Tuesday March 8, 2022, John of God
In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns us not to babble when praying. The first reading promises that God’s word is not void, and the Psalm assures us that when we cry out, the Lord hears us. All this got me thinking about how we learn to talk and pray. Babies babble. We encourage them to babble because for one thing it is cute, and for another, it is how they learn to talk. We all went through that stage. I guess what Jesus is asking us to do is to grow up. When we were younger, we babbled, even when we prayed. That is how we learn. So, my question is: “What does grownup prayer sound like?” and “Am I still babbling when I pray?” Since Jesus is God, then if we pray the prayer he gives us today, the Our Father, those words will not be void, but will be fulfilled, meaning that our cry will be answered. That is a powerful way to look at the Lord’s Prayer. No other prayer has come from the mouth of God to us. This is how we are to pray! This prayer contains everything we need: unity, piety, magnanimity, trust, courage, repentance, and social concern. Maybe I’d better think before I just say this prayer. I need to ask myself, “Am I grownup enough to really pray this prayer and mean it?” I need to stop babbling. Babbling is not cute in the eyes of Jesus.