practicing

Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world. Archbishop Oscar Romero.


Each day we are reminded that the world needs more social justice, more compassion, more mercy. There are millions of homeless, millions unemployed, millions hungry. There are a million reasons for us to pray, a million reasons for us to take action. How do we approach prayer? Where do we position prayer in our lives?

We should allow ourselves to burst into prayer as often as possible. Prayer should be free, alive in our entire being. Our hearts and minds should always be filled with thoughts of sharing goodness, holiness, and kindness. Our actions should be helping us move closer and closer to God. We must acknowledge our past, present, and future mistakes. Our lives are not easy. We strive to avoid sin.

Current events can sometimes influence our prayers. Our thoughts about Charlie Sheen, the weather, contaminated water in Japan are good things to reflect on and to pray about.

Civil war in Libya, unrest in Syria, each day we are given more reasons to pray, more events to reflect upon and ask God’s guidance. Modern life is filled with consumerism, hedonism, individualism. Belief in God is no longer the center of our culture. Being Christian is accepted and often criticized.

Almost all vice is approved, accepted, and glamorized. We must always pray that each Catholic, each Christian, each human being be able to learn how to avoid vice, avoid sin.

We should not fear silence. We should not fear prayer.

There are radiation leaks in Japan, Yemen’s political crisis, the Saudi’s anger at the United States’ handling of the Egyptian power struggle and collapse of President Hosni Mubarak’s government, these events and so many others provide more and more reasons for us to pray, for us to put our faith in God.