Newsletter 2023

August 2023

THE POWER OF FAITHFUL PRAYER   Prayer is communication between humankind and the Divine. Praying requires two forces, you and God. From the beginning, the human heart has always needed to search for and find God; and to do this, has used language and dialogue. The degree to which you have this relationship helps in living our lives with both Faith and Hope. Many ask, "which prayer should I use to obtain this or that" in an attempt to find answers to their current need(s); because they believe that the way to get what they want is by repeating a recitation. Praying is much more than that. Praying is a world of shapes and dimensions of wonderful encounters in an intimate relationship with God, who provides answers in accordance with His Will. The Gospel tells a beautiful story about the value of intercessory prayer, “when He went into Capernaum, a centurion came up and pleaded with Him. ‘Sir,' he said, 'my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in great pain.' Jesus said to him, 'I will come myself and cure him.' The centurion replied, 'Sir, I am not worthy to have you under my roof; just give the word, and my servant will be cured. For I am under authority myself and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man, "Go," and he goes; to another, "Come here," and he comes; to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.' When Jesus heard this, He was astonished and said to those following Him, 'In truth, I tell you, no one in Israel have I found Faith as great as this". (Matthew 8:5-10). It is obvious that Jesus was totally surprised by this man’s Faith. Who was neither religious nor pertained to the people of Israel but fully understood the value and power of prayer, having put all his Faith in Jesus’ authority. Here is the wonderful key to seeing and enjoying the Glory of God show up in your life and obtaining what you desire. Who would have thought that this act of Faith in prayer expressed by the Roman centurion would end up being repeated by us at every Eucharistic celebration: "But only say the word and my soul shall be Healed." How can we achieve this kind of Faith? What are the components of this man's Faith? Let us discuss some basic and practical points that we can apply to our lives today: The first thing the centurion did was to encounter Jesus by seeking Him out and meeting with Him. We must understand that the need for healing the sick was the reason but the man recognized that Jesus alone could heal him. Therefore, making a special time every day to seek Jesus and meet with Him is important. The Roman centurion put all his Faith in Jesus. He believed. He was convinced that Jesus had the authority to grant his request and meet his needs. The Bible teaches this,” only Faith can guarantee…