What Are We Doing When We Pray?

So my good friend Shane and I have been talking about how prayer works and what it does.  We all know that when we pray we’re not changing God’s mind – as though he’s some big meanie that we’re trying to convince.  That’s silly.  So what are we doing in prayer?  And now to Shane’s wonderful insights:

“Peter Kreeft said something in Summa of the Summa (that title always puts a smile on my face) – that it was St. Thomas’ understanding that it has always been part of God’s will to dispense some graces only through the intercession of Christ’s Body.  That really opened up some things for me.

I’ve been looking at a doctoral dissertation written back in the 60′s – Thomas Aquinas’ teaching on the human prayer of Jesus.  At the center of the dissertation is this idea that Jesus’  human prayer, on behalf of Himself and His whole Church (think especially of His “high priestly prayer” in John 16-17), and the Father’s answering of it, was always willed as part of the incarnation.  It was always the Father’s plan to pour out grace in response to the Son’s intercession.

Now because we have been fused to Jesus through the Sacraments, our prayer as members of His Body would participate in His intercession.  It too would have always been willed in the Divine Plan.  So when Jesus prayed at the tomb of Lazarus, and Lazarus was raised, it was part of the Divine Will.  When Denise Fath prays for someone’s chemo to be successful, and it is, it was part of the Divine Will.  And your engaging in that prayer of intercession would in fact be your conforming of yourself to the Divine Will.  That is one of those ways in which prayer ‘changes us’ – by conforming ourselves to the Divine Will we dispose ourselves to increase in grace; our souls are more deeply assimilated to Jesus’ and become conduits of the Holy Spirit.”

So that’s only a tidbit but it was so good I just had to share it!  Be sure to check out Shane’s webpage and his book!

Following the Saints’ Examples

So I recently have been reading “Happy Are the Poor” by Thomas Dubay.  There’s one quote in particular that has stood out:

“Yes, words are cheap, and many of us abound in them.  Actions are costly, and the saints about in them.”

All too true.  But on the one hand this is very surprising because it doesn’t seem like it should be that difficult.  How hard can it be to have your actions match your words?  Or to in fact do what you say you are going to do?  Or to live out what you profess to believe?

Very hard apparently, which we all know firsthand from experience.  Indeed there’s a reason that every Christian is familiar with St. Paul’s “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” (Romans 7:19).

So how have the saints managed to talk little and act boldly?  How are those who are effecting change doing it?  Seems to me there’s only one way: stop talking and start doing.  We can rationalize, we can make some pretty good excuses, we can procrastinate or we can act.  It’s that simple.

What would the world be like if we all followed the saints’ examples and talked less and did more?

The Transformational Power of the Holy Spirit

Yesterday we celebrated Pentecost – the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and Mary and changed the future of the Church.  There’s no doubt that the Holy Spirit is the least understood Person of the Trinity, so I want to start with a wonderful quote from Peter Kreeft’s “Prayer: The Great Conversation.”

The Holy Spirit is like light.  You can’t see light itself, but without light, you can’t see anything else.  So you can’t see Him, even with your mind, but without Him you can’t see God the Father or God the Son.  Only God can understand God.  Only God can shine light on God.

I love how clear this explanation is!  And to really think about how far reaching the effects of the Holy Spirit are can be quite surprising for one who has never given it too much direct thought.   So let’s just look at a few (of the many) areas He touches:

Any time we love like God loves, it’s thanks to the Holy Spirit since “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5).  Any time we pray in a way that’s pleasing to God, it’s thanks to the Holy Spirit since “we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us” (Romans 8:26).  Pretty much any time we act like Christians we can thank the Holy Spirit since “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self control” (Gal 5:22-23).

NONE of that would be possible without the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps with all this in mind it’s a little less surprising that the Holy Spirit came and set the early Church afire.  And He is still here, seeking to transform us the same way He did the first Christians.

So may we all be a little more appreciative for the growth the Holy Spirit has already effected in our spiritual lives, and ask Him to continue (and maybe even speed up) our transformations in Christ!

It’s Friday

So that means it’s time for Caffeinated Randomness…

• My friend Shane and I have been discussing my post on the Ascension (it’s right below).  What do you think: did Jesus have to go?  If so or if not, why?

• So I’ve decided to go over to the dark side and am buying a Mac.  Anyone have thoughts on the Macbook vs Macbook Air vs Macbook Pro?

• I’m really sad Flash Forward got canceled – such a good show!  There’s something wrong with the world when shows like Joan of Arcadia & FF get cut but Ghost Whisperer and Fringe get renewed.

• Lastly, one of my good friends is taking the MCAT this morning.  Say a prayer for her please!

Time for some of IHOP’s French Vanilla coffee – yum yum