Tag: Prayer

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Not a Spiritual Person? Start Here!

Video Transcript: “The idea of developing a spiritual life can be intimidating. Daunting. But it needn’t be. People often ask how they can get started, so here are some thoughts…

A tree with deep roots can weather any storm. We all experience storms in our lives. It is not a question of whether or not we will experience another storm. That is not the question, but rather, when will the next storm be approaching? And when the storm arrives, it is too late for a tree to sink roots. When the storm arrives, it either has the roots or it does not.

I have been battered around in the storms of life in both scenarios. For some of life’s storms I was caught off guard and unprepared, and those storms damaged me significantly. But I have also encountered storms at times in my life when I was firmly committed to the daily routines of the spiritual life. These storms did nowhere near as much damage. The storms you have experienced in life have passed. You can do nothing to prepare for them or to change them. You may be still picking up the wreckage that those storms unleashed in your life.

There will be more storms in your life. I don’t know what and I don’t know when, but they will come for they are part of every person’s experience of life.

So begin to prepare today for the coming storms. Begin to develop deep roots by fostering a rich inner-life. Foster a rich inner-life by committing yourself to a daily routine of prayer and reflection.

I recommend three practices to ground your daily prayer and reflection:

1. The Prayer Process, which is explained in detail in the book I Heard God Laugh and the video series that accompanies it. It can also be found in the description below.

2. Daily Journaling, just write down whatever comes to your mind for a few minutes each day. Date your entries so you can come back to them over time and see how far you have come, how much you have grown.

3. Spiritual Reading, because books change our lives, because we become the books we read.

Why does it matter? Why is it important for each of us to establish a daily routine of prayer and reflection?

When Jesus was on the cross, he cried out, “I thirst.” In response to his desperate plea the soldiers gave him wine mixed with gall. This bitter combination would have only increased his dehydration and added to his misery.

I meet people every day who are crying out, “I thirst.” And the world gives them wine mixed with gall, which only increases their dehydration and adds to their misery.

We are each thirsty in our own ways today. You know your thirst, and I know mine. Your thirst may be different next week, and it may be the same. But the reality is our souls are thirsty. And we cannot satisfy a spiritual thirst with a worldly potion.

Dig The Well Before You Get Thirsty. I chose this title because our spiritual thirst is real and isn’t going away. Every day we are blessed to be on this earth, we will have a need to drink the living waters that God wants to freely give us. But we have to dig the well. How? By developing a daily practice of prayer and reflection. That’s how we dig the well. That’s how we gain access to the living water that Jesus spoke about.

Most people in our culture today are severely spiritually dehydrated. You may be in that place yourself. If you are, do not be discouraged, but don’t be a victim either. Start digging your well today. Find a quiet place, sit with God, and pour your heart out to him. He will comfort you in your afflictions and afflict you in your comfort. He will encourage you and challenge you, but most of all, he will love you. And his love and acceptance will hydrate your soul like never before.”

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Sermon Notes – October 16, 2022 – God is Not a ‘Snowflake’

“God is Not a ‘Snowflake’”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 October 15 – 16, 2022

Gospel:  Luke 18:1-8

1 Then He told them a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart.  2 ‘There was a judge in a certain town,’ He said, ‘who had neither fear of God nor respect for anyone.  3 In the same town there was also a widow who kept on coming to him and saying, “I want justice from you against my enemy!”  4 For a long time he refused, but at last he said to himself, “Even though I have neither fear of God nor respect for any human person,  5 I must give this widow her just rights since she keeps pestering me, or she will come and slap me in the face.” ‘  6 And the Lord said, ‘You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now will not God see justice done to His elect if they keep calling to Him day and night even though He still delays to help them?  8 I promise you, He will see justice done to them, and done speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will He find any faith on earth?’

I’m going to save you some time and money.  There’s no need to go to a conference or buy a book to learn how to pray.  So, what is the secret to prayer?  The secret to prayer is praying.   You have to do it.  That’s it.  That’s the whole thing.  What is prayer?  It is “cor ad cor loquitor” or heart speaking to heart.  That’s what your prayer is.  I’ve been in some interesting places, and I have prayed that He get me the heck out of wherever I was.  Your prayers don’t have to be Shakespearean, but they have to be from the heart.   Sometimes during prayer, our minds drift off. . .”Oh!  Look, squirrel.”  Just bring your mind back.  Prayer is an act of love.  Prayer is an act of faith because you believe that Someone who loves you will hear you.   Prayer is an act of hope because you believe that Someone who loves you will give you what you ask.  So, you are exercising three theological virtues when you pray. 

I remember talking to this one lady who was praying in one specific way.  She was going to claim it, she was going to pray in the right name, and she was going to do this and that.  I said, “Really?”  Do you think that all the parents waiting outside the children’s hospitals in Charlotte and Concord didn’t pray correctly, and therefore God killed their kids?  Do you think, “Oh, you didn’t mention the correct name.  Your kid is going to die because you screwed up.”  Do you really think so?  Love is over time.  God is not a cosmic gum-ball machine in which you can flip in a quarter and “Boom” get whatever you want anytime you ask.   That’s called “name it and claim it, love it and grab it.”  Now, we may not have gotten what we wanted, but lots of times we get something far better.  That’s what our Lord does.  So never feel defeated or disconsolate by prayer.  If you are thinking, “It’s all the same and I’m talking to a wall,” that’s a temptation from satan.  God always hears our prayers.  God always answers our prayers in His own time and in His own way. 

Prayers do not change God. . .prayer changes us.  It makes us more receptive to the Will of God.  Maybe we are asking for something too small.  Sometimes though, we have to take “no” for an answer.  Now, I have been ordained for 38 ½ years, and I’m still not a Monsignor.  I think I’m going to stop asking and move on to more important things other than my personal prestige.  But prayer changes us and draws us closer to God.  By the way, if you happen to get very upset with God and use some very earthly, Anglo-Saxon words in your prayers, it’s okay.  God is not a “snowflake.”  He does not take offense; rather, He adores your passion.  You can only get mad at people you love because you expect better.  As Saint Teresa of Avila said, “Lord, if this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few.”  The secret to prayer is what?  Doing it.

How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________