Contact with God is the heart of prayer

August 11, 2002, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. Is the art of self-forgetfulness well practiced in our culture? 2. How well do you adjust your plans to the will of God? 3. How do you stay "in contact" with the Lord?

A haunting phrase in today's Gospel: ". . . he [Jesus] went up on the mountain by himself to pray." This activity of prayer, this dialogue with God, was also a central part of the life of Elijah who heard the Lord speak (also on the mountain). Prayer was also a major part of the life of St. Paul who has handed on to us, through the epistles, a record of his relationship to God through Christ Jesus.

One of the best books on prayer is authored by Brigid E. Herman and is entitled Creative Prayer (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 1998). Here are a few nuggets dealing with the nature of prayer.

Prayer is fundamentally an act of self-giving (101). At the core of prayer is loving attention and no one can exercise this love and attentiveness without the giving of oneself. Jesus' consciousness was consumed by the mission entrusted to him by the Father. In prayer that mission was recalled and took on ever greater clarity. This trip up the mountain was not about constructing personal goals for the next five years. Rather, it was a privileged time in which the Father and the Son were in intimate communion. From this experience, Jesus would challenge Peter and the other disciples to a deeper faith.

Elijah and Paul, prophets of God, also had the grace of loving attention. They were given a piece of God's inside business and then went forth to share it with others. In so doing, they had to forget about themselves. Their time and energy were not consumed by how they would come across, on many weeks of vacation (paid) for being a prophet, what are the fringe benefits and retirement packages. Rather, through prayer Elijah and Paul came to realize the presence and love of God. This prayer reality had to be shared with others.

". . . adjusting oneself readily to the promptings of a living Master (79)." With this "adjusting" Peter had to struggle. Plagued with presumption and a bold arrogance, Peter proclaimed in words this faith but his action often proved the contrary. His sinking into the water was faulted to him as a lack of faith. Jesus, the living Master, prompted Peter to come to him. Peter was only partially successful (like most of us) in adjusting his will to the will of God. We who witness this fault are also guilty of it.

Prayer, if authentic, leads to the adjustment of our wills to the will of God. Through prayer we become sensitive to the stirrings of the Lord, even the whispering sound of the wind. Through prayer we grieve the separation of people from God. In prayer our faith is deepened so that no storm can cause us to falter.

". . . simply intelligent, purposeful, devoted contact with God (65). Such is the heart of prayer. Contact! Connection! Staying in touch! Devotion! It's both a matter of the mind and of the heart. Through prayer, meaning is given; through prayer, our hearts are moved to devotion. Nor is this devotion some sentimental attitude. Rather, it is a devotion that amounts to love, active concern for the well being of others through one's commitment to the call to discipleship. If we live "in contact" with God, then our daily lives are significantly different from those without faith. We will be challenged, day in and day out, to build the kingdom and to allow God to act through us for the common good.

Mountain climbing is dangerous. And when mountain climbing includes prayer it is doubly dangerous. Nothing will ever again be the same.

(Bp. Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay.)