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5 min
Prayer
One of the most common means that help us grow close to God is prayer. The more we pray, the more we become intimate friends of God, and the more we are in communion with him. Indeed, we are truly man or woman only when we pray. The Second Vatican Council says: ‘the highest dignity of man is communion with God’ (GS, 19). The most worthy and honorable persons are men and women of prayer.
Growing in Prayer
All of us must always make progress in prayer, progress in our intimacy with God. ‘You have learned from us how you ought to live, and you are already doing so. But make even greater progress’ (1 Th 4:1). We must always seek to grow in our friendship with Jesus. Let us ask ourselves the following questions: ‘Lord, what can I do to grow in my prayer? Lord, lead me forward on the paths of intimacy with you.’ He who has assured us that if we ask him for anything, he will give it to us, will surely not disappoint us. Our requests in prayer must not only be requests for material things, but also pleading with him to help us grow in prayer and in friendship with him.
Pleasing Jesus
One of the advanced stages of prayer is not only to ask, to intercede, or to praise, but above all to be ready to please Jesus. This is a very great stage for the one who grows in prayer and in friendship with God: to come to say, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do to please you?’ ‘Lord, let it be done to me according to your will,’ as the Virgin Mary said. ‘Lord, I want to please you.’ When we love, we rejoice in the joy of the other. ‘The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase; I must decrease’ (Jn 3:29-30). When I advance on the paths of prayer, I will not only be glad because God has given me what I want or what I asked for. I will rejoice because I delight in his joy, because I am glad to please him.
Using and Multiplying Our Talents
So God has given each of us tasks and talents. No one lives by chance or for nothing. ‘To each is given the manifestation of God for the common good’ (1 Cor 12:7). To each, that is, to all of us without exception. To me, and to you too, the Lord has entrusted talents. What do I do with these talents? Do I bury them? Do I multiply them? When we speak of talents, the thought that comes to mind is to say: ‘Lord, I do not know my talents.’ As Christians, at baptism we received many graces. We are missionaries by our baptism. We have within us this capacity to evangelize, to communicate the word of God, to communicate the life of God. How do I use this capacity that God has given me to evangelize? Am I multiplying this talent to the measure that pleases him? The sins we must confess in the sacrament of reconciliation are not only to say, ‘I stole, I lied,’ and so on, but also failing to multiply my talent to its full capacity (Mt 25:14-30). How many times have we been ashamed of Jesus? How many times have we done things that were rather a hindrance to evangelization? In the Gospel of Matthew 25:14-30, the one who buries his talent is severely punished. Not for having committed murder or anything of the kind, but for having buried his talent. So too God has the right to punish me for the talent I bury or that I do not multiply enough. This is why I must ask God for forgiveness: ‘Lord, forgive me for not having evangelized enough’; ‘Lord, forgive me for neglecting to help your children’; ‘Lord, forgive me for not having done enough to bring back the lost sheep.’
To pray and say to the Lord: ‘Lord, help me to do more, to do better.’ Help me to multiply my talent for evangelization. This is what pleases him. ‘There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance’ (Lk 15:7). When we make such resolutions, he will be glad. ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, come and share your master’s joy.’ Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us grow in evangelization.
Henri Bayemi
