PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
Dear Friends in Christ:
I am writing this as we wait for the beginning of war in Iraq. But I am also writing this just before the beginning of Cursillo #22.
I am struck by that odd coincidence. The situation in Iraq and the Cursillo weekend have both been the focus of a great deal of prayer over many months. In all of our praying we recognize and acknowledge our absolute dependence on God. In prayer we come to see the truth of Jesus' words: "I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) To abide in Christ, is to live where he lived - and lives: in the Father's love.
We live in difficult, even dangerous times. That, of course, is not a new experience for Christians, or for any other member of the human race. In the very first of his letters, St. Paul wrote to a Church that was also living in difficult times: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:17) In the midst of suffering and anxiety and war, we are called to rejoice, to pray, to give thanks to God. In all circumstances, we are called to claim the gift that God has given us in Christ Jesus, the gift of our identity as children of God. In all circumstances, we are called to rejoice and to give thanks for that gift and, in absolute confidence in the Father's love, to pray without ceasing.
Whether the war in Iraq is short or long, we have a particular duty to pray for the men and women of our armed forces, for those from other nations who serve along with them and for all the people of Iraq who may have to bear great suffering. We are called to be united in prayer, even though we may hold different opinions about the President's decision to go to war.
As we respond to God's call to pray without ceasing, I offer two prayers for your use. The first is a prayer for our armed forces. The second is the very familiar prayer attributed to St. Francis.
Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
May our prayer in the days to come draw us deeper into the love of God.Your brother and priest,
Daniel
