The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

Today I am going to suggest using a phrase from today’s gospel as something to think about as you settle into five minutes of silence with Jesus. “They had come to recognize him.” Think about that phrase for a minute. “They had come to recognize him.” It is the passage of the gospel that immediately follows the story of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus who did not know Jesus despite walking with him. You may recall they recognized them in the breaking of the bread.

So the past couple of days I introduced the concept of silent prayer. Sometimes this is called mental prayer, sometimes it is contemplative prayer. Today, this very day, it is time to give this a try. So here’s what I suggest you do.

Mary. Jesus is recognized when he calls Mary by name. Such is a tremendous truth in our faith. We are always called by name. In fact, one of the first questions a priest asks the parents is "What name have you given your child?" Listen carefully because today Jesus will be calling you by name.

The techniques used in mindfulness meditation are helpful to the process of prayer. For this reason, I am not critical of those who engage in mindfulness, or mindfulness meditation, but if they stop at the end of mindfulness meditation, I would suggest it is like looking at the cake for desert, getting ready to eat it, but never really enjoying the cake by eating it. At any rate, the purpose of meditation is always to place Jesus as the center.

One challenge for some Catholics is that they know they should pray, but beyond asking God to protect loved ones, heal those who are sick, that is, intercessory prayer, they do not always know what to do. They want to pray, but they do not know how to pray. I have become more convinced over my life that the beginning of prayer is to still the heart. That is, to enter on sacred ground where we place ourselves in the presence of Jesus and hear the command, "Be still and know that I am God!"

Unrest in Myanmar. The pandemic. Violence. Mental health issues. Ideological battles in the Church. There is a reason the ministry of Jesus started with the broken. They need to hear about the resurrection of Jesus. Let's get busy. https://thefriar.org/2021/04/04/homily-for-easter-sunday-april-4-2021/ #thefriar #HeIsRisen

I love Peter. Every emotion, every thought, every thing he does is right out in the open. He is totally authentic. Even when he fails, he repents with his whole being, his whole self. And is so doing, in today's readings, he shows us what it means to follow Jesus. If our focus in everything we do can be on Jesus, we will be holy indeed.