THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD

A SERMON FOR ROGATION SUNDAY

On Thursday, we’ll be celebrating the feast of the Ascension of our Lord into heaven.  This is therefore the last Sunday before the Ascension, and it is fitting that we take a look at our Lord’s last words to his apostles before he left this world to retake his seat on the right hand of his Father.  What was the important message he wanted to leave with us?  His last words are in fact an invitation to prayer.

This was not the first time our Lord had recommended prayer to his disciples. He sometimes even commanded that people pray.  He made every grace and blessing dependent on prayer—even our final perseverance and salvation.  There is no question that our Lord put a great deal of emphasis on prayer, and so today, we should take a look at our own prayer life, and see if we can perhaps make some improvements in the quality and quantity of the time we spend praying before God.

Certainly, our blessed Lord gave us a very clear and strong example.  He prayed always and he prayed everywhere—on the mountains, in the wilderness, and on the waters, in the temple, in the marketplace, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and on the Cross…. We must remember that Christ is God, he can never be separated from his Father in heaven, as they are one, united in the most Holy Trinity.  We can never approach this degree of union with God of course, but we can follow his example by trying to keep ourselves always in the presence of God. And we are always in his presence, because God is everywhere we go.  We have only to turn to him in our mind at any given moment and speak with him in prayer.  He will hear us.

Unfortunately, and this has always been the case with us frail humans, we tend to speak to God only when we want something.  We act like beggars, treating God like a passerby who might or might not throw us a few coins of mercy as we struggle with our problems.  Certainly, begging God for a favor is a form of prayer, and it might even be made from the depths of our being when the problem is a really tough one, but let’s remember that this is the last and least meritorious form of prayer.  Let’s not forget that the highest form of prayer is adoration.  Try uttering the words Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus from time to time, or a Gloria in excelsis Deo, joining with the angels in the humble worship of our Creator.  Acts of adoration like this express our love and reverence for God, and fulfill best of all that first commandment Christ gave us, that we should love God with our whole heart and mind and soul and strength.  Secondly, we should pray with contrition to God, humbly acknowledging our manifold offences against him, and expressing our sorrow for them, our true repentance, and our resolution to sin no more.   And finally, we should thank God constantly for all the graces and blessings we receive from him.  There are so many, and without God we would not even exist. 

So keep the four types of prayer in the right order.  There’s an acronym we often use to remember what they are. It spells out the word ACTS, which stands for Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  Note—adoration first, your supplications last.  And as far as those supplications go, let’s try not to act like beggars with God.  And certainly, let’s never yield to any sense of entitlement, let’s never imagine that God owes us some favor because we might have done something we’re proud of. God owes us nothing.  We are the ones who owe God—we owe him adoration, contrition and thanksgiving, so don’t neglect these more important aspects of prayer. The supplication part, the petitions we ask of God, let’s take a quick look at what our Lord says about them in today’s Gospel.

“Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name, he will give it you. Ask, and ye shall receive”  That sounds like a carte blanche declaration that we can get whatever we want from God whenever we want it.  It is not.  The important words to remember here are “in my Name”.  We are called upon to ask for what we need, what we want, in the Name of God’s Son, who died for our salvation.  Our prayers are to end with the words “Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”  Let’s not use the Name of the Lord in vain as we presume to demand from God the vain things of this world—material wealth, good times, pleasurable experiences, whatever.  Let’s use the Name of Jesus always with reverence, imploring God for our true needs, especially our spiritual needs.  Ask God for an increase in the virtue you find you’re deficient in, ask God to deliver you from a difficult temptation, ask God to help you grow in love for him.  As for our physical needs, by all means pray for them too, but note the word “needs”. Not whims, but needs.  And finally, make your petitions mostly on behalf of others, for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for the sick and the dying, for your country, your family, your friends, and don’t forget, your enemies! Now you’re fulfilling the second of the great commandments, to love your neighbor as yourself, with a prayer that is pleasing to God.

Ask in Christ’s Name, and your prayers will be heard by God.  He will hear them.  If you pray fervently and long enough, he may even grant them.  We leave that part up to God, who always know what is best for his children, and certainly far better than we do.  Parents understand this very well—when you take your little boy or girl to the store, you’ll hear the constant refrain “I want this, I want that.”  And sometimes you know they’ll end up eating too much candy and have to go to the dentist, or maybe they’ll hurt somebody with a toy that’s too dangerous for them to handle, and so you don’t buy it for them.  “Father knows best.”  Other times though, you know your child is asking for something he really does need, like medicine when he’s sick, and you wouldn’t dream of not granting his plea for help.  God works in the same way—remember, we’re made in his image and likeness.  But remember too, that he knows everything. And that means he knows when it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to grant something which might seem important, or even critical, to us.  We might not understand why we shouldn’t have what we’re asking for, but God knows when there is more good to be drawn from not granting a prayer.

Always keep in mind that our Lord himself asked his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane to be spared the terrible things that were about to happen.  Like him, we must bow to the will of God and humbly submit to whatever cross we’re given.  God doesn’t mind if we pray to have it taken away, providing our prayer is made in the spirit of submission to his will.  Our Lord taught us how to pray in these cases: “Our Father, who art in heaven, thy will be done!”

God is our Father.  And we are his children.  Let our prayers then be as from a child to his father.  Let us pray, not as beggars, but as devoted children who trust in our Father to take care of us, not because we are deserving of his love and care, but because we are praying in the Name of Christ, who is worthy and deserving. Before God, we have no rights, but our Lord has!  Let’s offer up our prayers now as Mass continues, and let’s offer them “through Christ our Lord.  Amen.”