Simplicity in prayer: “To Christ be glory forever.”

…Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:21)
For many people prayer is a difficult subject, not only a hard thing to talk about but even to do. Prayer is supposed to be easy, and even simple. Prayer is the essence of our relationship with the God who created us. So for those who are having difficulty in prayer, I offer some help, some really simple help, and that is to start with a simple prayer: “To Christ be glory forever.” This verse comes at the end of the letter to the Hebrews and is in the section called the “Benediction” It is the author’s way of concluding the letter by praying for the Hebrews (and to us) by giving us a blessing.

So how can we use this prayer “To Christ be glory forever.”? We can use is any time and any place.  It is easy to repeat throughout the day. For it is short enough to memorize with little effort. It is also worth noting that even though this is a very simple prayer is also profound. As well as being a prayer/action that we will be doing for all eternity, giving glory to God.

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Please pray with me

Please pray with me for the Church. The Catholic Church is in special need of God’s grace now, so we must pray for this. With all that has been recently revealed about the sin of some Priests, Bishops and Deacons of the church, we need to pray that Jesus will purify His church (note: the church belongs to Jesus).

We can also pray that those members of the church who have committed crimes against humanity, will be arrested, tried in a court of law, and if found guilty, will be sent to jail.

To try and understand all this we start with the question: Why is the Church holy? For the answer, we turn to St. Augustine and his answer (from about the year 400, I am sorry I do not have a reference) “The church is holy because of it’s mission, not because of its people”. So some 1600 years ago the issue of sin in the church caused St. Augustine to teach about the holiness of the church. The next thing we need to understand is what the mission of the church is. The mission of the church is to bring all humanity to heaven (an eternity with God). Helping to bring all humanity to heaven is a huge responsibility, and so we need to pray…

 

How long was Jesus silent?

Christ lived for thirty years in silence, Then, during his public life, he withdrew to the desert to listen to and speak with his Father. The world vitally needs to go off into the desert. Because God speaks in silence.

The Power of Silence – Against the Dictatorship of Noise (Thought #41, page 42)
by Cardinal Robert Sarah – Ignatius Press 2017

My notes: It is thought by Bible scholars that Jesus lived 33 years on earth, with the last three being His public ministry. So Jesus lived 30 years of quiet and 3 years of non-quiet, a 10 to 1 ratio. We would be fortunate to live a life of 10% quiet/silence.

 

Where is God present to you?

Through Sacred Scripture, when it is listened to and meditated upon in silence, divine graces are poured out on man. It is in faith, and not by traveling in distant lands or by crossing seas and continents, that we can find and contemplate God. …

Unless silence dwells in man, and unless solitude is a state in which he allows himself to be shaped, the creature is deprived of God. There is no place on earth where God is more present than in the human heart. This heart truly is God’s abode, the temple of silence.

The Power of Silence – Against the Dictatorship of Noise (#4, page 23)
by Cardinal Robert Sarah – Ignatius Press 2017

 

God’s silence is a consuming fire

God’s silence is a consuming fire for the man who approaches him. Through this divine silence, man becomes a bit estranged from this world. He is separated from this earth and from himself. Silence impels us toward an unknown land that is God. And this land becomes our true homeland. Through silence, we return to our heavenly origin, where there is nothing but calm, peace, repose, silent contemplation, and adoration of the radiant face of God.

 

The Power of Silence – Against the Dictatorship of Noise    (#70, page 54)
by Cardinal Robert Sarah – Ignatius Press 2017

 

What is the beauty of what God has made?

A short prayer from St. Catherine of Siena in her book “The Dialogue”.

“You, eternal Trinity, are the craftsman; and I your handiwork have come to know that you are in love with the beauty of what you have made, since you made of me a new creation in the blood of your Son. O abyss! O eternal Godhead! O deep sea! What more could you have given me than the gift of your very self?”

My notes: What is the beauty of what God has made? Me, you, all humanity.

 

An Introduction to the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I recently finished leading an 8-week Bible study on the Gospel of St. John. As part of that study, I recorded a 4-part talk I did on the Devotion Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Part 1 is how we find the origins of the Devotion in the Bible
Part 2 is on the Pope’s writings on the Sacred Heart
Part 3 is on the Saints writings on the Sacred Heart
Part 4 is on the modern day practice of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The videos are about 25 minutes each and can be found on my parish’s youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckDzODY6f1c&list=PLX4LFSTGB9yjqecBOnyiEWowXdphQaUjY

 

June 8, 2018, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart
Peace be with you,
Antonius