Denver Catholic

9 DENVER CATHOLIC | APRIL 18-24, 2015 T he best way for faithful to speak to God is to open their hearts to him, sharing their desires and seeking graces, Archbishop Samuel Aquila said. "It's entering into that union and a con- versation like we have with one another," the archbishop said about prayer. "The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that prayer is really the lifting up of our hearts to God. And it's, in the words of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a gaze at God or a movement within our hearts to speak heart-to-heart with the Lord." Archbishop Aquila spoke about prayer in a series of podcasts released this month shared by a new local ministry called Ask a Bishop. Anand Bheemarasetti and his wife, Lindsey, of St. Catherine of Siena Parish, launched what they describe as a "digital school of life and faith," designed to share bishops' answers to faith queries through multimedia. In one podcast the archbishop said faithful can learn about prayer from the Gospels. "We are told in the Gospel that Jesus would often go to a quiet place to pray and to truly be in communion with the Father," the archbishop said in the pod- cast titled "Should You Pray to Jesus or God the Father?" He continued that Christ shows that the will of God was his deepest desire in prayer. "So, too, are we called in prayer to con- form our will to the Father," he said. "And in teaching us to pray, Jesus reminded us to go into the quiet of our rooms and also taught us the great prayer of Our Father. That immediately teaches us that as his disciples, as we pray, our prayer is to be directed to the Father." And there's more than one way to grow in prayer, he said, such as having grati- tude for the beauty of creation. "I remember when I was in college often times I'd be at the top of a moun- tain and it'd be a crisp clear day and I'd be getting ready to ski down the moun- tain," Archbishop Aquila shared. "And I was just captured by the beauty of cre- ation itself, and I would lift up my heart in gratitude to God for the gift of creation. … Beauty often times puts us in touch with the Lord." Reading Scripture and prayerfully considering how God is speaking to a person's life and heart is key to growing in prayer. "It's important prior to that time to pray to the Holy Spirit and really ask the Holy Spirit, 'Open my heart, help me to listen, grant me a heart that is receptive to your word," the archbishop explained. "And by doing that and then prayerfully reading the Scripture, we're more recep- tive and open to really hear the Lord speaking to us." Faithful can also learn to pray by read- ing the dialogue between Christ and characters in the Gospel. "Often times we can learn to pray by looking at some of the dialogues of Jesus with others in Gospel. For example, with the apostles, with Peter, with the Samar- itan woman," he said. "It's a very lengthy dialogue and a very beautiful dialogue and one that gradually leads her to faith. And prayer should always be leading us into a deeper faith, trust and confi dence in God." Archbishop reveals ways to grow in prayer For more information Call: 303.424.5037 Click: www.nufcu.com or Come by one of our convenient locations. Contact Us Today to Secure Your Financing for this Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity! September 23 - 28, 2015 Bringing Catholic Values to Financial Services Come as a community of the faithful on a pilgrimage to Philadelphia to explore important religious, cultural and historical landmarks. Join tens of thousands of people in activities celebrating the family for the World Meeting of Families, created by St. John Paul II. Pope Francis will join in the festivities and will celebrate Mass on Sunday, September 27. ASK A BISHOP www.askabishop.com Anand and his wife, Lindsey Bheemarasetti, pictured with their children, started the nonprofi t Ask a Bishop that features videos, podcasts and social media posts about the faith. PHOTO PROVIDED BY NISSA LAPOINT 303-715-3138 nissa.lapoint@archden.org www.twitter.com/DenCathNissa Archbishop Samuel Aquila shares insights on prayer and ways to grow closer to Christ. PHOTO PROVIDED Ask a Bishop is available through Facebook, Twitter, iTunes and online.

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