Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual
and the community must enter every day.
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
and the community must enter every day.
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Before You Ask
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7-8)
Many people think their prayers won’t work if they don’t utter them clearly enough, or fail to explain to God exactly what they mean, or don’t speak loudly enough to him with sufficient earnestness. But when this happens, prayer becomes so exaggerated that our Savior even forbids it.
Obviously Jesus does not want to discourage us from praying. His point is that when we pray we must have a sense of proportion. Once we have prayed, we must be quiet. We need to be like the farmer who has sown his seed. Help will come only when you are quiet in faith. Also in your sickness or with other needs, learn to be still and look to the Kingdom of God.
We can share our needs with the Father in a few words, without making a fuss, and rest assured that God already knows what we need and what he will do to help us. We don’t have to explain our requests in great detail to God, or try and make quite sure that he knows our needs. God knows about even the smallest matters and takes them straight into his heart. We can turn to him by glancing Heavenward, with no words at all. We can do this even when we pray about something concrete and tangible, or about something that specifically troubles us. We may realize that what we thought we needed is actually not necessary and that we can find a way right in the midst of how things are now.
This doesn’t mean that we just let things happen – as if everything will come of its own accord without our longing for it. Nor should we just cast a brief and hurried request at God’s feet. When this happens, we too easily lose sight of God, assume that everything comes to us without his help, and we forget to thank him. Then we cease to have a believing heart and are consequently not true children of God.
Jesus said, “Before you ask him.” Therefore we do need to make our requests known to him, otherwise many things will not be given that could have been given. It never displeases God when we come to him with our heartfelt requests. A real child asks for everything, knowing God has an ear for him. We should bring all our burdens and needs to him, for at the very least this helps to make us ever more aware that in all things God is the giver.
God always has our interest in mind. He carries our various needs with fatherly concern, eagerly waiting for us to come to him. He has not forgotten us. And when we feel tempted to think so, then all the more we should remember that he knows it all and cares for us. In fact, he knows much more about us and our needs than we do. Simple, childlike prayer is enough to move his heart, give you something out of the fullness of his compassion, and save you from all sorts of fear and trouble.
(Johann Christoph Blumhardt)
(The God Who Heals, Words of Hope for a Time of Sickness)
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Julia
ASIA/PAKISTAN - The first Catholic nun of the Kacchi Kohli tribe
Hyderabad (Agenzia Fides) — The Catholic Church in Pakistan welcomed the first nun of the Kacchi Kohli tribe, after 70 years of mission among those tribal peoples in Sindh. Here the Dutch Franciscan friars begin their ministry of apostolate among the tribal groups in 1940, under the guidance of Fr. Farman OFM and with the support of two catechists.
Sister Anita Maryam Mansingh, of the Congregation of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM), took her perpetual vows together with another nun in a celebration held in recent days at the Joti Cultural and Educational Center of the Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad. Her uncle, Fr. Mohan Victor OFM, was the first Catholic priest and Franciscan friar from the same tribal group of Kacchi Kohli.
Sr. Anita was born on 8 September 1989 in Tando Allahyar, a small town near Mirpur Khas, and joined the religious community of the nuns of the Presentation in September 2008 after completing her university studies in educational sciences. She made her temporary profession on September 14, 2011. During the period of her formation she worked in several communities in Rawalpindi and Hyderabad.
Speaking to Fides, Sister Anita said: "My uncle Fr. Mohan Victor inspired me to choose religious life and helped me to discern my vocation. I am grateful to my parents and brothers for always supporting me in this choice."
The Sisters of the Presentation began their apostolate in Rawalpindi in 1895. A group of nuns came from Chennai (today India) and opened schools to serve the children of British and Irish soldiers. Today there are 60 nuns of the congregation engaged in Pakistan in the fields of education, health care and pastoral work.
Bishop Samson Shukardin, at the head of the Catholic diocese of Hyderabad, told Fides: "It is a joyful moment to see a Catholic nun from the Kacchi Kohli tribe. The tribal people express the beauty of our Church in Sindh. I encourage the nuns to be a hope for the abandoned and the most vulnerable people. I thank them especially for the service they offer, providing quality education to the people of Pakistan in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to students of every culture, religion and ethnicity." (Agenzia Fides)