The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

As the world looks for a panacea (a cure for all its evils), it looks in vain because it always looks in the wrong places. As often as we place all our hope and trust in medical doctors and medicines, we are left always incomplete. If something is helpful it is rarely completely helpful, or has other undesirable consequences (side effects). The same is true when we look for answers in science, technology, education, finance, government, etc. All these things are tools or aids for us to live in this world but, none of them are complete or an answer to all our problems.

Those who suggest that they have the panacea that the world needs are charlatans. Only God holds the cure all; so it is foolish for us to go looking anywhere else for it. Christ offers this panacea to us in today's gospel. "Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you."

Prayer to God in the name of Jesus Christ opens up all possibilities for us. All things are possible with God. And as we are always in need of something, we must always pray. We should strive to make our entire life a prayer to God. We should frequently lift up our hearts and minds to God, but even more than this we must develop the habit of maintaining good intentions. This is an act of the will the seat of love.

That which we love deeply is frequently brought to the forefront of our minds and is never far from us no matter where we may be or what we are occupied with. Our constant intention is to do whatever it is that we must do so that we can please the one that we love or be brought closer to the one that we love. The one in love wakes, sleeps, breathes, works, plays, etc for his love. He strives to enter into the will of the one he loves to fulfill every wish and desire. The lover continues this passionate striving for intimacy of heart and mind, and finds the greatest happiness and joy with just a glance or nod of approval from his love.

This is the love that God calls us to, when He commands us to love Him with our whole being: heart, mind, and soul. And such a love will bring us into constant communication (prayer) with Him. And all that such a true lover will ask of God in the name of His Son will surely be given to him.

We must still practice our formal prayers, but we should never consider these as sufficient. We must always remind ourselves that we can never love God enough and therefore we can never pray enough. We cannot leave off our other duties of life or state to dedicate all our time to formal prayers, but we can form the intention and desire to dedicate all our actions, words, and thoughts to God as a simple homage of our love.

This all encompassing love brings out the necessary aspect of devotion in our prayers. We strive to approach Him in the proper cleanliness, attire, and posture, lest we become an offence to Him rather than a joy. True lovers never "let their hair down" in the presence of the one that they love. They strive constantly to put forth their best, and not so much hide as to suppress and ultimately remove all that is unbecoming or displeasing to the one that they love. Those who claim to approach God as they are (the come as you are approach to prayer) because God already knows what they are and therefore they want to be "honest" with God, only show forth their lack of true love or even respect for God.

One whose heart is filled with the love and praises of God does not slip or fall into the practice of using God's name in vain. When our hearts are constantly singing with the love of God, it cannot be but that this goodness will come out when we open our mouths to speak.

Those who love God seldom find a need to ask Him for anything other than the help (grace) necessary to persevere in their love or to increase their love in spite of all the obstacles that the world, our passions, and the devils may place in our ways.

Everything that is or that happens has been either directly willed or at least permitted by God. And as such, those who truly love Him strive to unite their own wills with His. Thus, if He wills us to suffer some hardship, those who truly love Him eagerly will to endure this hardship too. The prayer of the true lover is not so much one seeking things for himself (selfish) but one seeking to do more for the one that he loves (selfless).

This is the goal that God holds out for us. This is the goal that the saints all strived to attain. And it is such that brought them to pray to God not to lessen their sufferings here and now but to rather increase them if it would bring greater honor and glory to Him (the greatest lover of all).

This is the greatest panacea of all to find happiness, consolation, and joy in all things that come to us from God; not only in the pleasant things but even in the crosses and sufferings.

Franciscan Benefactor Seraph Subscription Vocations Have you remembered God?