All of us do pray. We have many standard prayers like the Lord’s Prayer and the Rosary. Most of us also go to Church everyday or on Sundays to attend the Holy Mass and receive the Holy Eucharist. Have you ever thought that the repetitive nature of these have made us look at these or do these in a more casual way, without giving the utmost reverence to these which they rightfully deserve?. Consider the following 3 areas where we should never allow repetition to reduce their immense importance.
1. The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer, our central prayer, the prayer taught by Jesus Christ, the prayer which is said most number of times by any Christian in his life. There is no doubt that all of us know this prayer by heart. But I really doubt that each time we utter this prayer, are we focusing on the real meaning of the words said here? Or are we just doing vain repetitions with our mouth with ten other things in our mind?
Human mind is weak by itself and its restless. Even while praying, it can ponder away across many topics making the prayer just a vain repetition. But my friends, even that vain repetition has some value as you are repeating the words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. But just imagine how much more value, more meaning, you can add to your prayers if you really sink in to what your mouth is uttering?
When you say ‘our Father in Heaven’ do also remember that you are calling our God as your almighty father who reigns in Heaven. When you say ‘hallowed be your name’, please really wish for that. Please wish that HIS name will be honored all over the world. When you say ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.’, you are proclaiming that you are waiting for HIS kingdom and HIS will on earth, just as it’s in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread’ is asking him just for today’s meal as you are not concerned what will happen tomorrow or day after. You are sure that the immense mercy and protection and love of our GOD will protect you and your family in the days to come too. ‘Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors’ is a huge one. It should really make us think about those who had hurt us but to whom we are yet to forgive. Just like the parable, the master will forgive our sins according to the scale of our forgiveness level. ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’ is a humble request to the LORD to keep us away from all those evil eyes and instances of sin and to protect our souls from darkness. We should ask LORD to wash each of our senses in HIS holy blood from the Cross so that no impurity enter us through them.
2. Rosary (Hail Mary)
This prayer also has great importance as its taken from the words of God’s messenger, the angel who visited Mary. We say this prayer 50 times in a normal rosary and I wonder how many among those really count! I have seen people saying this prayer thinking about the food in the oven. Most housewives do pray the Rosary everyday but are all the Hail Marys said with the utmost reverence and concentration? Or is it just for our mind’s satisfaction that I have done my Rosary today?
‘Hail Mary, full of grace’… stop there, remember our Heavenly Mother, she is now being called by the Angel as the one who is full of Grace. Yes, Mother Mary was so filled with Grace than anyone else at that time in this World. ‘Our Lord is with you’…yes, she never did anything against God’s will and He was there with her all through her life, sometimes as Her heavenly dad and sometimes as her earthly son. ‘Blessed are you among woman’… she was the most blessed one among all the woman in the World and you sure know that’s not an easy achievement. Her every action was God-driven and she was so pure in body and soul that she was chosen to give birth to our LORD here on Earth. ‘Blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus’ …stop there, imagine the baby Jesus twisting in her small womb, how blessed a mother she is to have our Lord as her son. And we can also see the greatest of the greatest, the king of Kings, who is humbling himself to just a human baby form inside Mary’s womb.
‘Holy Mary, Mother of God’ has a significance. I know many who still don’t accept the huge importance of Mother Mary in the savior’s plan. They are reluctant to admit that she is our God’s mom. My friends, if you accept Jesus as your God, never be shy in proclaiming this truth that Mary is the Mother of GOD. ‘Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death’ – this one needs some explanation. Ever wondered why we say this line, especially why we point towards the time of our death? Make no mistake friends, the devil will surely come near you in your last moments on Earth and make you remember each and every sin you had committed here on Earth. He will show all those in front of your eyes when your whole life flashes in front of you and seeing all those, you just feel you are never going to make it to heaven and hell is waiting for you.
That’s the time our Mother will come to our Bed with all the angels to help us drive Satan away. She will make sure that we wont be desperate in our last moments here and will pray for our souls to the almighty God so that we go through a calm silent peaceful death. You can make it out yourself if you see different people in their last moments, some are so noisy and frightened while other are so calm and full of joy as they can internally see Heaven waiting for them.
3. Holy Eucharist
Many receive Holy Eucharist everyday, but did that make you consider this as less important in any of those days? Here is one more instance when repetition can deceive you to lower your reverence towards the body of our GOD. What do you feel when the Holy Eucharist touches your tongue? You just receive it, go to your place, kneel there, say your standard prayer and sit back in your seat?
My friend, it’s the Creator of the Universe who is in your mouth now, no one else. The one who has created you and everything else in this world has agreed to come inside you in the form of bread and wine. When you glimpse at the Eucharist, imagine the beating heart of Jesus that you are going to receive. When Eucharist melts inside your mouth, imagine Christ moving all over your body, his flesh and blood combining with your flesh and blood and you are just becoming another Christ here and you sure know that is a huge responsibility. Keep the temple of God clean and away from sin as Jesus now lives inside you.
Conclusion
We cannot live our life without repetition of all the above. They are prayers and sacraments which definitely need to be done a lot many times repetitively. But we just have to be very careful that this repetition is not reducing the glory, the honor, the reverence and the involvement of our complete mind that these prayers and sacraments surely need from us. Don’t let that reduce even by 1%. Ask this blessing from Our God during your next prayer, I am sure the almighty God will give this wonderful blessing to each and every one of you and that will make this humanly impossible task, that I am urging you to do, possible. God bless you all. Amen.
– – – written by Georgy N Joseph
Thank You. This letter shows me how to fight the evil in our world and in my life. I will ask and pray to God to help me meditate on it. God Bless.
Reading through this reminded me of how not to take the truth lightly or thoughtlessly…Many Thanks.