Daily Meditation - Saturday 24May 2008 - PRAYING TO GOD, OUR LADY, THE ANGELS AND THE SAINTS

[BarbaraTherese]

Today is
Australian Calendar
Solemnity of Our Lady Help of Christians

Patroness of Australia
forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=3712725&postcount=49

**Mass Readings and Meditation
**usccb.org/nab/readings/052408.shtml

Meditation
wau.org/meditations/meditations.asp?month=5&day=24&year=2008&x=7&y=8

My comment: St. James presents to us a great case to pray to Our Lady, the angels and our saints to pray for us to God:

"The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful." (James 5:16)

Why is prayer so powerful?

• Because it is prayer that connects us to God
• —to a God who loves to pour out healing, hope, and restoration. When a child falls and hurts himself,
• the first place he runs to is his mom or dad.
• Without hesitation, he seeks comfort and someone to take care of the hurt.
• Could you imagine the child stopping to wonder if his parents could really help?
• Of course not! His only thought is that if he can just get to Mom or Dad, then everything will be taken care of.

What a beautiful image to communicate the love and care of our heavenly Father! He loves it when we come to him with our hurts. He is always ready to gather us into his arms and give us his comfort, healing, and restoration.

What might make you hesitate to run to him?

• Do you wonder if he will hear you?
• Maybe you sense that some of your suffering was brought about by poor choices you have made.

*** None of that really matters.***

• Your Father simply wants you to come.
• He will never refuse you.
• Sin or a weak faith may obscure our ability to sense his presence,
• but he is still with us—even if we can’t feel him.

All we have to do is ask the Holy Spirit to show us where we might need to repent, and we will be restored and strengthened. So don’t hang on to something that is holding you back from the unconditional love of the almighty Creator of the universe!

• By examining our hearts and repenting of our sins,
• we realign our hearts with God.
• His love is already perfect and freely poured out on us,

*** but perhaps we are not in line with him.***

*** Let’s not miss out on one bit of his grace! ***
Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus’ loving embrace can bring us life, healing, strength, and peace.

“Heavenly Father, I lift up all those who feel distant from you today.
Draw them close to your heart.
If any feel downtrodden,
set them free from doubt of your love.
Wash us all clean from sin so that we can receive the grace that is constantly flowing from your throne.”

 

[dang71]

Why is prayer so powerful?
Because it is prayer that connects us to God
—to a God who loves to pour out healing, hope, and restoration.

All we have to do is ask the Holy Spirit to show us where we might need to repent, and we will be restored and strengthened. So don’t hang on to something that is holding you back from the unconditional love of the almighty Creator of the universe!

i hear/read people say things like this, but i have never experienced anything like this in my life. i always pray, go to mass, go to confession, but never feel anything like what is described.

 

[bwhite06517]

HUH???

In today’s reading we have this one verse:

The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.

James then describes Elijah stopping the rain for THREE years!!!

Do we believe this? Are we (a) fervent in our prayers and (b) righteous? Do we believe that we can really change things with prayer?

I for one do!!! I have seen things that weren’t going to happen actually happen with prayer!!! Are we praying for renewal in our parishes? Are we praying for good spouses for our children? Do we even believe God when we ask for our ‘daily bread’ in the Our Father?

Matt 11:22-25 has this (after Jesus cursed the fig tree):

Have[f] faith in God," Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

What might hinder our prayers? Doubt? Sins? Lack of forgiveness?

My Mother had a sign on the refrigerator once: “God said it; I believe it; that settles it”. That kind of sums it up!!!

Heavenly Father, help us to be fervent in prayer and to be righteous so that our prayers can be heard. Help us to believe and not doubt and to forgive so we can be forgiven!!! Amen!!!

 

[bwhite06517]

i hear/read people say things like this, but i have never experienced anything like this in my life. i always pray, go to mass, go to confession, but never feel anything like what is described.

Hi Dang!!! I don’t always experience this - but I have!!! Many years ago, I had a job offer in another town that was “the desire of my heart” (to be a college professor) - but it was almost time for my current teaching position (high school) to begin. My school superintendent said “You can’t go unless we find a replacement within a week”. Within a week a very strong candidate ‘that had always wanted to teach’ applied; our house was listed for sale and sold in two days; we had a garage (yard) sale and sold everything but two items (and an hour after the sale ended a person stopped at the door asking if we had sold those two things). So within a week, the impossible had happened. Was it ‘coincidence’? No, I believe it was GOD!!!

 

[BarbaraTherese]

i hear/read people say things like this, but i have never experienced anything like this in my life. i always pray, go to mass, go to confession, but never feel anything like what is described.

Hi Dang71…probably there are very many of us who dont experience as a felt experience any of this either, but we believe it is happening because Faith tells us that it is? We believe what our Faith through The Church tells us.
Feelings can be deceptive…this is only an example: Say I think and feel that some student on compus does not like me as she never speaks to me. Later on we have an occasion to talk together and find out that we both felt the same way, that she too felt that I did not like her…we can laugh about these incorrect feelings (telling us something incorrect about reality) we had and we go on to like each other.
Or again, purely an example. Sometimes I meet someone and straight away I feel that I don’t like them. Over a period of time I can see that there is no reason not to like them (the reality) and yet my feelings go on telling me I dont like them and hence my feelings are “irrational feelings”. Our feelings can have nothing to do with logic, reason or even reality…not always though.

I hope I am not confusing you, but feelings can be deceptive of what is the actual truth and reality. In the spiritual realm no matter what our feelings may be saying, Faith tells us what is actually true and really happening, even though we cannot feel it at all.

Hope that may help somewhat… if not, do ask more questions - I have been through many periods of confusion where I had many questions and consistently…
Most of all pray and ask God to help you understand and keep you strong and faithful. I know it is extremely difficult when all seems confusing and sometimes answers just only confuse the more. I hope this wont be so in your case and will be keeping you in daily prayer.

One small but important point. Because you have not felt these things to date, does not mean that you will not at some point in the future. Mind you to feel these things is a great blessing from God…and as I say, many of us probably dont feel these things either, we just believe.

…Blessings and my regards…Barb

 

[BarbaraTherese]

My Mother had a sign on the refrigerator once: “God said it; I believe it; that settles it”. That kind of sums it up!!!

…I really like that BW!!! Great quote! May I often quote you? Here in Bethany in the large country kitchen or community room as I like to call it, there are heaps of Bible quotations, saint quotations, quotations of every kind pinned up here and there everywhere…on walls and cupboards, framed or unframed…both for my benefit and those of visitors. Your mother’s refrigerator quote will be going up!
The only time anyone no matter who they are gets to sit in the lounge is if they need to watch something on TV or a DVD, otherwise if I did not as little as possible dust it etc., my lounge would be a mass of cobwebs. All visitors no matter who they are ushered straight to the community room!

Great quote, BW…Barb