Gospel Reflection of 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 4th February 2018

Jesus had a busy schedule! One day he is curing the sick and casting out devils; the next day he is travelling around country towns and preaching in the synagogues. In the midst of all the activity, however, Jesus somehow manages to sneak away to a “lonely place” to pray. Perhaps we could take this as a gentle reminder that we too need to take some time away from the “busy-ness” of our daily lives to make room for prayer.

Prayer, in one way, is a very simple thing. On another level, it is extremely complex. The only way we can learn how to pray is to pray. There are many different forms and methods that can be used – meditative prayer, vocal prayer, contemplation, etc. The golden rule however is to simply “pray as one finds best”. It is something so important that we should never associate prayer with the idea of being a burden.

Words are good insofar as they help the movements of the heart, but words merely for the sake of words should be avoided. It is not necessary to talk all the time; God also has His part to play in our prayer and sometimes He expects us to remain silent. As we grow in friendship with the Lord, long formulae cease to be necessary and feelings of devotion are only secondary. The person who perseveres at prayer will begin to understand that the absence of “feelings” does not lessen the value. Indeed, so-called “dry prayer” may even be more meritorious.

Discouragement is one of the most dangerous diseases of the soul and can occur at any point in the spiritual life. The temptation will sometimes hit us to reduce our time for prayer for “more useful” purposes. A vigorous decision to never give up the practice of prayer must be made no matter how futile it may seem. It may be helpful to think of prayer as “an appointment with God”. Even if we can do no more than remain on our knees and battle with distractions, we are never wasting time: in persevering we are continually offering and giving ourselves to God.

Developing a friendship with God through prayer is not something unusual or extraordinary to which only a few are specially chosen; it is the vocation of every Christian. At the heart of all our difficulties with prayer is the fact that we are never satisfied with thoughts about God; what we ultimately desire is God Himself. Paradoxically, we grow increasingly dissatisfied talking to God in prayer because prayer increases our desire to live in union with God. Prayer is difficult in this life precisely because it prepares us in such a real way for the eternal life to come.