Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1376170
Prayer is where we go to love and be loved by God in a way that transforms us. It has been said by some that prayer does not so much help our relationship with God but instead is our rela- tionship with God. As a dad of three kids under five, I know too well the daily struggle to carve out space in my life to give time and space for the still, small voice of God. I also know how my life loses peace and direction if I am not diligent to the invitation God extends to me daily to encounter him in personal prayer and the Sacraments. Like marriage, prayer is not always about the fireworks: a holy hour skipped out of with a heart full of enthusiastic aspirations. It is about a habit that slowly changes our hearts over time. If we are faithful in this way, there is no limit to what God can do in our lives. As Archbishop Aquila's Easter resource, Encounter the Risen Jesus, has attested, this rela- tionship with God we find in prayer grows over time into an abiding sense of our own identity as beloved sons and daughters of the Father. These quiet depths of intimacy the Lord desires for us are the foundation of a countercultural response to the Gospel. For a rich picture of the importance and dynamics of Catholic community, especially in this apostolic moment, see Father John Nepil's article, "Christ, the Ballast of Christian Commu- nity," on page 18. In order to not step on Father Nepil's thoughts, it might suffice here to say that Cathol- icism should make us more authentically human in such a way that it necessarily flourishes into life-giving community. Particularly, it should be noted for our apostolic moment that in times of turmoil, God has chosen to send renewal to his Church through Catholics, having encountered Christ, living a distinctly new and compelling way of life together. We see this from the earliest moments of the apostolic church in Acts, through the Benedictine monasteries, and into the men- dicant communities of Sts. Francis and Clare. 1 2 Three Pillars of Our Response The early Church lived in response to what they had encountered in such a way that the very foun- dations of the Roman Empire were shaken. To read the Acts of the Apostles is to encounter small com- munities of Christians that were already actively engaged in the pursuit of no less than turning the world completely upside down. Could the same be said of us today? I would contend that this countercultural wit- ness of ordinary Catholics is more needed today than ever. An apostolic moment precipitates a rad- ical response to the story of the Gospel where the first proclamation we give to the world is to make our everyday lives reflect what the first apologetic defense of Catholicism called our "confessedly striking method of life" (Letter to Diognetus). The recipe is not complicated. I want to build upon Archbishop Aquila's column at the start of this issue and describe what I would call the three pillars on which our compelling response to the Gospel message can be built: prayer, community, and mission. These are foundational because they imitate how Jesus orients his own life and public ministry: up to the Father, inward in relationship to those around him, uniquely to his apostles, and outward, in mission to the lost. 8 MAY 2021 | DENVER CATHOLIC P R AY E R CO M M U N IT Y