During the recent rescue mission in Thailand, the focus was on having a sufficient oxygen supply to sustain the rescuers and the young men during their underwater journey. There was a moment when the rescue was interrupted because there was not sufficient oxygen available.
Just as the body needs air to survive, so our spirits need the “oxygen” of the Holy Spirit to survive. And when we have a dangerous mission that takes us through dark waters, we need more “Holy Spirit” air than ever. How do we build up an adequate supply of this spiritual oxygen? The answer is one word: prayer.
In recent days, as sin in the Church is being exposed, the Blessed Mother had a word to say to the listeners in Medjugorje. Four words: “pray more, talk less.” Pope Francis wrote to the Church almost the same thing. He said that the solution to the sickness that plagues the Church today is conversion, prayer, and fasting.
Sadly, most of us prefer to talk more and pray less. We find it more interesting to listen to the words spoken about the Pope than to the words of the Pope himself. Lacking wisdom, we forget that when we cut corners in our prayer lives we cut off our oxygen supply.
Jesus modeled prayer. It was the source of all his wisdom and his power. Every morning he got up before dawn and went off to a quiet place to pray. Today, we read that there were certain important moments when he stayed up all night and prayed (Luke 6:12-19).
“Jesus departed to the mountains to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve who he also named Apostles.”
This was a moment in which Jesus was going to make one of the most important decisions in history. He was identifying the twelve men whom God had chosen to be foundational leaders of the Church. Two thousand years later we continue to remember them and ask their prayers. Did the Father show Jesus the faces of these men during the night in prayer? Did Jesus object when Judas’ name came up? We wonder what happened in the meeting Jesus had with his Father that night.
At important junctures in our lives we forget, sometimes, to spend long periods of time in prayer—to discern God’s will and to become aware of his future plans for our lives. Ironically, we spend hours talking, worrying, checking out the Internet, and in other ways try to discern what’s best for us. Jesus set the example. God is our Father who loves us and knows us deeply. He has a plan for the lives of each of us. Do we spend enough time with him, so that we can begin to listen to his voice?
Following the selection of Apostles, Jesus resumed his healing ministry. People came from all directions to receive his help.
“Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.”
Where did that power come from? How did he get such a store of divine power? It came from the quiet times he spent with his Father.
Signs point to the beginning a dark, underwater journey in the Church. Are we building up our oxygen supply through prayer? Will we be like the five wise virgins in the parable who stored an ample supply of oil to sustain them through the dark night? It is time to ask God repeatedly to fill us more and more with the Holy Spirit. And, as he fills us, he empowers us to be sources of light and hope to those who do not have Jesus as their hope.
When I object to spending “the night” in prayer, I remember times when I sat before the TV into the early morning watching rerun movies—three or four hours. If I am willing to immerse myself in this kind of entertainment, why not immerse myself in the presence of the one who gives me life that lasts forever? Why not heed my Mother’s advice: pray more, talk less?
“I chose you from the world, that you may go and bear fruit that will last” (John 15:16)
