Praying without words

From the desk of Fr. Ignatius Waters, cp

Sunday, 17th February 2019

When I was a young priest, an old priest told me this story about his mother and father at home and I never forgot it. He said if you didn’t know them, you’d think they didn’t like each other at all. And why? Because they hardly ever seemed to talk to each other. He’d be sitting at one side of the fire, lost in the local newspaper and she’d be sitting at the other side, knitting or darning. And not a word between them!

But, if she got up to go out to the kitchen, down would come the paper and he’d grunt, “Where are you going?” and she’d say something like “Oh never mind! I’m only going out the back!” In other words, there was a wordless conversation going on all the time. He was aware of her presence and needed it and only when it was broken in some way, does he awaken to that need: “Where are you going?”

As children we learn formal prayers and are encouraged to say prayers morning and evening. And that’s good. But our prayer needs are bound to change as we grow older. Some people lament and say, “I wish I could pray as I used to pray.” But if you’re praying as you used to pray, it means you haven’t grown in your relationship with God at all. We can pray and come to God only as the people we are today, with all the questions and complexities of today. And like the old couple at the fire, we don’t need many words. We’re aware of God’s presence and we’re happy about it and only when it’s broken in some serious way, do we realise just how much it means to us.

We pray with our feet or with our wheels when we come to mass or confession. The very decision and effort put into coming to mass or confession is saying “Lord I need you. I can’t live this Christian life without you. I need a bit of encouragement. I need to be able to begin again….and again! Remember when the prodigal son decided to change his ways and return home, he prepared a big speech: “I will go to my father and I will say to him: ‘Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am not worthy to be called you son.’… But he didn’t get saying a word of the speech he prepared so well. Why? Because his father saw him coming and ran out to meet him and hug him and welcome him home.

                              There was no need for many words!