The last of the pastoral plan core values is prayer. It seems strange that we need to specifically identify prayer as a core value but in this world of movements, social groups, Tweets and Facebook wall messages it may help to stop and remind ourselves that our faith isn’t just some social activity. It certainly finds expression in relationships with other people, but it is much more and deeper than that. It is fundamentally our relationship with God, as experienced and expressed through the medium of our lives. Without this transcendent element, our faith might as well be in some political hack or party organization.
When we speak of prayer, it is common to draw on the analogy of communication in human relationships. Most counselors will stress that a big element of communication in relationships is simple conversation. We got to better know one another by talking with one another. A good conversation reveals more of our life story to the other person, as well as helps us to think through our situation as we attempt to organize our thoughts and express them to another. The image of prayer as conversation with God is good. It represents a significant part of our experience of prayer, yet there is much more to prayer that must be considered.
At Mass the entire community joins together as we do readings from Scripture, kneel, sit or stand, sing together and in other various ways attempt to pray as a community. Often these community prayers seem rote and lack the passion of our conversations with God, yet there is more to them than meets the eye. The ritual itself draws us in and every element of the ritual contributes to the experience of relationship with God. It isn’t just the spiritual or abstract elements of the experience but the “smells and bells” are an important aspect of prayer as well. We enter into the prayer experience body and soul, not just as individuals in conversation with God but as a community. This worshiping community is the foundation for any other social activities that flow from our faith and integrate us as members of the Church.
Prayer is not just something we do but is also the attitude that we bring to our relationship with God. The catechism definition of prayer is raising our hearts and minds to God. We can do this in conversation with God and in the rituals of public worship. We can also do this sitting quietly, attentive to God’s presence in our lives and appreciative of the beauty of creation that surrounds us. We can do this reading Scripture and imaginatively placing ourselves in the scene we are reading as it unfolds. We can do this while we perform some act of kindness for another.
I am sure that after years of doctrina, listening to the homilies of many preachers and our personal experiences of God’s presence in our lives, we all appreciate the many ways that we can pray. So, why it is such a critical element of the pastoral plan that it is identified as one of the core values of the plan?
As Jesus ascended into heaven he charged his disciples to go and teach all nations the Good News of salvation and to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Good News isn’t just that all have access to salvation through Jesus Christ but that the Kingdom of God has been established on Earth through the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. That Good News stresses that the “heavy lifting” has already been accomplished by the Father through Jesus Christ. Yet, we are invited to take part in the unfolding of this spiritual reality in the events of our lives. Christ brings about this unfolding of the Kingdom of God in our midst and the transforming of the world through us. We are the Mystical Body of Christ in the world today and God works through us, His body and His church. Prayer keeps us rooted in our fundamental identity as the Mystical Body of Christ. Prayer is a conduit for the grace, strength and energy of the Holy Spirit that enables us to effectively participate in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God. Prayer keeps us oriented to the will of the Father.
The pastoral plan is a means for us to organize our efforts to participate in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God. Prayer keeps the plan directed toward that goal and provides us the strength to effectively participate in the process of making the goals a reality and the Kingdom of God more tangible in our midst. Without prayer we are reduced to nothing more than another social group clamoring for attention and trying to manipulate power and influence in the marketplace. With prayer, we are the Mystical Body of Christ transforming the world into the Kingdom of God.
The next time around we will take a look at the Pastoral Plan vision statement.