Dear Beautiful Daughters of Mary,
Spiritual Gift of the Week
Let us pray for the grace to pursue a life in service even if we feel unworthy or unqualified.
Let us follow Mary who said: “he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.”
Spiritual Instruction of the Week
“Prayer is God’s work.”(Ruth Burrows)
Let God work—let us pray.
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As Catholic women of faith, it is imperative that we listen and reflect upon the words spoken by Pope Francis during his visit to the United States. We are told that he does not speak to settle ideological concerns—he does not speak in other words, for “this side or that side.” —Pope Francis speaks rather from his own faith filled heart of prayer—and he speaks to our prayerful and faithful hearts. He does not mean to scold or offend, nor to console—his mission is the truth—the “Truth.” He does not speak infallibly—but he does speak hopefully. His motive is not political power, but rather, our Holy Father’s message is the transforming power of the Gospel. Let us listen to him with a willingness to be challenged, for if we are not challenged, we are not changed. And that is Good News for “both sides.”
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Ruth Burrows is the pen name of Sister Rachel, O.C.D. a Sister at the Carmelite monastery at Quidenham in Norwich, England. She is a great writer and teacher on prayer and contemplation. Inspired by Therese of Lisieux to enter the Carmelites, her prayer was transformed in the 1970s because of the influence of a holy woman who taught her about contemplation. Her writings, in turn, will transform our prayer.
The following words of counsel on prayer, taken from a 2012 interview with Ruth Burrows, are enlightening for us all:
“Prayer can never be a failure. If I used that expression it would refer to how people express themselves. ‘I can’t pray, my prayer is a failure, I pray and nothing happens, I am praying to my self.’ This is to have a completely false idea of prayer.
Prayer is essentially God’s work. Our part is to give time, do our best to keep attention, surrender ourselves as best we can. Then we can be sure that God works. Faith does not ask for signs, for tokens. When we really grasp that prayer is essentially God’s business, not ours, we will never talk of failure, no matter how unsatisfactory prayer seems to us.”
The following quote is taken from a book Fr. Anthony mentioned, during our Day of Prayer, entitled the “Essence of Prayer.” Please note the underlined section. In this text, Ruth Burrows speaks directly to the mission of Daughters of Mary:
“Faith has to be maintained, no matter what our state of feeling, no matter how things seem. If we think about it we will realize that there is an implicit but inescapable question at stake here: Do I believe in Jesus Christ and in what Jesus reveals of God, which is nothing other than that God is total, unconditional. self-communicating love? So, at prayer we are starkly confronted with a choice: Do I stake everything on Jesus or do I choose to rely on my subjective experience?
How can I begin to commune with this divine Friend? you ask.
Your question reveals your awareness of, or your intention to believe in, his intimate presence. You assume that there is Someone to pray to.
The thing then, is to do all you possibly can to get to know this Someone. Study the gospels, making use of good commentaries. This work of the mind is indispensable. Try your utmost to get to know Jesus; only you yourself can do this. Don’t be content with the trite interpretations with which we become familiar and take as the truth. Jesus wants you to know him in truth and can be relied on to help you if you do what you can, humbly, trustfully. Eat his words, take them right down into your heart, live with them.
The accent is not on our prayer—our performance, but on being there, exposed to God, lovingly eager to receive God and certain that we do so, regardless of how we feel.
God is always at work and God’s work is God.”
So dear beautiful Daughters of Mary, let God work—let us pray…
Deb
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