Thought for the Day – 14 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Spirit of Prayer
Our Lord warned His disciples that “They must always pray and not lose heart ” (Luke 18:1).
But how is it possible to pray always?
One might decide that His command was intended for monks and hermits, dedicated to the contemplative life and not for men living in the midst of the daily preoccupations of the world.
But this is not so.
Properly interpreted, Christ’s precept holds good for everybody.
We must pray always in the sense that we must remain always united to God in mind and heart.
“Whether you eat or drink, or do anything else,” says St Paul, “do all for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31).
“Whatever you do, in word or in work,” he repeats elsewhere, “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col 3:17).
In other words, whatever we are doing, even if it is something very simple, like eating or drinking, we should do it in the name of Jesus and for the glory of God.
Once we understand it in this way, the Gospel precept transforms all our actions into prayer.
The spirit of prayer should accompany us everywhere.
In all our actions and conversations, no matter how far we may travel, we should remain close to Jesus.
One brief act of attentiveness to God, repeated from time to time, is enough to change all our actions and our entire life into a continual prayer.
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