Is Work Prayer, Or Is Prayer Work?

Tomorrow the Church across the world celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints, a day where we are reminded of the reality of the Communion of Saints, and those who have stood as examples of heroes of faith to the Church for centuries; a number that is continually growing with each passing day.  This Solemnity commemorates not only those Saints after whom Churches are named, and Statues are erected; but also those countless women and men of every age, who as members of the baptized lived their lives working toward that goal of the Kingdom, and who made that Kingdom come alive on Earth. As members of the Baptized, we are members of that Communion, and Jesus calls us all to Sainthood.

The title of this blog was inspired by a memory from my days in the Seminary. A few of us had ventured out into the night on All Saints Day to continue our own festivities, and we began to talk about the Solemnity at hand, and the Priesthood…and how it had some particular implications for those in Holy Orders. We were pompous…we were immature in so many ways…and we thought that we could solve all the problems of the world, and of the Church, that very night before last call. We were right about one thing though; this Solemnity of All Saints calls us Priests to task.

As members of the Baptized we are all called to Sainthood, and that is without a doubt, a heavy call for anyone. As Priests however we are held to a particular duty as we strive to answer the call of Christ to Sainthood in our own lives. On the day of our Ordination, the Bishop handed us the Chalice and Paten, and said the words;

“Accept from the holy people of God, the gifts to be offered to Him. Know what you are doing, and imitate the mystery you celebrate; model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.”

With these words we find the most difficult charge issued to every Priest. It’s a call that we hold in common; Roman, Independent, “Old”, National – whatever kind of Catholic you identify yourself as…we are all charged to model our lives on the mystery of the Cross. If the people we Shepherd are striving to be Saints, then surely we must make that strive with all the more determination, because there is a lot at stake! Aren't we called to be not only Saints, but Martyrs?

The Sacrifice of the Cross that is made present on the Altar every time we celebrate Mass must be the absolute center of our Spiritual Journey.  If we are modeling our lives after the mystery of the Lord’s Cross, then we cannot help but look at the role of the Cross in the life of Christ Himself. In the current Liturgical Cycle we have been reading on Sundays from the Gospel of Mark. As we know from Biblical Criticism, the Markan account includes the “Messianic Secret”; Jesus’ command to those who would proclaim Him as the Messiah to be quiet about this revelation. Jesus didn't want to be known by His miracles, or His parables, but rather by His Passion. He wasn't a magician or a gifted storyteller, He was the Messiah. The Cross was not only how He defined Himself, but it was also the means by which He wanted the rest of the world to identify Him.

Are we as dedicated to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross. The challenge is particularly poignant to those of us who live our Priesthood in the Independent Catholic experience.  We go to a secular job everyday to support ourselves. We pay bills. We have romantic relationships. The challenge to constantly model our lives on the mystery of the Lord’s Cross is even more difficult, and at the same time, even easier to neglect.

Where is our prayer? I remember when I was in the Seminary we had Adoration everyday in the Chapel, and the students were encouraged to make use of that time for private prayer. On well more than one occasion, I would take a book from Class to read during that prayer time. When I looked around the Chapel, I always noticed, I was not the only one…We were Seminarians, studying Theology!! Wasn't doing our homework a form of prayer? Was it really though? Or were we trying to kill two birds with one stone…

In the beginning days of Seminary that was acceptable. There were lots of responsibilities, stressors, and commitments that had to met. Now however, we are Priests. Now, in many ways it is even easier to think, “my work is my prayer”…now however, is also when that is no longer an excuse. You see the stress of Seminary is never going to go away. Life is always going to be filled with commitments, requirements, and deadlines; and all those things are always going to be in addition to Ministry. We cannot however effectively kill those multiple birds with one stone.

Prayer requires its own time, and its own attention.  It requires a vigilance that is arguably nearly impossible in the life of working clergy. How often do we turn our morning commute to work into an opportunity to pray? It’s a wonderful practice to be sure, but the moment we park the car, and walk into the office our attention shifts to the matters at hand; the files on the desk, the calls to return, the deadlines to be met.  Perhaps in the challenge of this very distraction we can begin our dedication to our vigilance.

Regardless of what we do for work, it is our employment that makes our life of ministry possible. Without income, we can’t live…and what kind of ministry can a dead person run? This is where we can accurately say that “our work is our prayer”. John of the Cross, in the very first Chapter of his work, “the Dark Night of the Soul”, speaks of that moment when a mother releases her child to walk on their own. The child no longer feeds at her breast, and no longer is carried around by her loving embrace. She lets them go; and that child takes those first few steps walking independently. Our relationship with God experiences something similar and with childlike joy the soul pursues all those comforting, and “warm” experiences of prayer, devotion, and pious practice. This stage of Spiritual development is only in Chapter One; it’s the very beginning of the journey towards what he calls the Dark Night, where we find that union with the Cross…Here the child is tempted to forget about the mother with those first few steps. Here the child is tempted to chase the excitement of the world around them, and fall while reaching for all it has to offer. Here the child may fall. When the door to our office opens at 9:00am for a days work, we become that child taking those steps from the arms of our mother. Here we run the risk of doing all the same things as that child. Here we make work our prayer, and remember constantly the ultimate purpose of our employment; so that we can be in Ministry.

But that prayer is not enough. That prayer is not what is going to lead us to union with Christ on the Cross. From 9-5 our work is prayer, but from 5-9 prayer is work. It takes work to set that time to spend growing in our relationship with God. It takes effort to schedule that time that we are going to dedicate to furthering that relationship with the mystery of the Cross. All relationships take work. They take work, faith, and honesty. Why would this relationship be any different?

How do we have a relationship with a mystery?

Perhaps one of the best verbal expressions of that mystery of the Lord’s Cross were the words spoken by Jesus Himself; “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?”  In this outcry from the Cross, Jesus expresses an abandonment and desolation that puts Him in complete solidarity with sinful humanity. His sacrifice on the Cross destroys the power of sin (which is itself separation from God), and experienced the very depth of that void of separation. It comes then as no surprise that at the core of a journey to find union with Jesus, we find that union in the Dark Night that John describes…in a feeling of abandonment.

The life of growing in that intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is not one that is full of warm and fuzzies to be certain.  It’s scary. It’s work. It’s near impossible for you and I in this life…and it in fact IS impossible, if we hope to reach it only by “offering up” the struggles of our day, and saying a Hail Mary before bed.  The charge given to us on the day of our Ordination makes this journey non-negotiable. We are charged to model our life after “the Mystery of the Lord’s Cross” – the Cross by which Jesus defined Himself, and we must do the same. We are charged to seek union with the Cross, and ultimately, union with the very depths of that Dark Night.

As we celebrate All Saints Day tomorrow, may we recommit ourselves to that task of our Ordination Day.  As we shepherd communities that are striving to be Saints, may we do so by laying down our own lives as martyrs; martyrs who are eager to embrace the Cross of Christ. Like the Saints and Martyrs who have gone before us, may we find eternal joy and fulfillment in the abandonment of the here and now.