HUMILITY AND SILENCE IN PRAYER - 10/06/22 (Memorial of Saint Bruno)

Luke 11:9-10

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100622.cfm

Blessed Memorial of Saint Bruno! We can reflect on his life on the link below this reflection. Our Lord Jesus talks about the person who asks, seeks and knocks. These are all referring to the importance of prayer in our spiritual life. God will give to us what we ask for if we pray in accordance to His will. It's not wrong to pray for temporal goods. However, we should remember that when we pray for it, such as for money, good health, and others, that we have the glory of God in our minds. For example, when we ask for some financial blessings from God, we should have the disposition of using our money to provide for our family and for the Church, to help the poor, and to make us closer to God. If we just ask for money because we just want to be praised by others or because we just want to buy expensive things, perhaps we should consider and reflect on the fact that we may be asking the wrong things from God. This also means that whatever God allows in our lives, He knows that it will help us to grow in holiness. This is why besides praying for temporal goods, we should also pray for strength and guidance from God to resist temptations and to do good works. 

Those who seek will find. It's not enough for us to ask help from God to reject sins and occasions of sins if we do not persevere in avoiding them. But, what do we need for us to really persevere? God is calling us to persevere in humility for us to persevere in other virtues and good works. Humility will enable us to recognize that all sins, whether grave sins or small sins, are offensive to God because it's contrary to His love for us and His will for us which is always for the good of our souls. For St. Bruno, to engage in the numerous temptations in the world such as pride, anger, lust and many more will separate us from friendship with God. For the saints, they avoided grave sins even more than they avoided a literal fire. Having this perspective will help us to find Jesus in our live by being humble and being truly sorry for our sins. Because of the love of Christ for us, those who seek His eternal life and the gift of salvation will find it. 

Lastly, those who knock will have the doors opened for them. One way of understanding the imagery of the door is that it represents the door of our hearts. Prayer is not about saying just reciting words. This is the means by which we enter in the depths of our hearts and souls and speak to God who dwells in us. This means that we should have time for silence where we take away our attention from other things and give it completely to God. St. Bruno was the founder of Carthusians. The Carthusian Order is the strictest religious order in the Catholic Church because their vocation is to find God in silence. Most of the time, they were inside the rooms alone praying to God. Our vocation as lay people who live in this world means that we do not have the privilege to have exterior silence as they do. But, may we be inspired by St. Bruno and others to practice interior silence. Let's ask God on how we can separate ourselves more from worldly things such as social media and entertainment for us to speak more to Him. When we struggle with particular sins such as being materialistic and centering ourselves on money, this is an opportunity to  talk to God who listens to us always in silence and in reflection. Let's open our hearts to our Lord, and He will pour the Spirit of His Merciful Love into us. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic

Life of St. Bruno:

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-bruno

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls