“Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt. 18:19-20)
Most priests tend to pray a lot. I’m one of them. At my ordination to the diaconate, I promised to pray the “prayer of the Church” called the Liturgy of the Hours. It’s made up of Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer, the Office of Reading and Night Prayer. Of course, I also celebrate at least one Mass daily. I also try daily to make a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament, recite the Rosary, do some spiritual reading and pray other devotional prayers according to the season.
But I try not to “isolate” my prayer into those moments. Priests are called to live a “life” of prayer. So I also pray before each meal and before every meeting. Even when I am meeting one-on-one with someone, I try to begin that encounter by asking for Divine Assistance. And what is the origin of those communal prayer experiences? It’s the Gospel this Sunday: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Of course, we know that God is “always” present to us. But we spend a great deal of the day acting like we’re all alone. Even when we’re at work or at home, we might act like we’re only with our co-workers or our family or our friends. Prayer with others reminds us of reality: God is always present to us. And that brings us to an important part of that quote: “gathered in my name.” That’s why every time we Catholics pray we begin “in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Just saying those words causes us to make the Sign of the Cross!
Jesus strongly emphasized prayer. He told His disciples to pray “unceasingly.” And He gave us a great example of prayer by repeatedly going off “to a deserted place to pray.” And today He tells us something astonishing: “if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.” That’s why we gather together in prayer – to beseech the Father for counsel, understanding and peace.
But what if two of us gather together to pray that we’ll win the lottery? Will Our Heavenly Father grant it? We have to remember another lesson on prayer: “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” That lottery win might not be the best thing for us… Most of us can recall asking God for something in the past, and later being glad that it didn’t happen. As the country song goes “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Life is short. Pray hard.
(Rev. Msgr.) Christopher H. Nalty
msgr.nalty@gmail.com
