A Beacon Of Light . . . From Nothingness Into Existence

By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.

(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.)

• + + It all began in the moments of creation. This statement is the starting point from where our understanding of prayer begins. In the actions of Creation, God calls every being from nothingness into existence. “Crowned with glory and honor,” man is, after the angels, capable of acknowledging “how majestic is the name of the Lord in all the earth” (CCC, n. 2566). Even after the fall, man is still pursued by God as the greatest of Creation. Because of this, even in sin, as man loses his likeness in God, he retains within himself the desire to continually know God.
  This desire is fundamental to man because man was first called by God. We may choose to forget the Creator, or even hide our faces far from Him, but for God, every human being is called to that mysterious encounter we call prayer. In prayer, it is God’s faithful love that always comes first. This is followed by our first step. This first step always includes a response.
  As God begins to gradually reveal Himself to man, and man is revealed to himself, the reciprocal call to prayer emerges. Through words and actions, the “drama of prayer” begins. This “drama of prayer” includes the heart and begins to unfold before our eyes, the whole history of salvation as revealed by God.
  Understanding the revealed history of salvation requires an understanding of the ancient prayer of the Old Testament. The notion of prayer in the Old Testament happens after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, up to and including the restoration of man in Christ Jesus. After the fall, God reveals Himself to Adam and Eve in the garden and initiates this “drama of prayer” by seeking to dialogue with Adam and Eve. “Where are you?…What is this that you have done?” (Gen. 3:9,13).
  Then the response of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus: “Lo, I have come to do your will, O God” (Heb. 10:5-7). Here we see the dialogue begin to unfold, the “drama of prayer” begins to take shape.
  The first moments of prayer are seen in the fruits of creation. Specifically speaking, prayer finds its roots in the first nine chapters of the Book of Genesis. Within these chapters the first fruits of the “drama of prayer” begin to flourish and a relationship is established between God and man. There is a connection that exists in these chapters between the earliest offspring of Abel’s descendants and the time of Noah. In both of these instances, between Abel’s descendants and Noah, the experience is the same.
  Both Abel and Noah, “walked with God” and their offering is seen as acceptable and pleasing to the Lord. The idea of “walking with God” is a kind of prayer that is lived by many righteous people of many religions. (CCC, n. 2569).

True Prayer

Even in its infancy stages, prayer had much to offer the people of post-creation times. True prayer, however, can only be found in the covenant that is revealed between God and Abraham. The prayer that existed during the time of Abraham was different. When God instructed Abraham, the response was different because it was “from the heart.” Abraham listened, then pondering it in his heart, he did what the Lord had asked. Abraham is totally submissive to the Lord and uses the gift of his heart, given by God, in answering the Lord.
This kind of submissiveness of the heart is essential to true prayer. Other words or actions come later and accompany the will of the heart. Abraham’s prayer is first one of silence. This prayer of the heart “wills” Abraham to perform actions acceptable to the Lord, allowing him to construct various Altars to the Lord. Only later does Abraham speak his prayer. It is a veiled complaint reminding God of His promises. Even here, in the beginning, there exists the notion of man’s test of faith in the fidelity of God (CCC, n. 2570).
Abraham teaches us something very important here regarding prayer. He teaches us the necessity of participation in prayer. Because Abraham believed in God and walked in His presence, he was able to welcome a mysterious guest into his home, the home of his heart. (Here is a foreshadowing of the Annunciation, where Mary invited the “mysterious Lord” into her womb.)
Abraham, attuned for the Lord’s compassion for men, is able to enter into the most difficult kind of prayer yet, the prayer of sacrifice. In the final stage of prayer, Abraham is asked to sacrifice his only son. His faith in God does not weaken, actually, it is strengthened! What does prayer do? Prayer restores us to the likeness of God’s love and enables us to do the same for others.
The “drama of prayer” as we have called it continues to unfold. This time it takes on a new characteristic. This characteristic is of intercessory prayer. Again the dialogue is begun by God, through the burning bush, but this time to Moses. God calls Moses and invites him to take on the role of an intercessor between God and the Israelite people.
Why? Precisely because our “drama of prayer” involves a living God. Moses was chosen by God to be an intercessory, or emissary, between God and man. Moses does not pray for himself, but for the needs of the Israelite people on the journey to the Promised Land. When they were thirsty, Moses interceded to the Lord, who instructed the tapping of the staff on the rock to spring forth water. When they were hungry, Moses interceded to the Lord and “manna came down from Heaven.”
Because of the intimate encounter between God and Moses, it was possible for Moses to draw strength and determination in accomplishing his responsibility of being God’s intercessor.
The “drama of prayer” continues to unfold, but this time, it unfolds within the realm of the Holy Place. The Holy Place is first found in the shadow of God’s dwelling place. First in the Ark of the Covenant, as it was carried by the Israelite people, and then in the Temple. In both of these instances, it was the ancestor of old and the prophets who taught how to pray, but it was David the King who introduced the people to praying in the Temple.
This is why every Catholic Church is consecrated, or dedicated, as a place of prayer. It sets aside a place where the worshipping assembly can come together and pray in the “shadow of the Divine.”
How were the people of God going to understand this new way of prayer? Here is where the role of the prophets would assist in the education of the prayerful people. Elijah, the father of all the prophets, would begin to educate the people on the importance of signs and symbols used in the temple. Not as excessive external signs of worship, but as instruments used to enhance the prayerful experience. The prophets were the teachers who helped to keep the “People of God rooted in proper prayer.
The prophets teach us how to incorporate the current world into our way of prayer. As praying people, our one-on-one encounter with the Divine, encouraged us to draw strength on our pilgrim way. It is the example of the prophets who assisted the people of the Old Testament in developing a “drama of prayer.”

Enemies And Temptations

Later on, as the life of prayer developed, hymns and Psalms were used to express the love the people had for God, as well as their concern for each other. These Psalms would become part of the Jewish life of prayer and eventually part of the life of Christ. The Psalms took shape, not only in the Temple, but also in the hearts of the people of God. There is a kind of, composition, or development to the Psalms. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us of this in n. 2589: “Certain constant characteristics appear throughout the Psalms: simplicity and spontaneity of prayer; the desire for God Himself through and with all that is good in His creation; the distraught situation of the believer who, in his preferential love for the Lord, is exposed to a host of enemies and temptations, but who waits upon what the faithful God will do, in the certitude of His love and in submission to His will.”
The prayer of the Psalms is always sustained by praise; that is why the title of this collection as handed down to us is so fitting: “The Praises.” Collected for the assembly’s worship, the Psalter both sounds the call to prayer and sings the response to that call: Hallelu-Yah! (“Alleluia”), “Praise the Lord!” (CCC, n. 2589).
In next week’s column, we will transition from prayer in the Old Testament, to prayer as fulfillment in the New Testament through Jesus Christ.