[stephenkhoo]

16 September 2013, Monday, 25th Week, Ordinary Time
THE POWER OF PRAYER IN ECUMENISM AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 TIM 2:1-8; LK 7:1-10

Today, the scripture readings give an ecumenical dimension of the gospel and the universality of the Good News. As St Paul tells us in the first reading, “He wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all.” It is our Catholic belief that Christ is the only mediator between God and man and that He is the Universal Saviour of humanity. However, this is not something that non-Christians can accept. This is understandable because they do not have faith in Jesus yet. For faith to take place, it is necessary as St Paul says that they must come to the “full knowledge of the truth” not just intellectually but a personal conviction arising from a personal relationship with Him.

In the gospel, the centurion, a pagan, depicts an example of an all embracing love for all regardless of race and religion. Although a non-Jew and a person of dignity, he would stoop low so as to send emissaries to Jesus for help in curing his slave. Although not a believer of Judaism, he demonstrated great respect for its believers. He was even so sensitive to Jesus that he did not want to put Jesus in an awkward situation of coming to his house and become unclean. Instead, he simply told Jesus to heal his servant from far and not be ritually unclean by entering a pagan’s house.

Consequently, St Paul behooves all of us to pray for everyone including civil authorities. Yes, he said, “There should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our saviour.” Whether they come to know Jesus as the Son of God and their savior explicitly or not, it is important that at least they live according to their conscience and therefore govern the country responsibly with justice. In this way, they would have come to know Him implicitly as the Word of God since they walk by the truth.

Rightly so, St Paul urges us to go beyond such discriminatory prayers when he said, “In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.” In the light of what we have said, then, we have an incumbent duty to pray for the Church and for the whole world. In fact, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue is better achieved not just by sharing our faith and beliefs with each other but more effectively, by praying for them. Knowledge of the truth and of our Lord Jesus Christ demands more than mere intellectual discussion – it requires faith which is a grace from God.

Accordingly, one effective way to pray for the Church and the world is to pray the Divine Office. Truly, if the Divine Office is called ‘office’, the Latin word being “officium”, which means ‘service’, then praying the Divine Office is our service to the world. Thus, it is important that we value the Divine Office and pray this with faith and love, not simply as a duty but as a loving service for the Church and the world. We must be careful not to reduce the Divine Office into a private and personal prayer or devotion. Rather, in praying the Divine Office, we are exercising our priestly office by virtue of our baptism and those who are ordained, in praying not for ourselves only, but for the whole Church and humanity. This explains why the Divine Office, also called the Liturgy of the Hours is a liturgical prayer. It is an Office exercised on behalf of the Church, prayed with, through and in Christ as our Head, and we the members of His body.

Perhaps, this is where we might be lacking in exercising this role properly because more often than not, we are merely raising petitions which mostly concern our personal needs. Indeed, most of our intercessory prayers tend to focus on our own needs or people close to us. What we should be engaged in is intercessory prayer, which are the supplications mentioned by St Paul in the first reading. We are obliged to pray for the needs of the universal Church, the local Church, our country and leaders, and the world at large for peace. We should remember to intercede for all who are in need, not just for our own needs.

If the Church recommends us to pray the Divine Office, it is due to the fact that the Divine Office contains all the necessary aspects of prayer mentioned by St Paul, namely, that of supplication, prayer, petition, and thanksgiving. The Divine Office is a comprehensive prayer. Furthermore, it contains the Word of God. It is truly a prayer of praise, thanksgiving, petition and supplication. Thus, we must appreciate and value the Divine Office given to us by the Church for our own good and for the good of the Church and the world. It is indeed the perfect prayer of the Church for all of humanity.

Indeed, arising from this exhortation to pray for the world, the question is whether such a prayer for non-believers or people without faith would be effective. As we know, for prayers to be answered, faith is required both of the petitioner and the intercessor. Today, the gospel assures us that all prayers would be answered by God even when we pray for non-believers. The psalmist says, “Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my cry. Hear the voice of my pleading as I call for help, as I lift up my hands in prayer to your holy place. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts. I was helped, my heart rejoices and I praise him with my song.”

What is necessary for us as intercessors is that we must pray with faith and confidence. We are called to imitate the faith of the centurion. It is ironical that sometimes non-believers who have yet to come to know Christ and be baptized have more faith in Jesus and in the intercession of our Lady than Catholics themselves. Many non-Christians attend Novena services and often pray with expectant faith. The faith of the centurion and these non-Christians put us to shame and put our faith in question. I am sure Jesus would have said the same thing today as He said to the Jews, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found faith like this.” Even Jesus was amazed and astonished at the centurion’s depth of faith.

The power of prayer is dependent on our faith in Jesus. Hence, if we truly believe in the power and authority of Jesus to heal, like the centurion did, then Jesus could heal anyone regardless of time and space. Indeed, even in our own lives, we know of many instances when we are awed by God who has helped us in ways beyond our imagination. So we can be sure that since Jesus is the mediator between God and mankind, and is the Son of God, then Jesus could heal anyone if only we place our entire trust in Him. Like the centurion, we only need to say, “Say but your word and your servant will be healed!” So we too must pray with the faith of the centurion that God will hear our prayers for the Church and the world.