What Should I Pray For?

Some questions are questions in themselves; their intent is known only to the one asking. 

What should I pray for --- Why should I bother? I don’t think there is a God who is listening. What should I pray for --- There are so many things I want/need, which should I pray for? What should I pray for --- Who am I, to ask/tell a God what should be done? 

As you can see, the question almost becomes a philosophical one, with many subtle differences based on the mind of one who might pray.  But regardless of whether one should pray or not, what particular thing should be prayed for, or how much we believe God values our requests, the REAL question we want answered is: Will He give me what I am praying for?  At least that question sounds like one which has a more direct answer:  Yes or no?  There is, however, for many who would ask that blunt question of God yet another subtlety in their intent:  You know, God, if You loved us, You’ll say “Yes.”

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The dice game called “Craps” sounds simple.  Little children sometimes play it (although their parents probably give it some other name).  You roll two dice and if the total comes up 7 or 11 on the first roll, you win, but if it comes up 2 or 3 or 12, you lose.  Any other number on the first roll becomes your point, which you try to roll again to win before you roll a 7, in which case you lose. 

So, on the first roll you could win, lose, or neither --- you must continue to roll.  And if you neither win nor lose on the first roll, on subsequent rolls you could also win, lose, or neither.  You might roll the dice once, and the game is over, or you might roll the dice many times and find the game just continuing, until you win or lose.  The rules seem fairly simple, until you look up the Vegas Rules For Craps and you see the many ways you can place bets on the outcome of a roll, and the many differing payoff rates, which have to do with the odds of a particular number coming up on the two dice, since some numbers can come up only one way (two is a one on each die), while other numbers can come up multiple ways (six is three and three, or four and two (or two and four), or five and one (or one and five)).  You can see that the fairly simple rules about when you win or lose become more complex when you start betting on a particular outcome.

I wonder what the people in Vegas playing craps are praying for?  Well, first off it depends on if the one rolling the dice is on his first roll or a subsequent roll in the same game:  for instance, the number seven wins on the first roll, but the same number seven loses on a subsequent roll.  And to some degree what you are “praying” for depends on your degree of daring (or your confidence in God answering your prayers), since a bet on the number two can win one way after the first roll, but the number six can win 5 ways. 

In at least one way the game of “Life”, our life, is like that game of Craps in Las Vegas.  Like us, people there are praying and wondering:  Will He give me what I am praying for?  And certainly even we could give some relative odds of OUR “winning number,” a prayer answered coming up:  If I pray for snow tomorrow and the forecast is for ninety degrees, the odds are probably quite low that my prayer will be answered.  But the people in Las Vegas have one huge advantage over us:  They are in the room where the events of the game are taking place.  We are not.

The people in Vegas can see everything happening in the game, and understand it.  They can see, for instance, that the roller of the dice has just rolled the winning number seven, a total of fifty times in a row:  what are the odds, do you think, that he will roll seven again?  And does he look a little woozy and sweaty, like he is having a heart attack and will fall over before he rolls again?  People in that room can see those things, and have it influence what they bet, and pray for.

But God is not a material being; he is not in “our room” here on earth.  He maintains our existence and can influence material reality --- and He hears our prayers --- but He answers them in ways we cannot always understand.  In part, that is because we don’t understand what we are praying for.  God is “in the room” of all reality, and He sees all that is happening.  We pray for certain outcomes in life, like praying for the number seven to come up in the game of Craps, but not being in the room like He is, we don’t know if what we pray for, the number seven, will win (like on the first roll of the dice) or lose (like on subsequent rolls in a game).  We often think we know what we are praying for, but we really don’t.  We can’t see the whole game.  God can.

I maintain contact with an atheist friend I met when I lived in Europe for a year.  We worked on a project together and got to know each other quite well.  I once went to Germany to visit his home and family.  We agreed on many things, but obviously not all.  Our conversations on matters of God and faith were respectful, but sometimes we just couldn’t understand the other’s viewpoint.  Recently I sent him an email telling about my mom’s deteriorating health, and he responded in sympathy:  “I will keep the fingers crossed that she recovers.”

He is but a man, yet on some things I’ll never be able to figure out how he thinks.  And so why should I ever think that I can figure out how God thinks?  And yet so many of us assume we do.

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A nationally-known speaker came to our small men’s breakfast meeting this past Tuesday.  The topic of his talk was to be our new pope, Francis.  That surely was his intent, however he quickly got into an excited state, and proceeded to tell us about what “he knew” about God’s plan for this pope.  And, by implication, what we should be praying for. 

And as he spoke before us, I wondered what room he was in.

After telling us some of the things recently said and done by our new pope, and highly praising him, the speaker made a statement “that is going to shock some of you: Unlike our last two popes, this pope will fail.”  He went on to describe the major accomplishments of Popes JPII and Benedict XVI, and noted that Pope Francis will not focus on the same areas.  “This is the first truly post-Vatican II pope; he wasn’t there.  The last two popes implemented and clarified the results of Vatican II, and now that era of the Church, so much talked about and focused on, is closed.”  Those popes could implement Vatican II, but this pope will find it difficult to implement many changes in the Church, in a Church and in a world which so needs to change.

And I wanted to stand up and shout: “Oh ye of little faith!!”

But I didn’t.  The speaker went on to state what we all knew about the state of the Church and society, declining attendance, growing acceptance of sin and moral relativism, and the sexual abuse scandal which will continue to cripple Church leadership for many years to come: “The media will not let it die.”  “If the Church and society are to change,” he noted, “the lay faithful will have to step up and live the faith they say they believe.”  He went on to talk about the importance of subsidiarity, and how we must lead by example --- at least on this he and I would agree.  He stated rather bluntly that this pope would fail without us, and could only succeed with us, and our track record has not been too good in recent years. 

The men sitting around the breakfast tables (and a goodly number of women who attended to hear this speaker) asked questions or made comments which seemed intent on defending the laity.  “When was the last time you heard abortion or gay marriage preached from the pulpit?”  Another asked: “When was the last time we heard sin preached?”  And another questioned about the poor catechesis in even Catholic schools, “our kids are not taught the faith.”  It seemed a debate:  “The Church isn’t able to lead” versus “We need leaders.”  It kind of reminded me of the blind leading the blind, and of my namesake, Thomas, who wouldn’t believe or understand “unless I put my fingers in the nail holes, and my hand in His pierced side.”  If we don’t have it all neatly laid out in front of us and explained in the way we want it, we can’t believe it can happen.  Both sides of the debate implied a “prayer” about what God should do, but neither was in His room!

Oh ye of little faith!!

The pope will fail without us?  The shepherd needs to rely on the work of the sheep in order to succeed?  The parable I recall was not one in which the Shepherd went out and got lost and the sheep had to go and find him, it was the other way around.  When Jesus spoke to Peter, He said:  Lead My sheep, not “Listen to My flock.” 

The whole discussion brought to my mind another good friend of mine, who went to great lengths to “do the will of the Holy Spirit.”  He drafted a 70+ page proposal to implement large numbers of small groups in a parish, so that they could teach each other and be open to the workings of the Holy Spirit, and then they could meet and decide on what needed to be done within the parish, freeing the priest for other duties (“Go into your room and pray,” I guess).  With all good intentions, my friend too thought that priests were too busy, in too short a supply, couldn’t preach enough, and the people needed to take charge.  Fortunately (in my opinion), his proposal was not implemented, although many in the parish agreed with it.

Our speaker on Tuesday said that the laity must step up, but I’m not sure I agree.  Considering all the points he made about the weakened position of Church leadership, I don’t think that the laity taking charge is the answer.  There are so few (and even the speaker would agree on this) who are sufficiently catechized --- or in a personal relationship with Christ --- capable of leading, how can they “take charge?”  If people will not follow the Church leadership, why would they follow those who do?  No, instead of the laity stepping up, it seems to me that the religious leaders must step down.  If people are not listening to preaching (and whether something is preached or not, if the people are not in the church they can’t hear), then the priests must stop preaching and act, and lead not in words but in love. 

St. Francis did not come out preaching to the people of his day, he acted among them, in love.  And the people followed, and the Church of his time was reformed.  Yes, in our day subsidiarity needs to come to life and the laity need to act out in faith, but they are not listening to the words of priests nor will they listen to words of each other.  I believe that the Holy Spirit recently directed the votes of 115 men in Vatican City, and a Pope Francis was chosen, the answer to our prayers, even if we don’t know what to pray for.  Oh people of little faith, HAVE faith.  Don’t pray for --- or even demand --- God to do your will, humbly accept His, even if you do not understand why it is good for you. 

Our speaker Tuesday loudly proclaimed in his closing: “We must act!”  I agree, but humbly I must also state that: “We must follow!”

And I think God has given us a leader. 

You can read my conversion story or blurbs on the sidebar of this blog: when it comes to spiritual matters in my life, I HAVE acted in the past, doing all I thought was right.  And I so often failed.  It was only when I asked if I might help God do what HE thought was right in my life, that I began to succeed, when I (a great leader in my own mind) became humble enough to say “I will follow.”

And these days, I pray for nothing else. 

I won’t roll the dice and trust in myself alone, or “cross my fingers”.     

Don't Go Drinking Too Much --- On Tuesday

I know, I know.  You’re probably saying: “Well, it’s a famous saint’s feast day, and shouldn’t we be celebratin’?”  And yes, yes, I do understand that urge to celebrate someone famous.  After all, St. Joseph IS considered the foster-father of Jesus, I mean, just how famous does famous have to be?  And on top of that, he is patron saint of the best country in the world, Poland (for you doubters, check out the WSJ article, Poland is one of the fastest growing economies in the world right now.) 

So there are many reasons to celebrate the good saint’s feast day on this Tuesday.  But you shouldn’t be going out drinking all day, all the same.  Instead, like all good Polish Catholics, you should rise early, go to mass (and wearing red, of course), say some prayers for our families to St. Joseph, and THEN go out drinking.  (Us Polacks always have our priorities straight.) 

Now I know, especially among some women, they have their prejudices against St. Joseph.  They point out that Mary told him about the angel visiting her, and the unexpected arrival of a son soon, and Joseph’s reaction was one of: “Riiiiiiiiggghhtt.  Angel?  Sure.  Um, maybe we shouldn’t go through with these marriage plans, Mary.”  Alright ladies, I’ll concede that point.  BUT, when the angel appeared to Joseph, to set him straight (and they probably had a couple of beers talking about it), then Joseph promptly listened to God’s urgings.  And isn’t that the proper priority of things now, God first, THEN the little lady? 

I mean, Joseph is also considered the patron saint of families.  Just look at  happened the next time an angel came to him.  The angel appeared in the middle of the night and said: “Joseph!”  And well, okay, he probably just rolled over, but then the angel said: “Jesus and Mary are in danger, you must leave town immediately.”  Well, then the Scriptures imply that he virtually flew out the door with them, aiming to protect them at all costs.  Well, I bet he even helped Mary to pack! 

When God calls, Joseph listens!

And let’s not forget that Joseph died before Jesus or Mary.  The poor man probably worked himself to death, for the family.  And so why shouldn’t we plan to tip a few back, toasting this son of David and father of Jesus? 

I can hear some of you saying now: “But it’s Lent.  It is a time of fasting, not celebrating.”  Now wait just a minute there, my poor Catholic would-be scholars, Lent is NOT a time of no fun.  Did you forget what is coming up next Sunday, Palm Sunday?  Wasn’t there something there about a parade and celebration?  And so what is wrong with getting in with the holiday by doing a bit of celebrating on Tuesday?  Did you also forget that Tuesday is also the eve of Wednesday, the first day of Spring this year?  Hosannah and Springtime and a model father, why I can’t think of a better day for celebratin’.

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Please, no comments about Springtime also being about “green” which reminds you of some other saint, whose name I forget right now.  All this hullabaloo about this other guy, an exterminator for pity’s sake, whose claim to fame is driving all the snakes out of Ireland.  The way I heard it told, by the time all the snakes left, there weren’t any people LEFT in Ireland.  At any rate, his fame doesn’t compare to that of the good St. Joseph.  And if you would still make a fuss about comparing the two saints or the two countries, I have but one further question of ye: “And just how many popes have come from Ireland, much less ones they are now calling ‘The Great!!?”  Surely you’d be jestin’ to even bring up the comparisons.

And so if I happen to be “busy” Tuesday and not get around to posting anything, I’ll say my Happy St. Joseph’s Day to ye this day.  (Nothing else important is going on today, anyway.)    

After All These Years, Why a Francis Now?

The guys in the coffee shop yesterday morning somehow got on the topic of country size.  “With less than 200 acres, Vatican City is the smallest,” said one.  “And the richest,” said another.

A couple of days earlier I had heard a BBC broadcast on the ongoing papal elections process --- or so it was advertised.  Instead were interviews of unhappy Irish people.  “So many priests have sexually abused children and no one did anything about it.”  “The nuns used to beat us bloody, and left us to freeze outside.”  “Is there one of the 115 who could say he hasn’t covered up sexual abuse?”  Eventually, the broadcast did touch on the conclave of cardinals, identifying one “candidate” after another, and why they are so unfit to lead the Church.  (I hadn’t heard such “unbiased” reporting since a six year old explained to me how the ice cream happened to fall to the floor “all by itself.”)

I don’t know that any man is fit, in the judgments of men, to say that he acts in the name of God.  We look at the institution of the Church, its leaders, and its riches, and WE judge:  “This is not how God wanted it.”  And in acting as a judge, we assume two critical points: WE know the rules or laws of God, and WE are just. 

We so easily judge ourselves as better than the rest.  We look at some of our small successes in life as if we were looking at gold, forgetting that even gold is just a form of earthen matter.  We think we are making ourselves as kings, but we are just kids playing in the mud, building castles of sand.  We forget that the spiritual kingdom we are talking of is not of this world, and yet we apply the world’s standards.

I know little about this new pope, Pope Francis I, but I have heard stories already of how he lived in an apartment, took a bus to work each day, and worked among the poor.  It seems like the papal name he chose fits his way of life.  Perhaps he will live that way of life in Vatican City also.  And perhaps his way may spread, even as the saint of Assisi’s way spread.  St Francis was offered the riches of the world by his father, maybe even commanded to take them by him.  Instead Francis took off all his clothes in the city square, stood naked and told his father that he neither wanted nor needed anything from him or the world.  Were this pope to do the same, would that satisfy those crying out against the Church?

I very much doubt it.

In the United States we elected a president whose campaign slogan was: “Yes, we can,” --- with an unsaid but implied: “If I lead you.”  The power of and empowering of that slogan appealed to the pride in each man: “I know the rules or laws; I am just.  Let me lead (not those other flawed individuals), and I’ll make the country --- and indeed the world, a better place.”  Yes, we can!!

I am presently reading a book by Brother Simeon (Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis) titled: Fire of Mercy.  It is a deep analysis and meditation on the original Greek words of the Gospel of Matthew.  Recently I read his meditation on the Parable of the Vineyard Workers, who went into the fields at various times of the day, yet who were all paid the same wage at the end of the day.  Br. Simeon brings out the point that Jesus makes here (and in so many other parables):  Man in his envy seeks to judge, but Jesus did not come to preach on justice or the rights of man.  Jesus came to preach love.  The vineyard workers wanted to yell at the vineyard owner: “You are unjust; these worthless bums deserve less than us.”  They didn’t get what Jesus was saying: “Don’t you see?  They are not worthless; each is worth everything to me.  And that is how they should be valued, and loved, by you too.”  The workers’ reaction was similar to the shouts of those righteous men in other parables who proclaimed: “Look at the healing work He does on the Sabbath.  Blasphemy!!”   But they didn’t see what Jesus was saying either: “Look at the love I give; it should always be given, every day, to everyone.”  They too judged, by their own standards, and did not seek to understand His.

Yes, we can?  This is the cry of those who would judge others, of those who think they know God’s justice, but they don’t know God.  They, like the vineyard workers would judge who got paid too much, and who got paid too little (themselves, of course).  They would say they know how to treat all fairly, echoing the words of Marx and Lenin, and so many others.  They would judge themselves superior in the knowledge of right and wrong, and capable of treating all people justly.  Yes, we can!

No, they can’t.

“By definition, an unchecked passion seeks to impose itself upon the world regardless of its destructiveness and untruth.  It is this failure to see the truth of things in a situation that Jesus, through the landowner, is calling ‘evil.’  Worse still, this outward projection of (the workers’) negative passion that blinds true vision has been triggered by the ‘goodness of another.’”
--- Fire of Mercy, PP 248-9

In His parables, Jesus taught us that love is the way to treat another.  Our new pope seems to understand that well.  In the world, and even in his church, however, are many who will loudly proclaim against what the Church teaches: “But that is not fair,” and seek to define a justice by their standards, their justice.  As Br. Simeon notes, even goodness can cause negative passions.  And so what will this new pope face, and how will he preach to those who would preach to him of their justice?

The original St. Francis was needed in his time, to visibly demonstrate a love lived out, what Jesus so passionately preached --- and so few understood.  Why another Francis now?  Perhaps it is time again. 

Everywhere we look we see so many slaves who would preach to the master how He should run His business, how He might serve them.  They have so much to learn, again.

Worldly power expects to be served, while divine omnipotence expects only to serve.  (P 292)

Whoever would be great among you
must be your servant,
And whoever would be first among you,
must be your slave.  (Mt 20:26)

A Prayer for Soldiers

When her grandson went into the army, a friend composed a prayer for him, printed it, and taking his picture, laminated it into a prayer card, with the prayer for him on one side, and his picture on the other.  She made copies and passed out those prayer cards to her friends, and even strangers, and me.

I pray for him each morning.

The prayer itself asks the Father to keep him from spiritual and bodily harm, and to give him and his family courage, strength and hope.  And it closes with a prayer for peace, “to all your children in every nation.”  I find it a most fitting prayer to pray, and especially its reminder of something we often forget:  spiritual harm is just as bad as bodily harm.  In fact, for a soldier it is worse.

I recently read that the most common career for the early Church martyrs was that of a soldier; their minds were already attuned to a willing death.  We read St. Mark’s words of Jesus about crossing the lake: “Let us cross over to the other side” (Mk 4:35), rarely considering that He will say those words to us one day --- perhaps soon.  We rarely think about death, and avoid “gloomy thoughts,” or in our masked fear make light of them, but a soldier faces death squarely on.  He pledges he is willing to die for his country.  And especially in war zones, he thinks about death.  But I wonder, does he think about eternal death --- or eternal life --- as often?  He will accept an order from his officer to give up his bodily life, but will he accept as easily an order from His God to give up the same life, spiritually?

Will we?

It is good that the prayer prays that the soldier be kept from spiritual harm.  At the end of every mass at the two parishes I attend, the Prayer to St. Michael is said aloud: “Defend us in battle, be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil.”  We all face spiritual battles each day.  We certainly need defenders, like St. Michael, for it is a war we cannot win alone.  And while we pray to him, we need prayers for each other, too. 

Soldiers face physical harm, but many people face spiritual harm, and some are probably more targeted than others, in particular those who decide to use their lives to fight the spiritual battles of the world head on, spiritual soldiers in careers of religious life or in educating our children in the ways of God.  If you have a child or grandchild in a career facing spiritual harm, I think it would be a good thing to follow my friend’s example and print up prayer cards for them, and pass them out wherever you go.

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I watched a video yesterday of a conference I had attended in 1993, at Notre Dame University.  The priest speaker spoke about Mary’s call, echoing her Son’s, to live our lives in love.  She called for a change of hearts, and a commitment to action.  And then he did something I had not seen at a Catholic gathering before, he issued an altar call.  He asked anyone who had any inkling that God might be calling them to make a commitment to religious life to come up to the stage, and make a commitment to action: to investigate sincerely whether He was calling them or not.  I was surprised when about 300 people came up to the stage.  He said: “You say there are no vocations?  Are you asking?”

Outside the conference hall were set up book sellers and advertisements for various religious orders.  I also noticed one religious order that had a sign-up sheet for a discernment weekend --- there were about 3 names on the list.  Out of curiosity, the next day I went back to that table and asked how the sign-ups were going.  “Do you want to come for a discernment weekend?” he asked me.  “We now have three weekends scheduled and full, but we are taking names and will set up additional times as soon as we can.”

“Impressed” wouldn’t be an adequate word to describe how I felt. 

Those who would choose religious life need our prayers and support --- and perhaps our asking them.