My daily prayers for the last 20 years have centered on care, comfort and healing. Not a day goes by that I am not reminded of those who are in need for a multitude of reasons. Since the pandemic, the significance of peoples’ struggles is more pronounced than ever. It is because of this, I believe our need to rely on prayer for what God calls us to do in service to others is paramount for healing to happen.
Our first reading from The Book of Job today seems to epitomize this heavy burden we continuously think and talk about. Job laments, “My days…come to an end without hope.” What utter despair. And, yet, Job does not complain against God, but instead rejects those who say he has sinned, should repent and accept his punishment as the reasons for his plight. He calls for a response from God to help him understand and recovers his attitude of humility and trust in God which is deepened and strengthened by his experience of suffering and loyalty to his faith.
In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul expresses his fidelity in the service of the Lord through his practice of humility. He realizes that as the hand-picked Apostle to the Gentiles, he could boast and take advantage of the situation. Instead, he works to emulate Jesus in His promise to God the Father to offer His life for mankind’s absolution of sinfulness and to offer a promise of eternal salvation if they obey. The loyalty of his message comes from faith filled with prayer in obedience to God.
It is in St. Mark’s Gospel that we see the importance of having a prayerful faith to heal our struggles. Notice how Jesus receives His energy, not from relaxation or sleep, but going off by Himself to a quiet place to be in touch with His Father; the source of all energy. It is here that He will recharge His batteries and restore wholeness and peace in His life to heal those in need.
All of us need the same kind or renewal to do God’s work. We must focus on a positive rest that refreshes and rebuilds us. We need to find a balance between the needs of others than to dwell on the areas in our life which create confusion, depression, sadness, anger and abandonment. One way for us to have a strong prayer life, is to dedicate various times of the day to put aside our personal wants and needs and, in the stillness of our hearts somewhere we can find quiet, to listen to God in our mind, heart and soul.
Another way is to pray The Liturgy of the Hours in the morning, evening and night. It is an unceasing prayer of praise to God the Father and interceding for the salvation of the world. It comes in a book format filled with Psalms, Gospels, readings, homilies, intercessions, letters and Church theology. It is written to help us better understand God, His ways and how to follow them based on our call to fulfill the purpose for why we were created: To be in service to all He has created as Jesus is to us when he walked the earth and now through the Holy Spirit.
In prayer, Job, after all he suffered, asked for God’s forgiveness and received twice the blessings than he had prior. St. Paul’s focus on Christ crucified through prayer and works, enabled him to survive countless sufferings to convert people to Christianity. Simon’s healed mother-in-law was able, after her illness, to serve all those in need due to the prayer of others.
We have the same opportunity today through faithful prayers to God to have Him heal ours and other’s struggles. Don’t hesitate. God is here for us to be proactive. Let us not keep Him waiting for the process to begin.
Reading 1: Job 7: 1-4, 6-7
Reading 2: First Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22-23
Gospel: Mark 1: 29-39
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