Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
October 14, 2022

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101422.cfm

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, Paul tells us that we were created “for the praise of God’s glory”. Paul emphasizes the phrase by using it twice in the first reading.

so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.

the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

Thinking about the prayer of praise may remind us of the four types of prayer we learned by nemonic as a child: ACTS.

• Adoration
• Contrition 
• Thanksgiving 
• Supplication 

The last three types are prayers centered in the self. They express my regrets, my gratitude, and my needs.  But the first type, Adoration, is centered on God – a prayer of awe and absorption into God’s Presence.

That kind of prayer is so important to deepening our relationship with God. We can understand why just by considering our human relationships.  

In order to love someone deeply and intimately, we have to forget ourselves and allow ourselves to embrace their reality. It’s very hard to do this. We are naturally self-centered and self-concerned. But through generosity, intentionality and self-sacrifice, we can learn to love unselfishly.

We can learn to love God like this too. Our prayer of adoration may be a shared silence with God. It may be simple phrases we offer in the awareness of God’s Being, as we breathe the breath of God’s life: 

• You are Beauty….
• You are Life….
• You are Mercy….
• You are Love…
• You are…

We let go of time and purpose. We give ourselves to the One who sustains us.

We don’t ask for anything, say thanks or sorry for anything. We simply absorb God’s Presence and return it in praise. 

If we feel the need for words to begin this prayer, we might use the first phrases of an old, beloved mantra – the Divine Praises. Here’s my translation:

Blessed are You, precious God.
Blessed is your Holy Name.
Blessed are dear Jesus, truly God, truly human.
Blessed is your holy Name.
Blessed is your Sacred Heart.
Blessed is your Precious Blood.

…. and then go on with your personal praises to bless God:
blessed is your Presence in my Life
… your call to my heart
… your peace in my turmoils…..

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Poetry: from Rumi

To praise
is to praise how
one surrenders
to the emptiness.

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Music: We Praise You, O Lord ~ The Dameans