift; and so forth. The conclusion is
always the same: what good does it do to pray? To overcome these obstacles, we
must battle to gain humility, trust, and perseverance.
No comments:
Post a Comment