Prayer
The "Monitor of God"
Virgin Mary...the Mother of God
The Holy Spirit
Four Ways to Pray:
Prayer is love, the expression of our love and trust in God, to speak with God and to listen to Him... usually we pray when we can't do anymore... but prayer must be the breathing of our spiritual life, the continuous palpitations of the heart of our soul...
Prayer is he best way to Metanoia, a little more every day.... from grace to another grace, from faith to another faith, from glory to another glory ( Jn.1:16, Rom.1:17, 2Cor.3:18).
Yes, prayer is the fine thread that moves the powerful arm of God... he who has God, lacks of nothing, only God is enough!, used to say my friend St. Teresa.
Besides, prayer is our Monitor of God: We don't see the TV waves, but if we have a TV monitor we can watch their message... we can't see God, but prayer is our best monitor of God, we can see Him and feel Him.
There are 4 ways to pray:
The four of them are wonderful, because Prayer is the most powerful weapon humanity treasures, able to fill us with the love, joy and peace of God. The 4 ways can be done all simultaneously, or two of them... we expose them here separately for reasons of understanding.
Of course, the best imaginable prayer is the Eucharist, but, like any other prayer, it can be done in the 4 following ways:
1- Vocal Prayer: "Walking" to God:
Here we speak to God... we use our word.
It is the prayer of the leper, "if you so will, you can make me clean", of Mark.1, with the wonderful immediate results, obtaining physical healing. Or the one of Bartimaeus, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me ", of Mark.10, with the immediate cure of his blindness...
It consists of praying with the mouth, saying a Psalm or the Lord's Prayer, for example, or asking God for some need, or giving thanks or praise to Him, or to request pardon...
It is a wonderful prayer, as it is all prayer, but it is as like walking towards God... it takes time and effort.
2- Meditation: "By Bicycle" to God:
Here God speaks to us... we use our mind.
Reading the Bible, for example: It is the Word of God... we think about it, we meditate in what He says, teaching us His attributes, what is life, what we must believe, and do, and pray, and receive... it is Meditation, and for that reason we must read the Bible slowly, praying, meditating in its content.
It is a way of prayer that approaches God faster, it is like going by bicycle... meditating in what you say when you pray a Psalm, or the Rosary, or the Holy Mass... all prayers can be done in one of these four ways, or in the four ways simultaneously.
3- Contemplation: "By Car" to God:
It is a preferred prayer of many Saints, and it is not difficult, it is easy... and it is like going to God by Car, faster and with less effort.
"To contemplate" means "to look", "to watch"... you place yourself with the imagination at Calvary or Bethlehem, and watch, look, contemplate... nothing else!...... you don't have to say a word, nor think about anything, nor meditate... simply to watch... only use your imagination.
It is what Mary, the sister of Lazarus, did with Jesus in Luke 10:39, "she sat down at the Lord's feet to listen to his words"... and Jesus said about her: "Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luk.10:42).
"To listen" to God is very important. The most usual prayer of the Jews is the "Shema" of Deuteronomy 6:4-5, it is like the Lord's Prayer for the Christians... and "Shema" means "Listen", it is the first word of the prayer, the same one with which Jesus answered the scribe when he asked "What is the first Commandment?": Jesus answered him with the Shema, beginning with the word "Listen" or "Hear": "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.", (Mark 12:28-30)... and this is the Shema!... yes, the First Word of the First Commandment of God!
In the Rosary, for example: Contemplate the Mystery while you say the prayers, with the imagination in Gethsemane, or Bethlehem, or at the Ascension, or at Calvary... Pope John Paul urges us to pray the Rosary "contemplating" every mystery.
Saint Teresa of Avila explains that the great problem of Contemplation is that the imagination flies immediately to another things, begins to imagine different things, and it is necessary to hold it... and a way to hold it, is to say the prayers of the Mystery, but always next to Jesus or Mary, contemplating them, watching them in the respective Mystery... and the vocal prayer serves as a brake, "to hold the imagination" in the Mystery, and listen what Jesus or Mary say to us.
The Pope recommends to add in each Hail Mary to add one word after "Jesus" in each mystery to tie up our imagination: For example: ... of your womb, "Jesus of Bethlehem"... "Jesus of Gethsemane"... "Jesus of the Incarnation"... "Jesus of Pentecost"... "Jesus of the Visitation"...
The Bible can be read "contemplating", just place yourself with the imagination in the scene you read... and watch, look, listen... for a while... enjoy it...
In the Holy Mass, many contemplate it placing themselves with the imagination at Calvary during the Mass... and just look at Jesus, contemplate Him throughout the Mass... and in this Contemplation you don't have to meditate in anything, simply watch, contemplate with the imagination... and the different prayers or readings or sermon of the Mass may serve "to hold the imagination", and just look at Jesus, listen to Him...
4- Union with God: "By Airplane" to God:
This is the most sublime form to pray, the easiest, and the one we usually practice the lest. But it is like going to God by Airplane, it is much faster, without any effort, quietly, even sleeping, someone else will drive the plane!... and you may even receive the good meals of the airplane: Mystical ecstasies, celestial visions... like Moses or Abraham or Virgin Mary...
Here you don't have to say a word, nor think, nor meditate, not even use the imagination... simply Union with God!... nothing, but to put yourself in the presence of God, saying a simple word, for example "God", or "sin", or "Jesus"... nothing else but to be with God... and that's everything!... may be in a few minutes you repeat the same word... it is so simple and effective that it's almost unbelievable!... but that's it!.
It is the prayer of Jesus when he prayed... the one Virgin Mary was doing when Gabriel appeared to her... the one Abraham and Moses were doing when the Lord spoke to them... nothing else but to be with God, in His presence, and let God do everything and say everything... you just simply stay with Him!... "thy will be done"!... always!... at every moment and circumstance of my life!
This is a most blessed way to pray constantly, every minute of the day, when one gets used to it, being continuously in the presence of God...
Live in my Presence, and you will be perfect, told God to Abraham (Gen.17:1).
Pray constantly, without ceasing, says
Jesus (Lk.18:1)... it is the Secret of Joy in the Bible as
told by Paul:
- Be joyful always; pray
continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in
Christ Jesus. (1Thes.5:16-18).
- Always and for
everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father"
(Eph.5:20).
The Bible, the Psalms, the Rosary, or the Holy Mass are special opportunities of prayer... unique moments to live in Union with God, and the different vocal prayers or songs serve to maintain this Union with God, that soon should extend to every minute of our life... in our sorrows or joys, always be in Union with God, nothing else but to be with God... without asking for anything, simply to trust God in everything, and to praise and bless Him at every moment of the day or night, with our thoughts, words and deeds.
Yes, Metanoia!... prayer must be the breathing of our spiritual life, the continuous palpitations of our heart... and the easiest way, and the most important, is to be with God, to listen to Him, to trust in Him, to let Him guide us and care for us, to let Him do everything for us... we just be ike little children, receive what Our Father gives us in any circumstance, enjoy it, use it... play with it like little children...
... To trust God, to have unconditional faith in Him, is the basis of our love and of our prayer... to trust the wonderful and great God of us, who is always with us, in us, praised be God!... surely I am with you always (Mat.28:20).
By the way, the message of each page of the Bible can be expressed in three words: "Trust in God" in the Old Testament, or "Faith in Christ" in the New one, ... and they are the same words that summarize the messages of the Divine Mercy: "Jesus, I trust in You ".
Virgin Mary... the Mother of God:
Two Ways to know God:
All along the Bible there are two ways to know God: "Logos" and "Rhema", in Greek... "knowledge" and ""wisdom", in English.
"Logos" is an intellectual "knowledge", like when you study the properties of an apple, the color, chemical composition, external and internal structure... but you still have not tasted the apple!... when you taste the apple, that's "Rhema", "Wisdom".
When Abraham or Moses heard the voice of God, that's Rhema... when we study the Bible or listen to a good sermon, that's usually Logos... both are very important, but you can never forget Rhema, nobody can argue you against it!... you experienced it!... you know!...
All the miracles in the Bible, that's Rhema... When you ask God for help in a difficult situation, and the problem solves without any human explanation, that's Rhema...
Paul and Isaiah distinguish between the gift of Wisdom and the gift of Knowledge or Underwstanding (1Cor.12:8. Is.11:2)... Proverbs teaches: Get wisdom, get understanding... Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. (Prov.4:5-7, all chapter 4, 2:6, 3:13,19, 5:1, 8:1,9,11)... How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver! (16:16).
In all places Wisdom, Rhema, goes before Knowledge or understanding, logos... with the heart you will know God better and faster than with the intelligence... our intelligence is too small to know God, but love is as big as God... God is love (1Jn.4:8,16). Song of Songs
This is the way I got my Metanoia... it may look childish, but this was it!... just a bit of Rhema...
My parents brought me to church, baptized me, and I was doing fine...
But one day somebody said: "If you pray three Hail Marys every night, you can have anything you want"... and I don't remember who was him or her... but it eventually changed my whole life... my first great metanoia!...
I didn't believe it, but it cost me nothing, so, I prayed three Hail Marys every night for an impossible dream: To be number one in my high school class... and I got it!... the number one in my class, though I was a mediocre student!...
After that I believed it... this thing works!... so, I
finished my studies of Medicine and Surgery with the highest marks in my
class... not because I am smart... you know how!.
I had another dream: A house on the waterfront... I prayed my 3
Hail Marys... and you got it!... in three months I had a house not just in the
waterfront, but "in" the water, and very cheap!, and I live in it already for 35
years... half of our home is built on five large pillars at
Pelham Bay, in New York, the basement of that part of the House is the ocean!.
I wanted to have a Christian program on the Radio, I prayed my 3
Hail Marys... I had never been on Radio, and I had no idea how to start it....
but I had it within one month!... and then another one, and then one daily and
three other weekly... and then on TV, already for 30 years... now on the
Internet!, with over 100 web sites, while I still keep up with my Radio and TV
programs... and I have published over 100 books... yes, you know how...
I don't want to bore you with more testimonies... but the Mother of Jesus
is "your Mother", know it or not, believe it or not... Try Her!...
In the wedding at Cana, they had "no wine"... and Jesus didn't care, because
his time to make miracles had not yet come, as Jesus told his Mother, "my
hour has not yet come" (Jn.2:4)... If only Jesus would have been at that
wedding, they would have had no wine... but they got the needed wine!... and
with a miracle of Jesus!, the first!, though his time had not yet come... I
believe it is the only place in the Bible where the "Plan of God" has been
changed... because of the love and care of your Mother!... please, read
Life of Jesus Christ in Us.
Just try Her: If you have an impossible dream, or a very
difficult problem, pray 3 Hail Marys every night... and you will see wonders in
your life.
If you are not a Christian, try Her!, she is your mother!,
believe it or not... you don't have to renounce to anything, nor to believe in
anything... the first time I tried Her I didn't believe it... it costs you
nothing!... so, just try Her... and I guarantee it!... you will see wonders in
your life!... let me know!.
A Warning: The boat of Mary only leads to
the shores of the Church of Her Son Jesus.
I started with my three Hail Marys, then I started to pray a
Rosary daily, then to Mass every day, work in the Catholic Action, in the
Cursillos in Christianity, in the Legion of Mary, in the Charismatic Renewal, in
the Holy Name, in the Nights of Columbus... my Mother has lead me all my life,
and always to live more fully in the Church of Her Son Jesus the Messiah, the
Christ, praise the Lord. Thank you Mother Mary, thank you my God and Savior
Jesus.
The Five Dogmas on Virgin Mary:
The Church has proclaimed five Dogmas
about Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ:
Dogmas of Virgin Mary
1- Mary Mother of God, Council of Ephesus in the year 431
2- Mary Ever-Virgin, before the birth of Jesus, during the birth, and after
the birth of Jesus, Lateran Council, 649
3- Immaculate Conception of Mary: On
December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX , "preserved free from all guilt of original
sin".
4- The Assumption of Mary, on November 1, 1950, when Pope
Pius XII stated that Mary was "taken up body and soul into heaven," and "exalted
as Queen of the Universe."
5- A fifth dogma is "Mother of the Church", proclaimed by Paul VI, Second
Vatican Council, Nov. 21, 1964.
The most intimate praise to Jesus in the Bible:
The Hail Mary is the most intimate and most poetic praise to Jesus in the whole Bible:
1- The most intimate, because what gets deeper into the heart of a man is to tell him, "blessed be your mother"... and to Jesus we say with the words of the Bible, in Lk.1:42, "Your mother is the most blessed among women"!, praise Jesus!.
2- The most poetic, because then we add with the words of the Bible, "and blessed is Jesus, the fruit of your womb", and that's poetry!, praise the Lord.
And then, we ask Mary to pray for us sinners, for me and my family and friends and enemies, in the two most important hours of our life: Now, and at the hour of our death.
Do you want to learn to pray the Hail Mary?.
The Most intimate praise to the Father and the Spirit:
- To God the Father: To any Father, the most intimate praise we can make is to tell him something nice about his daughter, and in the Hail Mary we proclaim the Father's Favored Daughter as "the most blessed among women"! (Lk.1:28, 1:42).
- To the Holy Spirit: Mary is His Spouse, and we praise the Spirit in the most intimate of His heart when we proclaim His Spouse with the Bible as "the most blessed among women"! (Mat.1:19, Lk.1:35, 1:42).
The Prophecy of the Bible about the Mary:
The Bible makes a prophecy about Mary in Luke 1:48: "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed".
It is the same prophecy made by the Holy Spirit in Psalm 45, the Psalm of the King and the Queen, in the last verse says: "I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever".
This prophecy has been fulfilled during the last 2000 years, and in superabundance!:
- The Mother of God has been the woman on earth to whom more paintings and poems and songs have been dedicated, by the best artists of the six continents, to praise her with all kind of art... and those poems and songs have been song daily by millions of Christians... and those paintings are in millions of homes to honor her, praise the Lord and the Bible!.
- Mary is the woman to whom more sculptures and chapels have been dedicated in these 2000 years, and more temples, and cathedrals, and basilicas... by the best artists... to praise her with the sculpture and architecture!... and millions of persons have those sculptures at home to honor her, and go periodically to those chapels and cathedrals o praise the Mother of Jesus, our Savior, praise the Lord!.
- Millions of people were daily her medals and scapulars, to praise her as Mother!... and millions of persons pray the Rosary daily, to praise the Mother of Jesus, including the Popes, the Cardinals, the thousands of bishops, the millions of pastors and priests and deacons and nuns, during every day for the last 2000 years, and millions of faithful laymen Christians... and every day that legion increases, praise God.
- In fact, every second literally, of every day, for the last 2000 years, some one has been repeating the words of the Bible in some part of the world, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus"...
... Indeed this prophecy of the Bible on the Mother of Jesus has been overwhelmingly fulfilled, as all the prophecies of the Bible that are fulfilled to the letter and in superabundance, praise Jesus!.
Let me ask: What about you and your church?... if only you and your church were on earth, would the prophecy of the Bible on Mary would be fulfilled today?...
... Indeed, it is bewildering that some professing Christians who claim to believe the Bible never call Mary blessed nor honor her who bore and raised God the Son in His human flesh.
Do you want to know something about Her Rosary, Scapular, Medal ?
The Holy Spirit:
God the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father, and from that mutual loves proceeds the Holy Spirit, a person like the Father and the son, God like the Father and the Son, eternal as eternal are the Father and the Son.
The Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, is a person, is God, the most important person in your life today, because the Father already created you, the Son already redeemed you, and the Holy Spirit is the person who is sanctifying you right now, helping and guiding you to appropriate the merits of Christ in the Cross for the glory of the Father, for your good, and for the good of all his Church (1 Pet.1:2).
The Old Testament was the era of the
Father... the Gospels is the era of Jesus, the Son... from the death of Jesus,
now, is the era of the Holy Spirit.
- The Spirit guides, teaches, inspires and moves the
Church... that's why the Acts of the apostles is called the "Gospel of the Holy
Spirit".
- The Spirit is the One who guides you and me, our teacher,
the One who makes the Metanoia in our lives...
Since Genesis 1 the Spirit is the power of
God, to do the will of the Father through the Son:
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light
(Gen.1:3):
- "God" is the Father.
- "Said" is the "Word of God", the
"Logos", the Son Jesus.
- And the word didn't need
electricians... it was all done by the power of the holy Spirit.
An example helps me to understand it:
You tell your child to put on the light.
- Here, you, the father, is God the Father, the one who gives
the order, your will.
- Your son would be God the Son, the one who puts on the
light.
- But the light goes on because there is the power of the
electrical current, which is the Holy Spirit. Without this power there would be
no light, even if you ordered it and your son turned the switch…
- and there is another important factor in this example: The
Light Bulb, which represents you and me. If the Bulb is not good, there will be
no light, even if the power of the electrical current is to high… and the main
quality of a good spiritual Light Bulb, of you and me, is humility!.
See Humility
The Bible teaches that everything done by God
was done by the power of the Holy Spirit, from the roses to the stars, from the
butterflies to the elephants...
- Everything done by Jesus was done by the power of the Holy
Spirit, his Incarnation, his miracles, even His Crucifixion (Lk.1, Act.10:38,
Heb.9:14)…
- Everything good done by any human being since the beginning
of times, has been done by the power of the Holy Spirit; all your good deeds
were done with the power of the Spirit of God, even if you never heard about
Him!… the Holy Spirit is the person who moves the universe and your life…
Everything good of any person on earth is
done like in the life of Jesus: By the power of the Holy Spirit!… no
one can even say "Jesus is the Lord" except by the Holy Spirit
(1Cor.12:3):
- Jesus was born by the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk.1:35).
- He went about doing good and healing all the oppressed by the devil, by
the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38).
- All his ministry was done anointed by the Holy Spirit (Lk.4:18).
- He was crucified moved by the eternal Spirit (Heb.9:14).
- The Spirit raised Jesus from the death (Rom.8:11).
- The Consecration at the Mass is done by the power of the Holy Spirit, as
every priest proclaims at the moment of the Consecration…
- And actually, the Holy Spirit is the one who leads the Church and your
life and mine (Jn.16:7-14, 14:15-18, 26, 15:26).
- All the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that's why it is the
Word of God, to guide and help in the sanctification of all of us (2Pet.1:21,
Heb.4:12).
The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord:
The Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the love
of the Father and the Son, as from a single principle. With the Father and the
Son He is worship and glorified. He spoke through the prophets, the inspiration
of the whole Bible, the guide of the Church, the king of every Christian heart
who is a temple of the Holy Spirit. He is a person, and though really distinct,
as a person, from the Father and the Son, He is consubstantial with Them, He
possesses with Them one and the same Divine Essence of Nature.
Come, Holy Spirit, enkindle us with the
fire of your love.
- Metanoia!... change my life, transform me... pour your
light into my heart, to live this life with the joy, love, and peace of Jesus in
me, to help others in their material needs, and very specially to help them to
go to Heaven.
- I want to conquer my greatest enemy, myself!.
- Let my weakness be penetrated with Your strength this very
day.
- Let my charity be such as to offend no one, and so generous
as to pardon sincerely any wrong done to me.
- Thank you my Lord, the giver of life. I adore you, my God.
Thanks for guiding my Church and giving me the Holy Bible. Let me be always in
your most friendly presence. Amen.
Yes, Metanoia!... thank you Lord.
A Letter of Jesus to You... to Pray with Him
Quotations: NIV at the Bible Gateway