Saint Augustine on Prayer to Anicia Faltonia Proba

This is the second day I read the letter of Saint Augustine to Proba (see Anicia Faltonia Proba by Tim Keller below). The theme is on prayers. Yesterday, I read "You will find no prayer that is not already contained in the Lord's Prayer" and he wrote (chapter 12 of Letter 130 A.D. 412, with bible links I found):
"Here are some examples.
  When one prays: Be glorified among all nations as thou art glorified among us, and Let your prophets be proved true (Sirach 36:1-17), what else is one asking than Hallowed be thy name?
  When the psalmist says: Bring us back, O God of hosts, let your face shine on us (various Psalms) and we shall be saved what else is he saying than Thy kingdom come?
  When he says: Direct my steps according to your word (Proverbs 20:24), so that iniquity has no dominion over me what else is he saying than Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?
  When in the book of Proverbs it is said: give me neither poverty nor riches (Proverbs 30:8), grant me only my share of food what else is this than Give us this day our daily bread?
  When the psalmist says Lord, remember David (Psalm 132) and how he served you or O Lord, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands, if I have rewarded with evil those that did evil to me (1 Peter 3:9; Romans 12:17)what else is this than Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us?
  When he says: Deliver me from my enemies (Psalms 59:1-2; 143:9), O my God, and defend me from those that rise up against me what else is this than Deliver us from evil?
  And if you go over all the words of holy prayers, I think you will find nothing which cannot be comprised and summed up in the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. So when we pray we are free to use different words to any extent, but we must ask the same things: in this we have no choice."

Today I read again St Augustine's letter to Proba: "We do not know how to pray as we ought" and he wrote:
"Perhaps you may still ask why St Paul said when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, since it is impossible that he or those to whom he wrote should not have known the Lord’s Prayer.
  Yet Paul himself was not exempt from such ignorance. When, to prevent him from becoming swollen-headed over the greatness of the revelations that had been given to him, he was given in addition a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him, he asked the Lord three times to take it away from him. Surely that was not knowing to pray as he ought? For in the end he heard the Lord’s reply, telling him why even such a great saint’s prayer had to be refused: My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.
  So when we are suffering afflictions that might be doing us either good or harm, we do not know how to pray as we ought. But because they are hard to endure and painful, because they are contrary to our nature (which is weak) we, like all mankind, pray to have our afflictions taken from us. At least, though, we owe this much respect to the Lord our God, that if he does not take our afflictions away we should not consider ourselves ignored and neglected, but should hope to gain some greater good through the patient acceptance of suffering. For my power is at its best in weakness."
He further writes:
"Hence if anything happens contrary to our prayer, we ought to bear the disappointment patiently, give thanks to God, and be sure that it was better for God’s will to be done than our own. The Mediator himself has given us an example of this. When he had prayed, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by, he transformed the human will that was in him because he had assumed human nature and added Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it. Thus, truly, By the obedience of one man many have been made righteous."

One of my all time favourite preachers Tim Keller (especially when I was still a protestant) wrote this blog "Saint Augustine on Prayer" and he gave this background information:
"Anicia Faltonia Proba (died  AD 432) was a Christian Roman noblewoman. She had the distinction of knowing both St. Augustine, who was the greatest theologian of the first millennium of Christian history, as well as John Chrysostom, who was its greatest preacher. We have two letters of Augustine to Proba, and the first (Letter 130) is the only single, substantial treatment on the subject of prayer that St. Augustine ever wrote... Anicia Proba was a widow by her early 30s. She was present when Rome was sacked in 410 and had to flee for her life with her granddaughter Demetrias to Africa where they met Augustine. Augustine concludes the letter by asking his friend, “Now what makes this work [of prayer] specially suitable to widows but their bereaved and desolate condition?” Should a widow not “commit her widowhood, so to speak, to her God as her shield in continual and most fervent prayer?” There is every reason to believe she accepted his invitation."
And he concludes:
"Augustine gives wise pastoral advice here. He first points to Jesus own prayer in Gethsemane, which was perfectly balanced between honest desire “let this cup pass from me” and submission to God “nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” And he points to Romans 8:26, which promises that the Spirit will guide our hearts and prayers when we are groaning and confused—and God will hear them even in their imperfect state."

Let us pray.
Almighty, ever-living God,
  make us ever obey you willingly and promptly.
Teach us how to serve you
  with sincere and upright hearts
  in every sphere of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
  one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

St. Luke, The Harvest is Plentiful, but the Laborers are Few...It is Finished!

I decided to write my blog one day early because tomorrow my wife and I will be flying to Calgary to attend the Canadian Physicians for Life conference. I am looking forward to it. I feel a strong need to equip myself to depend life in this culture of death. And as my wife told me - she needs camaraderie to stand up for human life and dignity.

It turns out that today is the Feast of St. Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Here is a nice bio about him:
"St. Luke the Evangelist (1st c.) was a well-educated Greek physician and a native of Antioch in Syria. He was one of the earliest converts to Christianity, believed to have been one of Jesus' seventy disciples. He was a follower of St. Paul the Apostle and spent most of his life evangelizing with him in Asia Minor up until the time of Paul's martyrdom in Rome. Luke wrote a canonical account of his apostolic journeys with Paul (the Book of Acts) as well as a biography on the life of Christ (the Gospel of Luke). The two books of Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles were originally a single work. The intimate accounts contained in Luke's gospel of the early years of Christ's life (the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation, etc.) lead many scholars to believe that one of the eyewitnesses he interviewed was the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. According to tradition he was also a skilled artist and painted the first icons of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. Several of these icons are still venerated today, the most famous of which hangs in the Church of St. Mary Major in Rome. St. Luke is the patron saint of many trades including artists, painters, doctors, surgeons, and bachelors. His feast day is October 18th."

And today's scripture reading is, of course, from his gospel:
"After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’" (Luke 10:1-9)

Note that some translations say seventy-two disciples sent (NIV, Mounce). This explanation from GotQuestions.org is very helpful. It further details Jesus' instructions to the 70:
1) Go (Luke 10:3). This is foundational. The 70 were to divide into pairs and visit all the places where Jesus was about to go.
2) Be wary (Luke 10:3). The 70 were like lambs among wolves, surrounded by danger.
3) Live by faith (Luke 10:4). The 70 were to carry no extra provisions. They carried the message of Jesus and didn’t need to be burdened down with material things.
4) Be focused (Luke 10:4). The 70 were to greet no one along the road and not allow themselves to be sidetracked from the more important mission of evangelism.
5) Extend your blessing (Luke 10:5–6). Whoever housed the 70 were to be blessed, using the common greeting of the day, “Peace to this house.”
6) Be content (Luke 10:7). The 70 were told not to seek better accommodations; they were to stay in the home that first received them.
7) Receive your due (Luke 10:7). The laborer is worthy of his wages (cf. 1 Timothy 5:17–18). Doing evangelistic work is indeed work and is worthy of compensation.
8) Be flexible (Luke 10:7–8). The 70 were to eat whatever their hosts served; as God’s servants, they were not to be finicky.
9) Heal the sick (Luke 10:9). Jesus gave the 70 disciples specific authority to heal diseases and illness. It was as if the Great Physician had 70 interns making house calls. When the 70 returned to Jesus, they jubilantly recounted how they were able not only to heal diseases but to cast out demons as well (verse 17).
10) Proclaim the kingdom (Luke 10:9). The message of the 70 disciples was simple: “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” This was a clear-cut call to faith in the King who would soon visit each village.

Pope St Gregory the Great wrote this homily "The Lord follows his preachers". I think the last paragraph is my application for this passage of scripture, especially in light of the scandals of the church lately:
"Think over, my beloved brothers, think over his words: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest. Pray for us so that we may be able to labor worthily on your behalf, that our tongue may not grow weary of exhortation, that after we have taken up the office of preaching our silence may not bring us condemnation from the just judge."

To do this regularly I set my watch two regular alarms:
(1) At 10:02am every day it reminds me of Luke 10:2 "He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.". This is accompanied by a notification from Operation World, which sends out a daily message of a country in the world for which I am praying. So today (Oct 18) I pray for  Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tomé & Principe.
(2) At 3:00pm - I pause to give thanks! Again, GotQuestions.org has this to say: "Of the last sayings of Christ on the cross, none is more important or more poignant than, “It is finished.” Found only in the Gospel of John, the Greek word translated “it is finished” is tetelestai, an accounting term that means “paid in full.” When Jesus uttered those words, He was declaring the debt owed to His Father was wiped away completely and forever. Not that Jesus wiped away any debt that He owed to the Father; rather, Jesus eliminated the debt owed by mankind—the debt of sin."

Lord God, you chose Saint Luke to reveal the mystery of your love for the poor in his preaching and his writings. Grant that those who already acknowledge your name may continue to be one in mind and heart, and that all the nations may see your salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Let love be genuine

"Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers."

(Romans 12:9-13)

 

Let (ho) love (agape) be genuine (anypokritos). How do I do that?

 

I read the following from "Our Responsibilities Under Grace - Part 6" by Dr. Wayne A. Barber. Here I quote the parts that are the most helpful to me along with my comments in () and emphasis:

    "I want to tell you, when you come out of 11 chapters of the marvelous grace of God, you begin to realize that the only logical thing to do is bow down before Him and give yourself back to Him. He gave Himself for you. Let your life become a vessel, just something He can live His life through. It is then that you start seeing things in a different way.

    I want to say one more time, until you are surrendered to Christ, until the Word of God is renewing your mind, transforming your behavior, you are still in the fog. But when you start living like you are supposed to live the fog begins to lift. You get to see for your very own self what was there all the time. All of a sudden, you see the church as a body and you see yourself as an important functional part of that body. You are spiritually gifted. Now these spiritual gifts are different than talents and abilities. God, being the sovereign God that He is, certainly orchestrates them all together. But we are talking about what the Holy Spirit brings when He comes to live in your life. He gifts you, and the gift that He has given you is to enable the body to grow up into unity and of the faith and to become that picture, that image of Jesus living His life on this earth through the bodies of people that are surrendered to Him. (see the immediate preceding verses 4-7)

    Paul says in verse 9, "Let love be without hypocrisy."

    Really it is "love without hypocrisy." That is the statement. Now, the love the Holy Spirit produces in you and me, when we are surrendered to Him, is a love that must house all the service gifts that we have. Everything we do for one another has to be done out of love. There is no ministry; there is no anything if this love is not there. This love is the signal that we are living under grace; that God truly is working in and through our lives. And this love will be without hypocrisy.

    The word "hypocrisy" (anuopkritos) there means without any pretense, without any dissimulation. In other words, there is no put on with this. It is pure. It is right. It is God’s love being manifested in you and in me...It is like a chain with different links all the way down... I think he is describing this love without hypocrisy with the participles that he sort of hooks on to it down through verse 13. The whole thought here is relationships in the body of Christ—how we treat one another. We know we are gifted differently and we are going to serve one another through those gifts, but what is it that houses all of that service? What is the house that all those gifts live in? It is this love without hypocrisy."

And here is the list:

1. hate what is evil - "Abhor" means to detest with horror. In other words, you tremble at the thought of... This love will be without hypocrisy and this love will cause me to tremble and to abhor with horror that which would be injurious to someone else in the body of Christ. I can’t even tolerate it."
2. hold fast to what is good - "At the same time he clings to that which is good. The word "cling" is the word for glue... The love that is being manifested in you glues you to that which is good... It means that I am glued to the attitude that whatever I do for you or for whoever out of the gifts that God has given is done for your best benefit, your spiritual help. "
3. love one another with mutual affection - "The word "devoted" there comes from two Greek words (philostorgos). One word is philos, and the other word is storge (another word for love, family kind of love, even people without Christ have it)... Paul told Timothy in the last days people will be unloving. The word is astorgos. It comes from "a", without, and storge, this kind of family love. Do you wonder where abortion comes from, folks? God’s Word has already told you it is going to be that way. Women will not even love their own children. This is what the word means... Then he says, "with brotherly love"(philadelphia)... So the Holy Spirit of God who lives in us opens our eyes and helps us to realize that we are all gifted differently. We are all in the same family, but there are going to be different degrees of maturity. He will give us the discernment of how to treat each one where they are and how to minister to them. It is that kind of love that permeates the family of God. You see the family like you have never seen it before. "
4. outdo one another in showing honor - "outdo, or give preference (proēgeomai) comes from two Greek words. One means before, pro, then the word hegeomai means to take the lead...  I don’t wait for them to love me or to serve me?... This is the Spirit of God in you leading you and motivating you to take the lead. Don’t wait on somebody to come to you. You go to them...  When you present your body a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), then whatever agenda you had is dead under the blood at the cross and now it is His agenda and now you take the lead in it. Who is it that I can show love to today? Who is it that I can serve today? ... The word honor (timē) means to put them higher than yourself. The Apostle Paul says almost the same thing in Philippians 2:3"
5. do not lag in zeal - "don’t be lazy, don’t fall behind... That is where your joy is. It is gone when you start looking at others and what they are not doing. It is there when you are busy doing what God says. The word "diligence," spoude, means with great urgency and without delay. "
6. be ardent in spirit - "ardent or "fervent" means to boil. The word for "spirit" is the word pneuma, and here it has to do with one’s attitude... It is that boiling inside that is causing something to spill over on the outside—zeo, fervent in spirit. Go over to Acts 18:25 and you find a very similar example to show you that what is going on in the inside here. It spills over in your attitude. And oh, how contagious this in the body of Christ.."
7. serve the Lord - "As you are ministering to others, not lagging behind, taking the lead, fervent in spirit, remembering that you are serving the Lord. This is the motivation of showing this love... Let’s go back. Filled with the love of Christ which is without pretense. Detesting with horror anything that would be injurious to others in the body. Glued to that which only does things which would benefit others. Focused on treating others in the body as family and taking the lead in showing this brotherly love. Not in any way becoming lazy in this matter. Feeling the urgency, like being a pot of water ready to boil over in your attitude to serve others. Motivated by the fact that everything you do to serve others is in reality serving God. "
8. rejoice in hope - "as you love that brother who is not very lovable, but you are serving God in doing it. As you love him, you are taking joy in doing good for him and you are rejoicing in your expectation of what that good is going to do in his life somewhere down the road... don’t give up on people in the body of Christ."
9. be patient in suffering - "There are going to be people in the family of God who just don’t enjoy being there. And you are going to start trying to love them and serve them and they are going to give grief to you. But persevere (hypomenō), bear up under (thlipsis)."
10. persevere in prayer - "have you ever noticed how hard it is to talk about a brother in trouble when you have spent time praying and talking to God about him? It is almost like the Holy Spirit of God shuts your mouth and says back to you, "If you are going to love this person, you are not loving them because of what they do back for you. You are loving them because of Jesus. You are loving them because of His love in you. You are not expecting anything from them at all anyway. So, keep your mouth shut. Just keep praying for them. But for the grace of God, you would be just like them. Just keep praying for them. Just keep praying for them"
11. contribute to the needs of the saints - "When you start loving, even the unlovable, bearing up under whatever they throw back at you, rejoicing in the good you believe God is going to bring out of that, devoted to prayer so you are not talking about them, you are talking to God for them, what happens is, you start noticing needs in the body of Christ like you have never seen them before. And all of a sudden, you just want to participate in meeting the needs of the body of Christ. "
12. extend hospitality to strangers - "we are not going to learn to love people outside the church until we learn to love people inside the church. The only way to love people inside the church is to love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your body. Present yourself to Him. Then God in you turns on a love without pretense and that love without pretense is what does the good. It is what does the work. Contributing to the needs of the saints is something He begins to form and motivate within your heart..."

There is more in Romans 12:14-19. This blog is already too long. Will have to do that another time.

"14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”"

Stay firm in the Lord; Be joyful in the Lord always

Today's scripture reading is from Philippians 3:17-4:9. In addition to doing my Daily Readings, I have tried to also do the Universalis: Office of Readings every day. It has been a wonderful spiritual supplement (outside of attending daily Mass which I try to go to 3-4 times a week). The Philippians passage is taken from the Office of Readings today. The title to this reading is “Stay firm in the Lord”. I'll quote the parts that spoke to me the most:

"Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us." (v. 3:17)
We all need mentors to Stay firm in the Lord. And that means hanging out with brothers and sisters who are serious about their faith. Look for a church that speaks the Word of Truth.

"For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things." (vv. 3:18-19)
There are plenty of news these days about the clergy sex scandals and cover-ups. This is not new. The enemies are always trying to destroy God's church. Stay firm in the Lord and do not leave the church because of this. Jesus has promised "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved." (vv. 3:19-4:1)













Wow, Jesus by His amazing sovereign power, promises to transform this humiliated body (yes the church is truly humiliated) to a glorious body!!! Saint Paul, pray for us!


This next section is called "Exhortations". We are exhorted to "Be joyful in the Lord always". For this I read a lovely commentary by "Pseudo-Ambrosius" (who according to this - is an unknown author who was formerly ascribed to Saint Ambrose and usually printed along with his works). And I quote:

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." (v. 4:4)
Beloved brethren, you have heard in the present reading how St Paul says I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord. For the salvation of our souls God in his goodness calls us to the joys of everlasting blessedness. The joys of this world lead to eternal sorrow; but those who persevere in following the joys that are to be found in the will of the Lord will find themselves led to an enduring, an eternal world. So St Paul says again, I repeat, what I want is your happiness. He is urging us to grow in the joy that leads to God and to the fulfillment of God’s commandments. The more we strive to obey the precepts of our Lord God in this world, the more blessed we shall be in the life to come and the greater will be the glory that we receive in God’s presence.

"Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
(v. 4:5)
...the holiness of your behavior should not only be clear to God but also to men. It should be an example of modesty and self-discipline to all who share this earth with you. It should leave nothing but good memories, both for God and for man. The Lord is very near, there is no need to worry: the Lord is always near to anyone who calls on him in truth, with right faith, with firm hope, with perfect love. He himself knows what you need before you ask it of him: he is always ready to give his faithful servants whatever help they need. When bad things happen to us we should not be greatly worried, because we should know that we have God close to us as our defender. The Lord is close to those with contrite hearts; those with a broken spirit he will save. Many are the tribulations of the just; the Lord will free them of all their troubles. If we fight to fulfill and keep his precepts, he will not be slow to give us the aid he has promised.

"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (vv. 4:6-7)
If there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving: when we are afflicted with tribulations let us not bear them sadly or grumble about them – certainly not! – but let us be patient and cheerful, giving thanks to God always, in all circumstances.

Conclusion
"Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you." (vv. 4:8-9)