12/13/14

Prayer. That was the theme for Wednesday's inquiry class, as well as Fr. Michael's homily this evening. The gist of both was that prayer isn't simply a form of rote repetition but an event you enter, a living, mystical experience of the presence of God. Ultimately, prayer should transform you and 'wake you' up to the divine presence all around you, much like the experience of St. Francis.

He also talked about the role of prayer in confronting 'evil' in the world. Jesus says to "love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you" (Mt 5:44). Why? Perhaps because our love and our prayers and our actions will help make a difference in the world, help change the minds and hearts of those who would do us and others harm. But even if not, Fr. Michael said that to hate something or someone is to bring that hate and darkness into your own heart. The same with things like anger, jealousy, and resentment. To hate is to pollute our own hearts and minds; to love is to purify them. Much like how the Buddha said:

Phenomena are preceded by the heart,
++++ruled by the heart,
++++made of the heart.
If you speak or act
with a corrupted heart,
then suffering follows you —
as the wheel of the cart,
++++the track of the ox
++++that pulls it.

Phenomena are  preceded by the heart,
++++ruled by the heart,
++++made of the heart.
If you speak or act
with a calm, bright heart,
then happiness follows you,
like a shadow
++++that never leaves.

In many ways, I think, prayer is a form of intention; and in prayer, what we're intending is the non-doing of evil, the performance of what's skillful, and the cleansing of our hearts. We seek to go inside and unveil the innate goodness within, no matter how many layers of ignorance obscure it. And to do that, we need a still point inside, a place of quiet, a place of peace, so that we can listen with our hearts rather than our ears. In the words of St. John of the Cross, "The Father spoke one word from all eternity and he spoke it in silence, and it is in silence that we hear it."

Ultimately, then, I think both prayer and meditation are ways for us to come into contact with the absolute; and some of what Fr. Michael said reminded me of St. John Vianney's words on how prayer stretches the small heart of a small (finite) creature all the way to God (the infinite). Or to paraphrase Fr. Michael, "Prayer is an event we enter into. Moments when heaven and earth touch."