PRAYING AT THE EDGE OF WAR

                  

 

We are living in a time of strong tension in our world. Mr. Putin has invaded the country of Ukraine. Are we at the edge of a Third World War?

 

Pope Francis has asked the Christian world to make the day of Ash Wednesday a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the Ukraine. This is very serious when the pope askes the entire Church to pray for peace in the Ukraine.

 

In our prayer life we must be aware that our prayer always embraces the entire world. Prayer must never be a closed circle with God on the top and myself at the other end. Rather, our prayer must be made with wide open arms that is ready to embrace the world in all its turmoil’s and confusion. We must pray in solidarity with the poor and suffering of this world. We pray as sisters and brothers to all the poor people of the world. Our prayer is always an embrace of all our fellow human beings, not only the ones whom we like.

 

I try to pray the morning and evening prayer standing beside the poor of the Ukraine. When I think of the poor, I think of the many people in the Ukraine who cannot leave and take refuge in Poland or another safe country. There are countless people who do not have the resources of the support to seek refuge in another country.

 

There will always be people in our churches who are  uncomfortable with praying with wide open arms and a wide open heart. They are often fearful and insular. Authentic prayer is always the opposite of this position. If I pray in solidarity with the poor and the suffering of the Ukraine I am being embraced by the great love of God for all peoples. The heart of God extends to everyone. To pray in the Spirit of God is to be extended in love and concern for the well-being of my fellow human being. 

 

Praying in solidarity with the poor of the world is always expansive. When we open our hearts to the heart of God we will always feel the walls of our heart pushed out and expanded. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we are sharing in the great compassion and connection that the Trinity God has with each human being. These are not empty words. These are words that embrace our daily lives. We must pray these words with the consciousness that the Holy Spirit will move us to greater love and service to the poor; the poor with their many faces.

 

When people listen attentively to the sufferings and difficulties of others they will always discover that their lives are changed in some degree. When they might have been very judgmental about the drug addiction of a co-worker, but they listen to the struggles of this poor man to be rescued from his drug-addiction, they discover that instead of harsh judgments there arises a desire to help, beginning with sincere prayer for recovery from drug-addiction.

 

People have observed that their fellow Christians who are serious in the practice of their prayer life are also persons who have a strong sense of justice and compassion for the poor of this world. 

 

Prayer expands our hearts. If you join your prayer for the sufferings of the poor in the Ukraine this week do not surprised if the Holy Spirit expands your heart.