5th Sunday in Ordinary
Time
February 8, 2015
Mark 1:29-39
“Rising
very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he
prayed (Mrk 1:35).”
Do you pray? Of course! It might
be that some spend more time in prayer than the other, but definitely we pray.
Some of us make a point to recite the holy rosary or say the novena every day.
Some may begin and end their day with a little prayer. We also are accustomed
to pronounce a grace before and after meal. After sometime living in the
Philippines, I realized that Filipino Catholics make a holy cross every time we
pass by a church as a sign of their devotion. Many of us certainly pause for
some time before the Blessed Sacrament; not to mention our devotion our Blessed
Virgin and the saints in heaven. Surely, participating in the Sacred Mass is
the highest form of prayer.
However, immersed in various
forms of prayer every day, do we ever ask and try to understand, what is
prayer? Ordinarily, we take for granted that we pray in particular tradition,
and this tradition speaks a lot of the uniqueness of our prayer. A Catholic
tradition is somewhat different from our Protestant brothers’. For example,
they do not pray the rosary like ours. Christian ways differ from our Muslim
brethren’. For instance, Friday is their sacred day, while we observe Sunday as
a holy day.
What is our tradition then? I
dare say that we belong to Jesus’ tradition. We pray the ways Jesus prays, and
there are at least three basic characteristics of Jesus’ way. Firstly, our
prayer is essentially interpersonal. It means that our prayer is relational in
nature. It connects two persons or parties. Of course, it is between us and
God. That’s why in prayer, we communicate with God as if we talk with our
friends. Not just any person, Jesus radically taught us to call our God, Father
(cf. Luk 11:1-4). That’s how intimate our relationship with our God is!
Secondly, our prayer as Christian
is not only interpersonal but heartwarmingly personal. ‘Personal’ means we can
confidently open our hearts, share our desires and dreams and express all our
stories to God. I often go to Quiapo Church at the heart of Manila, where
countless devotees of Black Nazarene make their way, and as I pray, I witness
some persons knelling and shedding their tears. Their prayer remain me of Jesus
praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. When things were so bleak and desperate,
Jesus never ceased praying and said, "Abba,
Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not
what I will but what you will. (Mark 14:37)”
Because our prayer is essentially
interpersonal, it just makes sense to pray for others. Like an ordinary chat or
conversation, we do not speak only about ourselves, but also talk about other
people and wish good things to happen to them. Thus, in prayer, we express also
our goodwill for others and hope that God will make it a reality. At the end of
Pope Francis’ pastoral visit to the Philippines last January, Cardinal Tagle of
Manila promised that the Filipinos will pray for the Holy Father and he assured
Francis that even Jesus himself has been praying for him. In the Last Supper,
Jesus told Peter, “I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you
have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:32).”
Finally,
today’s Gospel reveals that our prayer shall be constant and unceasing. Jesus
prayed in the beginning of the day, yet in other verses, Jesus went into
solitude place after his ministries (cf. Mrk 6:46). He prayed before He chose
His disciples and He knelt in the garden, before He entered His passion and
death. Prayer for Jesus is an indispensable reality in the life Jesus. Then,
St.Paul himself would remind the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing, because
precisely this was Christ’s way (1 Thess 5:17).
We pray not
only because it is obligation imposed by our parents or come to the Church
because the parish priest says so. We pray because it is our tradition, this is
our identity, and this is who we are. We pray because Jesus prays.
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno,
OP
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