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We live in a time when prayer is often devalued. As acts of violence occur and social justice issues bubble to the surface in the media, we often hear criticism that thoughts and prayers aren’t enough anymore - we need to do something.
I get it, of course. I agree we must work together to make positive systemic change. There is hypocrisy, indifference, and injustice in the world - and in the church. We really do need to do something to make the world a safer place for future generations!
But I also think more people need to realize - prayer is doing something. Doing something hard. Doing something powerful. Doing something that makes a difference. When genuine, prayer itself truly is an act of service.
Genuine perseverance into the silence of prayer will always lead us to uproot our own interior hypocrisy, indifference and injustice and lead us on a journey to cultivate virtue, compassion and solidarity with people who are oppressed. Authentic Christian prayer transforms us into agents of change in spite of our weaknesses, flaws and failings because prayer connects us with the source of all healing, power, grace, and redemptive love.
As we cultivate an authentic relationship with God, we begin to desire justice for all - not just ourselves. We learn to be guided by the Holy Spirit, which is always working for the greater good.
Saints like Mother Teresa, Maximilian Kolbe, Padre Pio, Faustina Kowalska, Hildegard von Bingen and Ambrose of Milan are perfect examples of lives energized by the power of prayer. Rooted in union with God which was forged through trials, they were empowered to make the world a better place in miraculous ways beyond ordinary human capabilities.
Today, I encourage you to persevere into the silence of prayer, and open yourself to a deeper union with the Lord. Even if you are distracted or don’t feel his presence - your act of faith is truly an act of service to God and humanity. I pray you have the grace to stick with it into ever-deeper levels of faith!
"Let your door stand open to receive Him, unlock your soul to Him, offer Him a welcome in your mind, and then you will see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the joy of grace. Throw wide the gate of your heart, stand before the sun of the everlasting light..." - St. Ambrose
Have a question about a program or event going on in Campus Ministry? Got an idea for something you'd like to see happen? EMAIL US at ministry@sau.edu.
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The opening scene of the 2003 movie, Love Actually, begins with a montage of video clips. They’re all taken in London’s Heathrow Airport, and every single one of those clips shows folks embracing, or kissing, or crying, or laughing. As those clips run across the screen, one after the other, the only thing you hear is a man sharing his own observation of what love looks like. “Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion love actually is all around.”
Some 19 years later, and I think the general opinion hasn’t really changed all that much. Perhaps it’s gotten even worse. Turn on any news channel or open any timeline and you’ll see all the apocalyptic, end-of-the-world scenarios of today’s headlines. They are reminders to us that the world is bleak, and we’re all on a bullet train headed straight for destruction. Don’t get me wrong, there is some truth there. The world is not as it should be. There is violence and war. There is injustice and greed and hatred. Those tragedies are certainly things we should be concerned about, and actively working to remedy. But what often happens is that those aspects of the world start to take hold of us in such a way that they become the only lens through which we live. We become buried under the opinion that the world is full of hatred and greed.
And it isn’t.
A couple weeks ago, I was on retreat with a group of students. We all piled into a retreat house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by corn and goats and feral cats, and spent the weekend reminding ourselves of who we are and who God is. And while the rest of the world chugged along miles away, the only thing I saw that weekend were moments of grace and kindness and love.
When the world around us seems heavy, and the general opinion gets the better of us, there is always the temptation to turn in on ourselves. That’s the place we feel we have the most control. But it is also the place where loneliness begins to creep in, compounding the weight of the world. We lose ourselves in that place. Don’t succumb to that temptation, as alluring as it may seem. The world is where we live and move and have our being.
As Dorothy Day once wrote: We have discovered that the only solution is love, and that love is found in community. So if the world seems heavy, or general opinion has you starting to believe that there exists only hatred and greed, walk outside your door and look around. Step outside of yourself and into the arms of those around you. Have a conversation. Hug an old friend. Pray with your community. I have a sneaking suspicion you’ll discover that love actually is all around.
Have a question about a program or event going on in Campus Ministry? Got an idea for something you'd like to see happen? EMAIL US at ministry@sau.edu.
