Prayer: a communication of the Heart (HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT

Homily for Tuesday of the 1st week of Lent 

Isaiah 55:10-11; Ps.34; Matt. 6:7-15

Theme: Prayer: a communication of the Heart

Prayer is a communication between God and man. A common vehicle for communication is words. So in prayer, we communicate to God and vice versa using words. But in the gospel reading of today, Jesus, trying to teach His disciples how to pray well, admonished them not to heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do. He went on to mention that they gentiles use many words in prayer but these words seem not appreciated in the sight of God. Why?

Jesus clearly noted that the plenty words used by the gentiles are empty phrases. This means that the problem with the words is not their many number but their emptiness. But how does words become empty? Words become empty when they do not come from the heart. In prayer, when we are absentminded such that the words we address to God are not emanating from our hearts, then such words are empty. This is because prayer is more of a communication of the heart than exchange of words. Words only help to convey the content of the heart. But when the mind is absent, the words become empty since they are no longer propelled by the heart.

Therefore, for us to pray well, we must not just be observing a ritual act but deeply yearn to pour our hearts to God, as well as listen to what He has for us. The art of being absentminded occurs more with some traditional prayers such as the Holy Mass, the rosary, etc. It is very easy for us to attend Mass on holy day of obligation just so that we fulfil the law, without aiming at really talking with God. This explains why some persons can afford to lose concentration during Mass, while still giving all the necessary responses. In praying the rosary too, absentmindedness could reduce our prayer to mere recitation of words like a nursery rhythm.

Beloved, to pray well, we must mean what we say and say what we mean. In this season of lent, let us grow our cordiality with God to a level where we enjoy being in His presence even without saying anything. This is a common experience of intimate friends. In their silence, so much is communicated emotionally. The Lord is inviting us to such level of intimacy with Him. At such level, prayer ceases to be a burden. When prayer flows from the heart, we will be not be looking for how to construct our words, we will not be timing ourselves, we will not be forgetting or procrastinating. Prayer will become a heart-to-heart encounter. The fruits of such encounter is most intriguing.