Men's Rosary

We all know that prayer is important.  We pray for help in time of need, for the welfare of family and friends, for our priest, brothers, deacons and religious, for our Church, the list is endless.  A most important function of prayer is to unite our will with God’s will. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through living a life in Christ and following the Holy Spirit.  This was made clear by Jesus when he promised the Holy Spirit to the disciples, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:56) It is a trap of the secular world and modernity that we fall into the mind-set of what we desire, and think is best is best. We rationalize the desire, outcome, or result based on our own hermeneutic. This is not the best way to live. We must live in accordance with God’s will and his will for us.  The Holy Spirit can and will guide us along that path. This should be our prayer. “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good spirit lead me on a level path!” (Psalm 143:10)

A way to a peaceful and fulfilling life is listening, yielding, and following the Holy Spirit. Following the Holy Spirit is releasing our preferred outcome to embrace what is revealed to us and God’s redirection. We set out on a course, one we judge as good, but the Holy Spirit will guide us along it and the destination may or may not be what we thought it would be.  Either way, if it is of the Holy Spirit we will be at peace. We simply need to trust and obey. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

One may think that they are not able or worthy enough to live a life being led by the Holy Spirit and in imitation of Christ.  This could not be any more incorrect! Take St. Paul as an example. He came from being one of the greatest persecutors of Christians to one of the greatest evangelists and saints! He is plain in expressing the real possibility of conversion for all when he says, “Put off the old man that belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

One may think that after prayer and discernment that we would know the answer to a situation and then the answer we receive seems contrary to what we believed. This is an answer to our prayer and discernment – the correct answer. It is an answer that must be embraced and acted upon. Take St. Monica for example.  She prayed for years for the conversion of her son, Augustine.  She prayed that God does not send him to Rome because she feared there, he would fall deeper into the sinful trappings of the world. Contrary to her thoughts, God let him go and it was there that he discovered Christianity and became one of the Church’s greatest saints and even a Doctor of the Catholic Church! It is necessary to trust in God’s ways and see his love in all the answers he gives us. Following the Holy Spirit will give us clarity in these answers and direction on where God wants us to be, where he wants us to serve, how he wants us to serve and who he wants us to serve. When we do not follow the Holy Spirit and do it “our way” we will simply be “pushing string” and find nothing but frustration.  When we follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and serve God according to his way or will, we will find peace, even amidst any confusion. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Pray that the Holy Spirit be part of your life, involved in every aspect, and resolve to listen and follow.  The Holy Spirit will speak through our decisions, the decisions of others which impact us and our decisions. The Holy Spirit will speak through others.  We need to be good listeners. Being led by the Holy Spirit we will see God’s answers to our prayers and find the right path for our lives. Regardless of the situation, we must give thanks for prayers answered. “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) We know that all prayers are answered whether we like the answer or not. We are still children, but we should not be childish in heeding God’s will. I was reminded of this recently when I received a disappointing answer to much discernment and prayer. When I received the news, my wife had us pray for the decision. I thought, childishly, OK?? She informed me we would pray in thanksgiving for God giving me an answer and taking me where he wants me to be. That was a lesson in following the Holy Spirit!

Our prayer life is vital to our spiritual health and salvation. However, we must approach prayer with two ingredients for it to be fruitful. Humility and piety. In humility we recognize our place; that He is God and we are not. In piety we offer devotion, respect, and reverence to He who is God. In our humility and piety, we can beseech the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and guide us in the way God determines to be right. Perhaps we can spend less time “figuring out” life and more time “experiencing” life on God’s terms.  Maybe if we take ourselves out of the equation and insert God into it, the answer or outcome will be as it should, and we will live a Godly life and not a life created by our own means. We are the created, not the creator. Perhaps it is time to leave the heavy lifting and deciding to God and do our job by listening obeying and following.

“He pours light into our minds, arouses our desire and gives us strength…As the soul is the life of the body, so the Holy Spirit is the life of our souls.”  (St. Peter Damien)