Put aside all anxiety and be fully attentive to God

Father John A. Kiley
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St. Teresa of Avila — the Great St. Teresa — was a sixteenth century Carmelite nun, intent then on reforming her religious order and recalled today as a doctor of the Church. This Spanish woman was both a mystic and a missionary, intense in her personal devotion to the Savior and intent on guiding her fellow religious more profoundly into fruitful contemplative prayer. While visiting Spain’s many convents, the saint would wisely and tersely remind her fellow contemplatives that, at its root, prayer is simply having a conversation with someone who loves us. The saint instructs, “Prayer is nothing else but an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.”
Christian prayer, therefore, is a sharing; it is the giving of one’s inner attention to Christ and at the same time being fully assured that Christ is always returning his full attention to the one praying. Mutual attention then is vital to authentic prayer. The believer must resolutely look at Christ with the eyes of the soul; distractions and apathy obviously hinder prayer. But the supplicant must also be convinced in faith that each prayer is certainly heard; Jesus is always more attentive than even the most devout disciple. At the same time, such attention must be accompanied by some emotional effort.
Affectivity, that is, a sincere desire for God, must be present if prayer is to be fruitful and effective. Every Christian knows the tedium of routine prayer. The mind a million miles away during Mass; the abundant distractions during the Rosary; the words of Scripture never quite penetrating; and grace before meals is so predictable. St. Teresa instructed her cloistered audience: “In prayer the important thing is not to think much but to love much.” The soul at prayer is obliged to stir up some genuine gratitude, intensify one’s adoration, eagerly propose any petitions, regret truly one’s sins and enjoy the moment — or moments. Affectivity, authentic emotional input, urges the soul on to deeper communion and eventual total union with God. Certainly prayer is not mere feeling; but feelings can focus the believer on the matter at hand, strengthening the soul for the long ascent into God’s presence.
In the second reading at Mass this Sunday, St. Paul instructs the young church at Philippi, “Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” St. Paul, like St. Teresa, instructs his readers to put aside all anxiety, that is, worldly cares and concerns, and be fully attentive to God. Then the Apostle, again like St. Teresa, asks his followers to summon up some energy, some confidence, some gratitude, while speaking with God. Attention and affectivity, awareness and devotion, are the first steps toward fruitful prayer both for cloistered Carmelites in St. Teresa’s day and for sincere parishioners at prayer today.
But then note that St. Paul makes a promise to his readership. Those who put attention and feeling into their prayer will experience “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.” This peace of God is, of course, the gift of contemplation, the total reception and acceptance of the presence of God. The very word “contemplation” means to occupy the same space as someone else. That is where authentic prayer can lead: union with God! St. Teresa’s fellow religious would the first to advise all who take their prayer life seriously that contemplation is truly supernatural prayer. Contemplative prayer is not brought about by human effort. Authentic contemplation is entirely a gift of grace. The devout can dispose themselves for contemplation by attention and affection, but it is God who must enter the soul and draw the believer into Divine intimacy.
Again, St. Teresa and all true contemplatives today would insist that true intimacy with Christ does not just stir the soul when the devout are on their knees before God. Close friendship with Christ impels the believer to reach out toward the wider community, inviting believers and unbelievers alike to experience the consolation and the strength that comes from earnest prayer and from every aspect of the Christian life. As Jesus insists in this Sunday’s Gospel, God the Father wants “a people that will produce…fruit.” True prayer fortifies the believer to reach out toward the neighbor, first of all by setting a personal example and then by offering encouragement to others to embrace God through private prayer, through the reading of Scripture, through the sacraments and especially through the Eucharist.