Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, bishop emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and head of the Doctrine of Faith at the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article.
LOOK
Pope Francis has long invited us to pray for an end to wars, such as Russia’s against Ukraine, Israel’s against its enemies, and others, but wars do not end. We ask God for order and respect in Haiti, more reliable democracy in Venezuela, and respect for differences and freedoms in Nicaragua, but nothing changes; sometimes, situations get worse. We pray that we all learn to respect our Common Home and that rulers take more effective measures to control the climate crisis, but almost no one pays attention. We ask for good treatment of migrants, but borders are closed to them, they are condemned and rejected with persistent racism. We pray that a hurricane passes quickly without causing damage, but people die and there is much destruction. We ask for an increase in priestly and religious vocations, but they decrease every day, because families no longer want to have children and they have other materialistic interests.
On a personal level, we ask God for the health of a sick relative or friend, but they die. We insist to God that we have decent work, but months go by and nothing. We ask in prayer that a child who is on the wrong path be converted, but he behaves worse and worse. A student asks God and the saints for him to do well on his exam, but he fails, perhaps, because he does not study enough. Someone asks for a boyfriend or girlfriend, but opportunities do not materialize. There are those who pray for their sports team to win, but they lose, and not only because of the technical directors, but above all because of deficiencies in the players. Another one asks to win the lottery, but has very bad luck.
In contrast, how many of us testify to the admirable power of prayer! The prayers of many mothers save their children and accompany them with their blessings. There are peasants who, with great faith, pray for good weather, for it to rain or stop raining, and it happens. How many good things happen to us, and there is no other explanation than the merciful hand of God! Last year, I was close to dying from a very serious illness, and prayers brought me through. In Chiapas, I had many problems, and I was able to serve thanks to my prayer and the prayers of many people who showed solidarity with me. In my priestly ministry, I have overcome temptations, misunderstandings, slander and even poverty, thanks to prayer, especially before the Tabernacle. There I have found incredible strength to face so many situations that have come my way.
DISCERN
As the General Order of the Liturgy of the Hours describes, “the Gospels present Jesus to us many times in prayer, and what Jesus did, he also commanded us to do. He often said: “pray… ask”; he indicated that we should ask in his name, he provided us with a formula for prayer, he warned that prayer is necessary, he said that prayer must be humble, that it must be attentive, that it must be persevering and trusting in the goodness of the Father, that it must be pure in intention and in accordance with what God is.
The apostles also insist on assiduous prayer, directed to God, through Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, in its efficacy for sanctification, in the prayer of praise, in thanksgiving, in petition, in intercession for all.
Since man comes entirely from God, he must recognize and confess this dominion of his creator, as pious men of all times did when praying. There can be no Christian prayer without the action of the Holy Spirit” (OGLH 4-6.8).
But let us note that our prayer is not to force God to do what we want. In his prayer in the Garden of Olives, Jesus insistently asks his Father not to suffer all that he foresees, which will be his passion and his cross, but he always affirms: “Not my will, but yours be done.” God the Father did not save him from death, and for this reason, Jesus asks him: Why have you abandoned me? However, he concludes: “Into your hands I commend my spirit,” and God the Father did not abandon him in the grave. For this reason, in the prayer of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to say: “Thy will be done.” Therefore, we must ask and insist to God in our supplications, but always ready for everything to be done according to his will, which is the wisest, what He knows, what is best for us.
God does not do everything we ask of Him, not because He cannot or does not want to, since there are miracles of His in all times, but because He respects our freedom and wants our collaboration; we are not chess pieces that He moves at will. He made us free people, even with the capacity to do evil. He formed us in His image and likeness, so that we may be, with Him, architects of a better world. The father in the Gospel parable respects the son who leaves home, but waits for him with open arms to return home. God wants armed groups to convert and stop doing so much harm, but He does not want to solve everything, because many situations depend on us. He expects families to educate their children well, so that they do not join criminal groups. He expects governments to do their job of dismantling and disarming those who are governing and imposing their laws everywhere. There are municipal presidents and local authorities who are arrested as if they were collaborators of these criminal gangs, without taking into account that they are forced to do what these heartless people order. They imprison authorities and police who are forced to act improperly, and they do not arrest the heads of organized crime, even though everyone knows who they are and where they live. I do not know if the government cannot, or does not want, to fight these criminal leaders.
ACT
Let us continue praying for peace and justice, for health and work, for the authorities and our families, for the ecclesial community and for non-believers, but let us be collaborators of God, doing what is in our power so that we can live in peace.
