Pray, fast. Pray always, fast. [1]
The
template for this is Jesus in the desert [Mt. 4:1-11] where He both
prays and fasts and rejects satan’s traps. There is frequently intense
spiritual warfare when we are in prayer, so trusting the source of the gift to
pray is critical: ….the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we
do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with
inexpressible groanings.[Rms.8:26].
All of
creation prays, the whole cosmos prays, every creature prays by the very nature
of their being reflections of the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. The stars and
suns shimmer, the planets rotate, light travels, sound travels, the wind blows,
rain and snow fall, trees, plants, grasses sway in the wind, dance really,
mountains and hills, rocks and valleys, oceans waves and all creatures beneath
the water, birds of the air and creatures like deer moving on the earth – all
by their very existence pray. [Daniel 3:56-88]
When we
ask: Let my prayer be incense before you….[Psalm 141.2] we can be
confident it is so: Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a
gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the
prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The
smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God
from the hand of the angel. [Rev.8:3,4]
Both
prayer and fasting are very simple, easy to fulfill, however both can also be
experienced as burdensome if we complicate matters by seeking to do either by
our own efforts, for in essence neither should be primarily about us. Yes, both
have a personal aspect, but that should be secondary to a focus on the Holy
Trinity, with love and adoration and intercession for others, specific
individuals and for the entire human family.
Jesus
taught us one prayer, the Our Father which contains all aspects of humble,
loving, recognition of right relationship with Our Abba – love, trust,
dependence – and essential petitions for self and others.
There
are many other forms of prayer: the Psalms, Holy Rosary, Litanies, and the most
perfect form of prayer, which itself contains the Our Father: Holy Mass/Divine
Liturgy.
We can
easily, throughout the day or evening, while doing necessary tasks like dusting
or washing dishes, and also perhaps taking a few moments in stillness to pray
with the prayer drawn by the Desert Fathers from the prayer of the Publican,
[Lk.18:9-14]: ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ The Desert Fathers
thus prayed: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a
sinner. At night the beating of our hearts testifies to our loving prayer,
awaiting either the grace-gift of a new earthly day or the arrival of the
Divine Lover Himself, come to take us home. [Jn. 14:1-3]
A
critical aspect of prayer, which we glean from all the times in the Holy
Gospels we see Jesus
going off
by Himself to pray, is the aspect of intimate conversational prayer with the
Most Holy Trinity. This is not to try and get the Father or Jesus or the Holy
Spirit to speak with us like we would expect in conversation with another human
being, rather it is to trust Love Himself is attentive, and that we can speak
unabashedly whatever joys, sorrows, doubts, burdens, gratitude, needs, fill our
hearts. It is to have the heart of a child who chats with their parents or
grandparents.
The
‘always’ aspect of this line from the Little Mandate is no burden since our
hearts beat all day long, for our very existence is prayer, and fidelity to the
duty of the moment is itself prayer. There is no dichotomy between the serving
actions of Martha and the contemplative stance of Mary in the presence of
Christ. Indeed, action must lead to contemplation and contemplation to action,
the mobius strip of living the Gospel with our lives.
Fasting
itself must be marked with love, lack of self interest, be done as act of
intercession and remembering, intercede for Divine Mercy for our sins and those
of the whole world and remembering that our real needed food and drink is the
Holy Eucharist. Fasting should not be restricted to food. Indeed, better not to
fast from food of any kind, or any kind of drink if we are unwilling to fast
from a very long list of unholiness from self-interest, ego, judging others,
etc. etc., etc. Yes the classic form of fasting, such as is common practice
during Lent is blessed, but fasting from actions and attitudes that hurt or
demean, judge, or reject others, etc., is very much blessed.
The
absolute depths of Pray, fast. Pray always, fast, is best shown by the
following: One day Father Lot went to Father Joseph and told him, “As far as
I can I keep my rule. I eat little, I pray and I am silent. I work with my
hands and share my bread with the poor. As best I can, I strive to purify my
heart. What else should I do?” Then Father Joseph stood up and stretched out
his arms, and from his fingers shot tongues of fire. “If you want,” he said,
“you can become a living flame.” After that quotation from the Desert Fathers,
Pelton continues: To become a living flame: that is the Gospel proclaimed by
Jesus the Master. That is what He Himself is, the blazing sun who lights the
whole world………There is no secret about the nature of that fire. It is simply
love……It is the living Spirit of the living God, alive in us. It is the Holy
Spirit who pours God’s love into us and makes us living flames……Our Lord and
Master has made Himself our food and drink as He has made Himself our fire and
light. It we remain inconsolable until our own prayer pierces the clouds and
the Father makes us also living flames, the reason is that our burning is
ultimately for others. Everywhere our sisters and brothers are dying of hunger,
cold, and disbelief. It we refuse the humility of Christ and the fire of His
love, who will feed them or warm them – or light their way home to the
tenderness of the Father? [2]
[1] http://www.madonnahouse.org/mandate/
[2]
CIRCLING THE SUN, Meditations on Christ in Liturgy and Time; pp. 122 & 123;
Robert D. Pelton; The Pastoral Press, 1986 [out of print/italics and emphasis
mine]
© 2021
Fr. Arthur Joseph
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