The following is a partial transcript of the prayers, readings, and reflections presented at the school-wide Friday Prayer Service on February 6th, 2015.
Good Morning. This morning, the students who regularly lead us in Morning Prayer and the Examen have joined together to offer us their reflections on trying to incorporate prayer into their daily – often very busy – lives. We so often think of prayer as “useless,” and in a real way it is. But so is spending time with a friend, family member, or significant other. Relationships are not meant to be useful, but they are necessary for our growth and development. Pope Francis recently encouraged fathers and mothers to “waste time” with their children. And so we come together today, inviting God to “waste time” with us as we seek Him in prayer.
Mark 4: 1-9
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
“Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
Christopher Haerr ’15
Prayer is difficult. I have been praying since I could remember, but was I actually praying? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines prayer as “the raising of one’s mind and heart to God.” There have been many times in my prayer where I raised my mind but not my heart to God or where I raised my heart but not my mind to God. There have also been times where I raised neither and just recited words. To be fully in prayer, I have learned that my mind must be humble and my heart must be open, but this is a lot easier said than done.
Why did I pray? Originally I prayed because I learned that praying would let me talk to God, and who doesn’t want to talk to God? Then I began asking God for things during my prayers, but whenever I asked, I wouldn’t be very humble about it. I would often go into my prayer demanding God to do something for me like when I told Him to help me on a Physics test. I attended daily Mass that morning, I did my part in praying, which meant that HE owes it to ME that I do well on my test. Whenever I pray for something and it doesn’t turn out the way I ask for, I will
go into my next prayer with a chip on my shoulder as if God doesn’t know what He’s doing. I have been getting better with this, especially after learning that God doesn’t owe me anything but that I owe everything to God. But still, it can still be difficult for me to ask God for something with humility.
I have also struggled with opening my heart in prayer. I would put praying into my schedule, but it would end up being something to check off my list. Eventually, I stopped my scheduled prayer because I have other “useful” stuff to do. I found it more useful to focus on my homework than praying because, well, God isn’t giving me a daily grade and His exam isn’t for another 80 years or so. What really got me was when I was just sitting in prayer with God, but I had nothing to say or ask for. Almost immediately, when I got in those situations, I would stop praying and say better luck next time. But every so often I would stick it out and remain in prayer anyways and get something that is hard for me to get otherwise, peace.
Looking back, even though God didn’t answer my prayers the way I wanted and even though there were moments where I had nothing to say to God or to ask God, I see now that what is most useful and necessary about my time in prayer is that it allows God into my life. If I am at least talking to God or listening to God, I see that over time, this has deepened and strengthened my relationship with God. And just like the parable, I am finding it more useful when I let God be the sower and me be the seed during prayer because he guides me to the rich soil that allows me to grow and bear fruit.
I pray that we all find rich soil for our prayer life however we may come across it.
Emmet Flood ’16
The bell is about to ring for sixth period, and I am either cramming for my next test or I am attempting to finish my last 5 homework questions, when I hear a voice on the PA say, “The Examen”. I am either too worried about the next class and how I will use my time, or I am distracted with thoughts of what I will have for dinner tonight, so I blot out the voice on the PA, catching bits of the words here and there, but overall, getting nothing out of it.
Many of us have been there at times. But we have to ask ourselves, have we truly prepared and been open to God during this time? Instead of stressing about what is ahead of me, I need to just take those 5 minutes as a break from my busy, normal day, and as an opportunity to share my thoughts and my day with God.
This same idea applies to prayer in general. While reciting Our Fathers and Hail Marys and praying the rosary is a good way of praying for me on certain occasions, especially when I am in a group, my personal prayer can be and often should be completely different.When I pray, it can feel fruitless and more of a task than a gift. But just as God sows seed on all types of ground, he tries to reach out to me in prayer at all times of day and in all areas of my life. So while my daily scheduled prayer is a good thing, I also need to make prayer something beyond the boundaries of my schedule, especially since my prayer should not just be another thing on my to-do list to check off after it is completed, but rather, an interaction with someone and being truly present to someone who is beyond the limits of time.
I often find that if I take just a few seconds to say small prayers throughout my day, I truly reap the benefits of my prayers, and I truly see God’s presence in my life. Sometimes I just thank him after I do well on a test for giving me the grace and memory I needed. Sometimes I ask for his strength and blessing as I prepare to undergo a difficult task. Other times, I recognize my faults and ask for his forgiveness, imploring him to help me be more aware of when I disobey him and to avoid committing the same sins.
I also find that God also constantly attempts to make his presence known to me through others and through my experiences with my fellow brothers and sisters. Sometimes my friends may correct me or call me out on something I have said that may be offensive or inaccurate.While my first instinct is to become upset with them and feel as if I have been unjustly accused, I realize that I have been wrong and that God has taken this opportunity to reveal the truth to me.
Sometimes God puts me in situations which require me to step out of my comfort zone to help someone who I may not particularly like or I may not know. It is easy to decide that I am too busy or unprepared to help that person, but stepping out of my comfort zone and being open to my spiritual growth helps me to recognize how Christ works through me and gives me more experience in truly putting others before myself.
Without the habit of actually listening to God, it would be hard to hear his call in the people around me, and in the situations I find myself in every day. And just as the farmer may never know exactly when the rain will fall, but is always prepared, we must always be prepared and open to prayer and open to God sowing the seeds in our hearts. In this manner, prayer is not merely a spiritual task, but a necessary grace and a way of life.
I hope and pray that we all may seek and find God’s divine presence in all things this day and come to know His most holy will for us.
Parker Thompson ’15
This past weekend, I had the privilege of sitting in on and helping with interviews for the upcoming freshman class. The interviewers are given a piece of paper that lists out 10 ideal questions to be asked to the eighth grade student. One question in particular stuck out to me and especially connected with the theme of the prayer service today. The question, in short, asked, “are you willing to commit to grow spiritually during your time here at Jesuit?” While many of the nervous eighth graders say their practiced “yes” before the question is even over, I think we also need to continue asking ourselves the same question and review our commitment to growing spiritually.
Over my time here at Jesuit, it has been very easy to realize that this kind of growing is not an easy task. With all the pressures of school that can accumulate even in just one day, it becomes hard to plan my week. With all the busyness that can occur over a weekend, it can be hard for me to be prepared for one day. It is very easy for these pressures to force their way in and to force my prayer time out. It becomes not only inconvenient for me but I also lose a lot of motivation. To be able to sit down and truly be still and reflect even when there are more “useful” things I could be doing with my time is what makes growing spiritually such a difficult task for me. But as you can see, this requires a lot of my personal effort, patience, and motivation.
Everyone who interviews at Jesuit says they are committed to growing spiritually. This is something everyone desires but it may not be something everyone wants to work for, especially when it gets difficult, or inconvenient, or we start questioning it’s usefulness.
There are different reasons for this, just as the parable shows today. Whether it is the thorns, the sun, the shallow soil, or the path, something strong and foreign starts to interfere with our soft and fertile foundation. We all have our own reasons and problems, and something always seems to be interfering with our prayer. But, just like the seed is fruitful in the soft and rich soil, so too should our prayer be planted away from our distractions and in a suitable foundation.
And just like the seed grows slowly over time, so too, in time, can our prayer grow. Since I was freshman, my prayer has experienced many ups and downs, ultimately becoming stronger and more in depth. When I first entered Jesuit I took the opportunities given to me to deepen my prayer and grow spiritually, whether it was through mass, adoration, clubs, retreats, or any other contributing factor, but my openness and acceptance to growing spiritually has always been the foundation I can rely on.
I hope that we all may come to realize what it takes for us personally, to not only act in deepening our prayer, but also adding to a foundation on which we can grow.
Prayer
Lord, give us hearts like fertile soil. Give us ears to hear your word, and hearts ready to receive it. Give us the desire to spend time with you in prayer. Help us to take care of this word within us, so that it may bear fruit in our lives. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
