“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.’”

 (From Mt. 6:7-15)

When was the last time you prayed?  This morning?  Last night?  A little while ago?  You know the point, right?  The point is that, regardless of how we pray, that we do it and do it regularly. In our Gospel today, quoted above, Jesus starts out by reminding us to focus on quality rather than quantity in our prayer.  Then in the following verses he goes on to give us what we traditionally know as the Lord’s Prayer.  There are many ways to pray, obviously.  Each prayer, each style of prayer, each moment is intended to be a moment of rest, a moment of sabbath.  We stop all things to rest in God’s presence.  How is your prayer routine right now?  For me, I liken it to working out.  We may not feel the results as we’re doing it, but the results do come. At the same, prayer, as with exercise, is a routine that’s very easy to get out of.  I find that, on those days when I’ve not had adequate prayer and quiet time, I simply do not feel right.  If you are out of the routine of regular prayer, what would it take for you to get it back?  The other caution within this passage is one that can apply uniquely to Catholics.  From a young age, we are taught many prayers and taught to memorize them.  We rattle off the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, and many others without even thinking about it sometimes.  The next time you pray those words, the next time you pause to read scripture, do one thing first—breathe. 

During my first year of priesthood almost 35 years ago, I ended up alone for a few months, due to an unexpected health issue that our pastor experienced.  (He, by the way, fully recovered and is doing great to this day.)  It was a hectic few months, to days the least.  The parish fair was approaching. We were about to kick off a capital campaign for a new church. Our housekeeper’s son died.  And then you had all the regular happenings of parish life. At the time, I had still not been able to unpack everything.  In doing so, I came across a small ordination gift.  I opened a small white box only about 2 inches square, to find a brass key ring.  Attached to the ring was a tiny brass plate.  On one side it read, “Never Too Tired.  Never to Weary.”  On the other side was simply the word, “Pray.”  In the midst of so much craziness at the time, that was exactly the reminder I needed. 

Do you, perhaps, need that reminder today?