Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
“How is your prayer life?”
I’ll admit that this is one of my favorite questions to ask. I’m a priest and a spiritual director, so it only seems to appropriate. The responses I receive are varied. “Good”—okay, that’s positive, but tells me very little. “It could be better”—which could probably be applied to everyone. “I don’t make time for it”—this tends to be a common response. We make time for what we see as important.
If we were to seek or focus on one virtue, especially when it comes to prayer, we might consider asking God for “perseverance.” Relationships endure when both parties are committed to persevering through the good and the bad. God is always faithful and enduring in His love, thus it’s ours to remain consistent in calling out to God in our times of distress and dryness, as well as comfort and peace.
The blind man in the Gospel serves as a model of perseverance. He calls out to Jesus, even when the crowd tells him to be silent. In their rebukes, the man only calls out “all the more.” It’s likely that if your prayer life “isn’t good” or “could be better,” then you have allowed someone or something to silence you. You have allowed anxieties to quiet your faith, or many activities have prevented you from raising your mind and heart to God. Everyone is busy and everyone has worries—why should we let these things silence us? Rather, it seems like these obstacles are reason to call out all the more!
Reflection Question: Imagine Jesus asking you this question: “What do you want me to do for you?”
Reflection by Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections