Do you pray?
No, you haven't inadvertently wandered into the Religion section of the Newpaper.
I just want to know: Do you pray?
As we allow life's burdens to clutter the landscape of our minds with mortgages, difficult bosses, and insurance claims, I'm asking.
Do you pause with the static of modern life turned off and talk to God?
In a little chapel at E. 40th Street and Euclid Avenue, nuns are praying.
The traffic zips by on the newly rebuilt Euclid Avenue and no one really is really aware of it. But inside that old church called St. Paul's Shrine, nuns are praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's been going on for years. They'll even pray for you if you ask them.
Some people are cynical, viewing prayer as a psychological crutch for those not strong enough to face life's realities.
I must admit, prayer does help me face my problems but it's not because it's some form of spiritual anti-depressant. It's because God is real and prayer results in God giving you the precious gift of peace, among other things.
Catholics grip Rosary beads in a prayer that follows the story of the gospel. Padre Pio, the sainted stigmatist, referred to his Rosary as his "weapon".
Jim Markel, the well known church organist, recalls the establishment of a "prayer chain" at his parish where worshipers focused prayers on those facing medical crisis.
The result? A marked decline in funerals. The dying become well.
The medical journals are full of studies showing your chance of recovery increases significantly when people pray for you.
Father John Corapi describes old folks praying in a nursing home as more powerful than whole armies because they call upon God in their suffering. The weak are waging war against evil from their wheelchairs.
Glen Beck has been reporting on a whole town that realized that they had a nuclear arsenal at their disposal within their own hearts in the form of prayer. Wilmington, Ohio is praying around the clock.
It's nothing new. It's as old as time itself and it can change the universe.
So please.
Turn off the Ipod, the cell phone, the radio, and the television.
Find a place of complete quite and . . . . pray.
God's capacity to love us and to forgive is infinite.
As Ash Wednesday looms, Christians around the world reassess their relationship with The Creator.
But, lets face it, it's not much of a relationship if you're not talking.
So talk. To God. Today, and for the rest of your life.
Peace.
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