Quality prayer

The story is told about a little boy who, in order to get the attention of the busy store owner, shouted: “I would like to buy the two most popular compounds, sodium chloride and the simplest glucose, and also the common spices, allium cepa and allium sativum, all worth $0.4807692!” The store owner was stunned. “Now that I have your attention,” the little boy then said, “I’d like to buy salt, sugar, onions, and garlic. Converted to pesos, that’s P22.”

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In today’s gospel (Lk. 18, 1-8), Jesus reminds us of the necessity of persistent prayer. Persistence does not necessarily mean long, unending prayer, but heartfelt and confident prayer. In other words, it is not so much the quantity as the quality of our prayers that will get God’s attention, aid, and mercy. We cannot control or manipulate God by our prayers. In prayers, it is God who really calls the shots. All we can do is trust.

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Some of the best prayers are the shortest ones. In fact, the best kind of prayer is said in tears, or whispered, or just remains in the heart, unsaid. The bottom line of prayer is faith and trust. A heart speaks to another heart. Beyond formula, beyond form, beyond liturgy, and rubrics, prayer is a relationship, without which prayer becomes an obligation, or just a show, or worse, a joke.

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There are many things we cannot explain or understand in this life. The earthquake that hit Cebu and Bohol last week reminds us of our fragility and mortality. As much as we want to, as much as we try, we realize that there are many things beyond our control in this life. A lot has been said and will be said about this unfortunate tragedy, but the bottom line is that it should lead us all, not to finger-pointing, but to real soul-searching, and, more so, to reaching out and loving. The Lord has spoken. Are we listening? Our brothers and sisters are suffering. Are we praying and loving concretely?

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Times of tragedy and misfortune are times for us to remember God’s power and faithfulness and His ability to bring good out of seemingly hopeless situations. Remember, in our most helpless and weakest moments, the evil one also pounces on us to make us angry, blaming, resentful, or distressed. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

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Today is World Mission Sunday. Yes, we have a mandate to go and “tell the world of His love.” Our Filipino missionaries are continuing their mission all over the world. We are now a mission-sending country. In Czestochowa, Poland, we met two Filipino nuns who are doing a wonderful job of welcoming and feeding (adobo!) pilgrims from all over the world. Sr. Joyce Ereje from Bacolod and Sr. Melita Camizares from General Santos, of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, have provided pilgrims a “home away from home” for the past 10 years, making the love of God felt by so many through their simple, joyful, and sincere hospitality and service.

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One touching place we visited last week was the Kalvaria pilgrimage site, a replica of the Holy Land in Poland, which is a very dear place for Blessed John Paul II. It is said that when Karol Wojtyla lost his mother at the tender age of eight, he and his father went on a retreat to Kalvaria. The little Karol kept asking his father where his mother was, and his father told him, pointing to the icon of the Blessed Mother, “There is your mother.” It was here that JPII realized his motto “Totus  tuus, Maria (I am all yours, Mary)!” JPII visited the shrine for at least 150 times, as a student, as a priest, as a bishop, as a cardinal and as a pope. And on his last visit to Poland on Aug. 17, 2002, he made one final visit to Kalvaria before he died.

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One of the shortest and best prayers we need to pray and live (the sooner, the better!) is: “Jesus, I trust in you!” This is the prayer given to us by Sister Faustina at the Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland. As we journey on, we realize that we need to trust more in God, and less in ourselves. Please remember that we have received more than we have achieved in this life, and that we are loved by God not so much because of who we are as despite who we are. Let us all take the path of humility, be grateful, and be trusting in God’s forgiveness, mercy and love.

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At the Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Krakow, I experienced something that made me realize what prayer is all about. At communion time, I used the key to open the tabernacle but it took me a long time before I could really open it. Why? Because I kept pulling at the tabernacle door. Finally, it dawned on me that maybe I should just push, which I did, and lo and behold, with a gentle push the tabernacle was opened, just like that! In prayer, as in life, perhaps we do not need to pull too much. All we need is a little push, lots of trust, and lots of things will open up for us.

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Thought for the journey: “For every painful experience, the Lord is your healing touch, for every disappointment, the Lord is your certain hope; for every turbulent storm, the Lord is your calming peace. Yes, remember, wherever and whenever, the Lord is with you always!”

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Bantay Matanda invites you to a lay forum on “Elder Abuse” on Oct. 26 at the Janssen Hall of Christ the King Seminary, 9 a.m.-12 noon. The speaker is Dr. Deana Santos-Ringor. For inquiries, please call 373-2262, 998-2548, or 0917-416849.

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, teach me to pray truly and sincerely, full of trust in your love for me. Amen.