1/14/22

Prayer. I hear a lot of people criticize prayer and the uselessness of it, and I find my agreeing on a superficial level but definitely not on a deeper, more contemplative one.

Prayer, to me, is many things, things that go beyond empty words and magical thinking. Prayer can also be an act of contemplation. An ignition of a spark of hope when we have no other reason to endure. A silent cry of desperation or anguish or remorse when we're at our darkest and alone. A genuine desire for happiness and peace and a mental act of compassion. A reaching out of the heart towards others, ourselves, and the infinite all. And last but not least, an intention that conditions action, one ideally arising out of love and free from greed, anger, and delusion.

I think that many people have a misunderstanding of what prayer is, especially following a tragic event or some difficult news. People will often offer their "thoughts and prayers" and not much else, and many people (rightly I think) get upset when that's the extent of the general reaction. It does appear empty many times. But I see prayer as much more than that, and I believe such an understanding is a spiritually immature one. While the idea of prayer is often boiled down to 'just wish for something you want to happen,' and viewed by many as an empty gesture wholly without substance, I think it's actually more akin to the Buddhist kamma, i.e., an intention that translates into action of body, speech, and mind. Thus, prayer is intimately tied to action.

For example, from the Catholic point of view, as Pope Francis stressed in one of his Sunday Angelus messages in 2013, "Prayer that doesn't lead to concrete action toward our brothers [and sisters] is a fruitless and incomplete prayer ... prayer and action must always be profoundly united. [...] Together, they are 'essential.' Prayer and action 'should never be separated, but lived in profound unity and harmony.'" Moreover, prayer is the foundation of all charitable works, and as he also noted, the motto of the father of Christian monasticism, St. Benedict, was 'ora et labora' ("prayer and work"), further illustrating the intimate connection between the two. And this idea can be found in other religious traditions as well.

Prayer is the heart in action. Ultimately, prayer is more than the ignorance of fools, even if the fools far outnumber the wise (although we're all fools sometimes). I feel as if most of the time, I'm just passing the time until I die. But prayer is when I'm truly living. Most people won't understand what that means, but perhaps some will.