Prayer can be complicated if we let it. We get involved in the idea of perhaps having a place to kneel, which is helpful. Of having a words to say, which is helpful. Of listening for God to talk back to us, which would also be helpful.
One of the hardest things can be to simply allow Jesus to work in our lives. We look at the giant expanse that is the entire Tradition of the the 4000 years of Salvation History and we become intimidated. There are so many people that are so much holier then we are. There are so many people that seem to have it together. Their prayers are profound. Their conversations with God are deep and full of meaning. The Psalms come to mind as they spring out of the seeming love affair between David and his God.
How can we ever come close to that? How can we even begin to imagine the type of relationship with God that would allow us to converse in such a manny with the Almighty?
That is when we stop praying. We know that for us to accomplish anything close to holiness we would have to go to such an extreme in our lives that it would be nearly impossible to levitate like Theresa of Avila or to have conversations with Jesus like Thomas Aquinas. We become so intimidated by the sheer size of the journey that we forego it entirely. In the process, no progress is made at all due to our own fear. We intimidate ourselves because of a fear of failure, a fear of responsibility, but mostly it may be that we know in our hearts the type of people that we are and realize the sheer amount of work that needs to be done.
That is a scary prospect.
How vast the difference between holiness and our current state. How extreme the distance between sainthood and where we are now.
What has the last 12 days been for?
What has it been worth?
Have we accomplished anything? Has there been any change? Has God worked any miracles in our life that we are unaware of? Perhaps by this point you have missed a day or two. Perhaps if you have reached this point there is the temptation to stop or to start over.
Do not do that.
Keep going.
Today, the challenge is simply. Today the challenge is to simply bring to mind the presence of Jesus Christ so that we can be aware that He is alive, walking with us at all times. The greatest influential living person in our lives. If that is not the case then we need to remind ourselves that Jesus is living. That Jesus is alive. That Jesus walks with us at all times.
I love this prayer because of its simplicity. It can be done anywhere, at any time, even while you are in the middle of doing something, even while talking to someone else because you are simply calling to mind the Savior of the World, the Redeemer. The Lord.
Suddenly that sin doesn't seem so tempting.
Suddenly losing our cool in that situation doesn't seem like such a good option.
Suddenly being a little more patient with people in our lives is a little easier.
Thank God for that.
The full prayer is the prayer of the blind men outside Jericho, "Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
This can be shortened if you don't remember to, "Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner."
This can be shortened further to simply, "Jesus."
The name at which every knee shall bend and every tongue proclaim the glory of God. There is power in the name. There is power in the presence of Christ. There is power in a God who wants to be with us at every moment. If we are called to be saints then we need to allow the presence of Christ to permeate our very beings at every moment. It would take very little for us to be saints if we simply lived constantly in the presence of Christ.
That is the challenge for today, to live in the presence of Jesus Christ.
Questions for Reflection:
- Is prayer easy or difficult for you? Do you find it necessary for you to "schedule" time to pray? Do you need to section off your life, with God in one section and your life in another? Why?
- What has been the most difficult part of the Challenge for you so far? Have you thought about giving up? Since you are almost two weeks in, does it give you a sense of accomplishment that you have come this far?
- How have you seen Christ working on your relationships, yourself, your vocation? What do you need to make Christ the Lord of in order to become more of a saint? Where do you need to continue to surrender?
- When you hear the phrase, "Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner," what comes to mind? Why?
- How might your day, your relationships, your work change if you were constantly in the presence of Christ? What do you hope will change by the end of the Challenge?
- Every time you walk through a doorway, even if the door is open, say the prayer of the Presence of Jesus.
- Make a concrete effort to make Christ present in an area of your life where you have not had him present previously.
- Make a conscious effort to "pray without props." Make your prayer a relationship of you being the presence of a good friend for the week.
- If you do not do so already, pray before all of your meals this week. Even if you are out with friends. Don't do it to make a statement, just try to bring Christ into your mealtime.
- Bring Christ into your vocation. If you are married, simply say a simple prayer of thanks with your spouse. If you are a priest or religious or consecrated, rededicate yourself to the Liturgy of the Hours. If you are discerning your vocation, make that your prayer at the end of the day. That Jesus would make your vocation clear to you and guide you to your purpose.
(Every time you walk through a door) "Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
