Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 5—The Georgia Bulletin, September 8,1983
Father John Catoir
Effort To Pray Is Prayer
How do I discern God’s will? What does God want of
me?
In his book, “Gracias,” Father Henri Nouwen tells of
his six-month stay in Bolivia and Peru. He kept a journal
as he searched for an answer to the question, “Does God
want me to live and work in Latin America?” I found his
answer in the entry dated Feb. 25,1982:
“There is not such a thing as the right place or the right
job. I can be happy and unhappy in all situations. I am
sure of it because I have been. I have felt distraught and
joyful in situations of abundance as well as poverty, in
situations of popularity and anonymity, in situations of
success and failure. The difference was never based on the
situation itself, but always on my state of mind and heart.
When I knew I was walking with the Lord, I always felt
happy and at peace. When entangled in my own
complaints and emotional needs, I always felt restless and
divided.”
Father Nouwen also wrote about the problem of
distracting thoughts and emotions during prayer. It would
be lovely if prayer was a warm, religious feeling which we
could turn on and off at will, but so often it is a jumble of
feelings and imaginings totally unrelated to the purpose at
hand. Early in the art of praying one must learn a simple
truth; namely that prayer is essentially in the will to
communicate with God. One decides to pray in spite of
feelings.
How are we to overcome the annoyance of a
topsy-turvy mind which so often stifles prayer? Is progress
possible for people with many responsibilities and too
little time? The answer is “yes.” Father Nouwen wisely
suggests that we offer the desire to pray along with all the
distractions in a gesture of love.
“We convert our unceasing thinking into unceasing
prayer when we move from a self-centered monologue
into a God-centered dialogue. This requires that we turn
all our thoughts into a conversation.” In other words, we
use all kinds of thoughts, good and bad, as the raw
material of prayer. “The main question, therefore, is not
so much what we think, but to whom we present our
thoughts.”
No matter how many distractions flood your mind
during the time of prayer, offer it all to God as a gift of
love. It may not be prayer as you would hope it to be, but
it will be your prayer and perhaps the best you can do
that day.
St. Francis de Sales once said, “An ounce of desolation
is worth a pound of consolation.” This applies to prayer
in a special way. You don’t have to feel good about your
prayers to please God.
Prayer of Pope John Paul II
for die Holy Year
1. Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,
who took your body from the Virgin Mary
and became Man through the power of the Holy Spirit!
Jesus Christ, Redeemer of Man!
You who are the same yesterday and today and for ever!
Accept this Year of the Extraordinary Jubilee,
which your Church offers to you
in order to celebrate the 1950th anniversary
of your death and Resurrection for the Redemption of the world.
You who made the work of Redemption the source of a gift
that is ever new for your earthly Spouse,
cause its saving power
to penetrate all the days, weeks and months of this Year,
so that this Year may truly become for us
the "acceptable year of the Lord.”
2. Grant that all of us in this chosen time
may love you ever more by re-living in ourselves
the mysteries of your life,
from your conception and birth until the Cross and Resurrection.
Be with us through these mysteries,
be with us in the Holy Spirit,
do not leave us orphans!
Come back to us always (cf. Jn 14:18).
3. Grant that all may be converted to Love,
and see in you, the Sbn of eternal Love,
the Father who is "rich in mercy” (Eph 2:4).
In the course of this year, may the whole Church
feel the abundance of your Redemption,
which is manifested in the forgiveness of sins
and in purification from their after-effects
which weigh upon the souls called to life immortal.
Help us to conquer our indifference and our sloth!
Give us a sense of sin.
Create in us, O Lord, a pure heart,
and renew a willing spirit in our minds (cf. Ps 51 (50):12).
4. Grant, O Lord, that this Holy Year of your Redemption
may also become
an appeal to the modern world,
which sees justice and peace
on the horizon of its desires,
-and yet yields ever more room to sin
and lives, day after dayi
in the midst of mounting tensions and threats,
and seems to be travelling in a direction perilous for all!
Help us to change the direction
of the mounting threats and disasters in the modern world!
Raise man up once more!
. Protect the nations and peoples!
Do not permit the work of destruction
that threatens humanity today!
5. O Lord Jesus Christ,
moy the work of your Redemption show itself more powerful!
This the Church implores from you. in this Year,
through your Mother,
whom you yourself gave to be the MolHer of all humanity.
This the Church implores from you
in tht mystery of the Communion of Saints.
This your Church implores from you insistently, O Christ!
May the work of yoyr Redemption
show itself more powerful
both in humanity and iivthe world! e
tAtoefc. ,'r« C •* ' '
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
Paul Karnowski
Exodus 32: 7-11,13-14
1 Timothy 1: 12-17
^ 15:1,0 The Word This Weekend
September 11,1983
24th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
SEPTEMBER 11, 1983
If much has been given to you,
much will be damanded of you;
more will be expected of one to
whom more has been entrusted.
The most severe judgement will be
set aside for those in high place.
More will be expected of one to
whom more has been entrusted.
Luke 12:48;
Rejoice Wisdom6:6
ifoe lost has been found
“What is the opposite of
lost?” If we asked people
that question we would
get two different answers,
each of them correct in its
own way.
“Found,” would be the
quick and obvious
response of most of the
people we questioned.
And they would be
correct: objects, for
example, remain lost until
they are found. But
another group of
respondents would give us
a different answer to the
question. “The opposite of
lost,” they would tell us,
“is the state of not being
lost, of knowing one’s
way.” The minority
response would also be
correct.
All of us know people
who seem to have never
been lost a day in their
lives. They are the
never-miss navigators of
the world, the people who
have never turned off the
wrong ramp, even on a
new interstate highway in
a never-before-visited city.
They always know the
shortest, quickest and best
route to anywhere anyone
might be going. These
people, who have never
been lost (and, therefore,
never found) are also
legitimate opposites of
people who get lost.
Although He uses
slightly different terms,
Jesus talks about the same
three categories in the first
part of today’s Gospel.
There are the lost, the
found, and those who do
not need to be found. The
Lord tells the story of the
man who loses one sheep
out of the flock. The man
goes in search of the sheep
and rejoices when he finds
it.
Jesus concludes the
story by saying, “I tell
you, there will likewise be
more joy in heaven over
one repentant sinner than
over ninety-nine righteous
people who have no need
to repent.” Jesus divides
the world into sinners,
repentant sinners, and
those who have no need to
repent.
But in our haste to
identify ourselves with the
third classification, in our
haste to declare ourselves
in no need of repentance,
in our haste, we miss the
Lord’s irony. There is no
one who stands without
need of repentance. There
is no one who has never
been lost. We all need to
be found. And we are: in,
through and by the Lord.
Dolores Curran
Back To School - One More Time
We’re seeing our second child off to college this week
and for some reason, it’s not as earth-shaking as with the
first. Perhaps it’s because he’s only going 75 miles away as
compared with 1500. Within laundry distance is the way
he puts it. Perhaps it’s because we’ve learned that
separation is not so final anymore. Christmas and summer
vacations seem to come every other month these years.
Perhaps it’s because I run into so many parents who
can’t seem to get rid of their young adults to worry about
having them leave us. Whatever, it’s interesting for me to
read back through my back-to-school columns the past
fifteen years. They tell a story of our family’s aging.
I smiled as I read one on my feelings at seeing this
exiting son off to kindergarten and offering him up to the
world at large thirteen years ago. I wondered in print how
well he would survive a new environment, new friends and
being away from the cocoon of home. Not very different
from now, I reflect. The more things change . . .
In an attempt to prepare seniors for what to expect in
college, our son’s high school counsellors interviewed last
year’s freshmen, asking them several questions about their
new college experience. The students’ responses might be
helpful to beginning college students and their parents so
I’ll share a condensed version with you.
In response to the questions, “What do you view as the
greatest difference between the high school experience
and college?” students made the following comments: 1)
“College requires a more dedicated attitude and a lot
more work. Many things are expected but there is not the
pressure of someone standing over you.” The importance
of self-discipline was mentioned most frequently. 2) “It is
much more difficult to establish priorities.”
3) “We are expected to write essays and research papers
without, help.” 4) “The volume of reading expected was a
shock - 75 pages a night.” 5) “Some classes have 300
students.” 6) “High schools should be more demanding.”
7) “Study, study, study for each class.”
What social adjustment did you experience as a
freshman? 1) “Living with people (not my family) was a
real learning experience.” 2) “I miss all my friends from
high school.” 3) “When others are partying, you have to
find a quiet place to study.” 4) “I miss talking to my
friends around the locker.” 5) “I do not recommend
rooming with your best friend from high school.”
There are three other general suggestions frequently
heard from students: 1) Keep up your activities. They
help you keep your sanity. 2) Bring your bike - without a
car, it is a necessity. 3) Save your money if you are
working while in high school. It comes in handy in
college.
These are hardly revelations to parents and teachers
who have been mouthing them to students for years, but
they merit attention because they come from students
themselves. They point up the reality that success in
college comes as much from personal needs as academic
preparation. One college counsellor estimates that
two-thirds of freshman dropouts are due to emotional
factors rather than academic performance. “Loneliness,
absence of parental support and pressure, inability to get
along with roommates, handle freedom and finances, and
to establish self-discipline equal to study demands are the
big obstacles,” he said.
Emotional support is how parents can help their young
adults through that tough first semester, realizing they
need continual encouragement and support. It’s too easy
for a student to drop out, overwhelmed by a totally new
environment and responsibility.
We can’t meet them at the door as we did after their
first days in kindergarten, but we can be with, them in
spirit, comfort, letter and prayer.