Lost Prayers #1

This series of posts will feature traditional Catholic prayers that are now rarely used. It's time to revive these beautiful words of love to God.

A Prayer for the Love of God 

O my Jesus, Thou well knowest that I love Thee; but I do not love Thee enough: Oh! make me to love Thee more. O Love which burnest always and is never extinguished, my God, Thou Who art Charity itself, kindle in my heart that divine fire which consumes the Saints and transforms them into Thee. Amen. 

Prayer for Grace to Do the Will of God 

Grant me, most kind Jesus, Thy grace, that it may abide with me, labour with me, and persevere with me to the end. 

Grant me ever to desire and to will that which is the more acceptable to Thee, and pleases Thee more dearly. 

May Thy will be mine, and my will ever follow Thine, and be in closest accord with it. 

May it be my one care to will and to be unwilling with Thee, and may I be unable to will or not will anything but what Thou willest or willest not. Amen. 

(Both prayers come from the 1910 edition of the Raccolta.)

Colossians 1:1 – Apostle

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother... (NRSV-CE)

Paul begins his letter to the Colossians by calling himself an apostle, in Greek apostolos. According to Vatican II, all Christians, even the laity, are called to an “urgent and many-sided apostolate,” a mission to live and spread the Gospel wherever we go and in whatever we do (1). We are all apostles.

But what is an apostle? We can get a better idea of the meaning of this word (and our mission) by studying the Greek word apostolos. The noun is derived from the verb apostellō, which means “to commission, send forth” (2). The verb, in turn, is comprised of two parts: the preposition apo, meaning “from, away from” and the verb stellō, meaning “send” or “dispatch.” Stellō, however, has another meaning: to make ready, arrange, equip, and set in order. 

Based on the simple, primary meaning of the verb apostellō, then, we usually define an apostle as someone who is commissioned or sent forth, and this is true. God does send us out into the world to serve our fellow human beings in His name and to live and spread the Gospel, just as Vatican II says.

But if we stop there, we miss an important piece of the puzzle. God doesn't just send us out; He makes us ready first. He sets things in order for the success of our mission. He arranges what we are to do. And He equips us for doing it. That's what the stellō part of the verb tells us. God doesn't just leave us to go off on our own, using our own meager resources and powers. He first provides us with everything we need, and He continues to supply us during the whole of our apostolate. 

So when Paul calls himself an apostle, he certainly means that he was sent by God, but he also indicates that he is sourced by God, Who makes him ready for his mission, equips him with everything he needs, and paves the way for his success. His job is to cooperate and rely on God's support every step of the way. The same is true for us, apostles that we are, as we, too, live the Christian life.

(1) Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, paragraph 1 (Flannery edition). 

(2) Information on Greek words and meanings comes from Bible Hub and Perseus Digital Library.

Announcing...

My new Literary Excavations blog!

Are you interested in medieval literature? Does Beowulf intrigue you? Or Chaucer? Or the treasures of Old English and Middle English literature? How about modern fantasy? Do you have a fondness for Middle-earth, Narnia, or Harry Potter's Wizarding World? Are you up for close readings, literary tidbits, word studies, or poetry analysis?

If so, the Literary Excavations blog might be just right for you. Check it out here!

Esther's Prayer: Penance

As we enter into the penitential season of Lent today, we can learn a lot about mortification and humility by studying Esther's words and actions.

When she agrees to Mordecai's plea and decides to face the king and request the lives of her people, the first thing Esther does is set herself and her attendants to a three-day fast, and she asks the rest of the Jewish community to join her. Esther realizes that fasting helps a person put God first and self last. When we deny ourselves things that are good, things that we enjoy, like food or material goods or particular types of entertainment, we say to God and to ourselves that there is something more important than our own desires, pleasures, and satisfaction. We turn away from the things of this world for a while and focus our attention on God. We make Him our priority.

Notice, too, that Esther sets herself to a very severe fast. She and her companions and the Jews will have nothing to eat or drink for three days. Nothing. That probably makes our fasts look pretty wimpy. Esther, though, knows that she is facing an extremely serious challenge, and she understands that the only way she can get through it is to set herself aside and let God take over. Her fast helps her do that.

But Esther doesn't stop with a fast. She also physically mortifies herself by removing all her queenly clothing and ornaments, covering herself with ashes and dung, and mussing her hair. Esther is sharply aware of the dangers of pride, especially in her position. She is, after all, the queen. She has power. People jump at her slightest command. She possesses all the best. But she knows that all these things are only for outward show and that if she relies on them, she will fail in her mission. So she gets rid of them. She replaces them with the most humble of clothing and even covers herself in filth to remind herself that she is nothing and can do nothing by herself. Only God can save her, and Esther is humble enough to know it.

If we pause to consider for a moment, most of us would have to admit that we are pretty concerned with our outward appearance. We want to look our best all the time because, perhaps, it helps us feel like we are in control, like we have some power to influence people...others but also ourselves. While we certainly don't need to go to extremes like Esther did, perhaps we might try this Lent not to be quite so concerned about how we look to others and a good deal more concerned about how we look to God.

Of course, Esther caps her fasting and mortification with prayer. She praises God, humbly confesses the sins of her people, remembers God's past actions, and places herself and her mission firmly in God's hands. She trustingly asks for help and courage. Then, when she has prepared with penance and prayer, she rises and calmly faces her mission, firmly believing that God is the One in control.

Esther's Prayer: Surrender

“O my Lord, You only are our king; help me, who am alone and have no helper but You...” Esther surrenders herself completely to God. She knows that she can do nothing without His help. 

If she were to enter the presence of the king under her own power, she would likely fail in her mission to save her people. How would she know what to say? Would she even have the courage to step before the throne, knowing that a rejection from the king would mean instant death?

So she doesn't go alone. God accompanies her. He gives her the boldness she needs. He puts words in her mouth to convince the king. The plan to save the Jewish people is God's alone; Esther is merely His instrument.

And she accepts that role willingly. She trustingly places herself in God's hands and lets Him take control, for she knows that only then will she have a chance to save her people.

Do we imitate Esther? When faced with a trial, with something we cannot handle on our own, do we surrender to God? Do we trustingly rely on His help? Do we allow ourselves to be His instruments that He may act and speak through us? 

Or do we try to carry on under our own power? 

If we choose the latter, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Only surrender to God will bring success, perhaps not in everything we think we want, but ultimately according to His will. God knows what we need far better than we do, so our job is to place ourselves in His loving hands and let Him run the show. 

Lord, give me the grace of surrender and guide me always. Amen.

Esther's Prayer: Remembrance

As the end of another year approaches, we ought to step back and take some time for remembrance. 

Esther did this in her prayer when she spoke to God about the wonders He had accomplished for her people in the past. She'd heard the tales since she was born about how God had separated the Israelites from their neighbors and made them His own special people, bound to Him by covenant. But she also recalled how God's people sinned against Him, giving themselves to other “gods,” and how God justly punished them by handing them over to their enemies.

Esther remembers the good and the bad, the joys and the sorrows, the blessings and the sins. It's all part of her past, and it all contributes to her future as she places her trust in the faithful God Who has carried her people through everything. 

God has carried us through everything, too, over this past year...and always. Now let us recall what God has done for us and how we have responded to Him by reflecting on the following questions.

* Where has God been active in my life this year?
* What miracles have I witnessed?
* In what ways has God corrected or disciplined me?
* How have I responded to God's work?
* How has my relationship with God changed over the past year?
* How has my relationship with other people changed?
* Where have I succeeded in Christian living?
* Where have I failed in Christian living?
* What have I learned about God and myself this year?

Lord, may we remember the past that we may see Your love for us more clearly. Give us the grace to know ourselves better that we may grow ever closer to You in the coming year. Amen.

Esther's Prayer: Preparation

Esther had received a nearly impossible mission, at least in her eyes. Her people, the Jews, were in grave danger; the king had already signed the order for their extermination. Esther wasn't sure what she could do to change that, if anything, but at the request of Mordecai, her foster father, she resolved to try. She would push the boundaries of her queenship to their very edges and approach the king uninvited even if it meant her death.

But even after she had made her decision, Esther did not act immediately. Instead, she took some time to prepare. Esther, “seized with deadly anxiety, fled to the Lord.” She dissolved into penance, removing her royal robes and donning mourning garments, covering her tangled hair with ashes and dung, refusing to touch food or drink, and praying long and hard for God's favor.

Esther called on God for help, realizing that she was all alone. She remembered the Lord's past aid and prayed for a new deliverance for her people. She acknowledged their sinfulness and her own abhorred position in the king's household, and she declared her total dependence on God. 

The queen's preparation paid off. She refused to jump into anything without first humbling herself before God and speaking to Him intimately in prayer. Only then, when she had completely placed herself and her mission in God's hands, did she dare to approach the king, dressed in her highest finery but also with the confidence that she had done everything she could to prepare for her dangerous, and ultimately successful, task.