A Living & Life-Giving Relationship
A few decades ago (during my days as a seminarian, in fact), a friend and I were traveling together. At one point, we found ourselves contemplating the purchase of some pieces of religious art. I had decided what I was getting, but he was uncertain about what he really wanted to buy. He indicated a piece and said to me something along the lines of “I like that one, but I’m not sure if I should get it. I’m not sure if it’s worth it.” I responded with a simple question that, admittedly, invites anything but a simple answer: I asked, “will it feed your prayer?”
Of the many lessons that I learned as a seminarian, I am especially grateful for having learned of the value of prayer. In my college years, a formator once said that the best way for us to prepare for theology school was to make sure we had the practice of a daily hour of prayer in place by the time we finished college seminary. By all means, it was important to attend to our studies, to cultivate healthy relationships and build community, to develop a sensitive and caring heart for others, and to pursue any number of other worthy and noble goals that are part and parcel of seminary formation at the college level. As important as these aims are, however, the life of prayer was to be the foundation and the springboard from which all else would spring.
The Childhood of Christ by Gerrit van Honthorst is a favorite painting of Fr. Bob’s, though not the one referenced in this reflection.
Sometimes, it can be easy to equate “prayer” as such with “saying prayers.” Certainly, vocal prayer is a beautiful and indispensable facet of our life of prayer. At the same time, vocal prayer does not exhaust the reality of prayer. If I had to describe my own experience of prayer in a single word, I would use “relationship”—and if I were allowed to expand my answer, I would speak of a living and life-giving relationship with the one who never ceases to love me. Sometimes, I experience that relationship in words, whether it be the words of well-known prayers such as the Our Father; the words of liturgical celebrations such as the Mass, the sacramental rites, or the Liturgy of the Hours; or the words of the Sacred Scriptures. At other times, I experience that relationship in the quiet awareness of God’s presence enfolding me and sustaining me at each moment. At still other times, I experience that relationship in the power of memory, calling to mind moments in which God has blessed me with divine favor. And at yet other times, I experience that relationship by gazing upon art and allowing the power of beauty to carry me to the one who is beauty itself. I could go on, but I trust my point is clear: prayer takes many forms; there are many ways to nourish our relationship with the Lord.
In these days of summer (which, rumor has it, are more leisurely than the days of other seasons—though I am not yet entirely convinced!), perhaps God is inviting us to take advantage of a slightly slower pace to reflect on our own practice of prayer. How are we seeking to nourish our relationship with the God who loves us? What ways of praying best feed us? How can we open ourselves up more fully to the God who wants to bless us at all times? And perhaps it would even be apt to ask as we survey each activity planned for the day: “will it feed my prayer?”
