Don’t Grow Weary
This week the Deacons of the
Diocese of Shreveport had their annual retreat at Subiaco Abbey in Subiaco,
Ark. We had a wonderful time of sharing as
brother deacons with our most excellent Bishop Michael. One of the things Bishop taught us on was
prayer.
The message on prayer was
close to the same one Jesus gave his disciples, “Pray
always without becoming weary.” As this week comes to an end, I pray the
faith of my brother deacons is persistent and endures. I pray they don’t grow
weary and always remain strong in Christ. ”When the Son
of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
As believers, our prayers and faith should
be like the widow’s, persistent. Keep knocking and asking. Be persistent in faith,
persistent in prayer, and remain persistent even when the world is against us.
That’s the message St. Paul
gives to Timothy. “Be persistent whether it is
convenient or inconvenient.”
It is the circumstance of
our world that too many find faith an inconvenience. There are Catholics that don’t
believe what the Church teaches. It cramps their lifestyles. So they don’t bother
to believe.
My friend Deacon Bill
Klienpeter says “It’s third grade theology syndrome (syndrome is my word).” Too
many have stopped learning about God and their faith in third grade catechism.
So they try to live their adult life on third grade awareness of God.
The truth is that God has never
changed and God never will change. To know the truth behind this, we must be
persistent and strive to understand. But,
many stay stuck in a third grade level understanding and find it hard to endure
in an adult life of faith. They grow weary in prayer.
Growing weary and weak
because like everything our prayers must be worked out, faith must be built-up.
Those strong in faith are persistent and endure. One
whose faith belongs to God is competent and strong, because, they have
endured. It is enduring faith that is the wisdom of salvation in Jesus Christ.
It must be a persistent faith.
It is the faith our parents shared with us. It is the faith we share with our
children. It is our faith we must share with the world. It is faith in the
Gospel of Jesus Christ expressed by our prayers.
Moses stood on a
hill with the staff of God in his hands …. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on each
side, so that his hands remained steady.
Our prayers are the
victorious Staff of God that we hold high. A community of faith makes them
strong, makes them persistent, and makes them endure.
Our community is the Church
whose prayers are persistent and endure; a people whose faith endures.
This week when he spoke to
us on prayer, the Bishop taught that prayer is three things. Prayer is faithful.
Prayer is not only talking to God but listening to him. Prayer is expectant;
pray and expect an answer.
For me, prayer is a love story.
It is expressing love for those around you. It is saying I love you to
God. Like all great love stories, it is built
on faith that is enduring and persistent. Pray always; don’t grow weary. Love and don’t grow
weary.
Yall be good yall be holy,
and preach the gospel by the way you live and love. Amen.
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