Fr. Jerry Orbos October 20 Inquirer column: Moments Quality prayer By Fr. Jerry M. Orbos SVD Philippine Daily Inquirer 11:27 pm | Saturday, October 19th, 2013 The story is told about a little boy who, in order to get the attention of the busy store owner, shouted: “I would like to buy the two most popular compounds, sodium chloride and the simplest glucose, and also the common spices, allium cepa and allium sativum, all worth $0.4807692!” The store owner was stunned. “Now that I have your attention,” the little boy then said, “I’d like to buy salt, sugar, onions, and garlic. Converted to pesos, that’s P22.” * * * In today’s gospel (Lk. 18, 1-8), Jesus reminds us of the necessity of persistent prayer. Persistence does not necessarily mean long, unending prayer, but heartfelt and confident prayer. In other words, it is not so much the quantity as the quality of our prayers that will get God’s attention, aid, and mercy. We cannot control or manipulate God by our prayers. In prayers, it is God who really calls the shots. All we can do is trust. * * * Some of the best prayers are the shortest ones. In fact, the best kind of prayer is said in tears, or whispered, or just remains in the heart, unsaid. The bottom line of prayer is faith and trust. A heart speaks to another heart. Beyond formula, beyond form, beyond liturgy, and rubrics, prayer is a relationship, without which prayer becomes an obligation, or just a show, or worse, a joke. * * * There are many things we cannot explain or understand in this life. The earthquake that hit Cebu and Bohol last week reminds us of our fragility and mortality. As much as we want to, as much as we try, we realize that there are many things beyond our control in this life. A lot has been said and will be said about this unfortunate tragedy, but the bottom line is that it should lead us all, not to finger-pointing, but to real soul-searching, and, more so, to reaching out and loving. The Lord has spoken. Are we listening? Our brothers and sisters are suffering. Are we praying and loving concretely?
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 23:03:19 +0000