humiliations, broken dreams, mistakes, remorse in his heart. He prayed with his heart. And what about us? When we ask for God’s grace, do we also include in our prayer our own history, our wounds, our humiliations, our broken dreams, our mistakes and our regrets? “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Let us, too, recite this prayer today. Let us repeat it and ask ourselves: “What is my prayer like”? Let each of us ask ourselves: “What is my prayer like”? Is it courageous, does it contain the good insistence of Bartimaeus, does it know how to “take hold” of the Lord as he passes, or is it rather content with making a formal greeting every now and then, when I remember? Those lukewarm prayers that do not help at all. Furthermore, is my prayer “substantial”, does it bare my heart before the Lord? Do I take my story and life experience to him? Or is it anaemic, superficial, made up of rituals, without feeling and without heart? When faith is alive, prayer is heartfelt: it does not beg for spare change, it is not reduced to the needs of the moment. We must ask everything of Jesus, who can do everything. Do not forget this. We must ask everything of Jesus, with my insistence before Him. He cannot wait to pour out his grace and joy into our hearts; but unfortunately, it is we who keep our distance, through timidness, laziness or unbelief. Many of us, when we pray, do not believe that the Lord can work miracles. I am reminded of the story — which I have seen — of the father who was told by the doctors that his nine-year-old daughter would not survive the night; she was in hospital. And he took a bus and travelled 70 kilometres to the Shrine of Our Lady. It was closed and, clinging to the gate, he spent the whole night praying: “Lord, save her! Lord, give her life”! He prayed to Our Lady all night long, crying out to God, crying out from his heart. Then in the morning, when he returned to the hospital, he found his wife weeping. And he thought: “She is dead”. And his wife said: “No one understands, no one understands, the doctors say it’s a strange thing, she seems to have healed”. The cry of that man who asked for everything was heard by the Lord who had given him everything. This is not a story: I saw this myself in the other diocese. Do we have this courage in prayer? Let us ask everything to the One who can give us everything, like Bartimaeus, who was a great teacher, a great teacher of prayer. May Bartimaeus, with his genuine, insistent and courageous faith, be an example for us. And may Our Lady, the prayerful Virgin, teach us to turn to God with all our heart, confident that he listens attentively to every prayer. I Ame I G www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/fiveloaves-two-fish-philosophy Angelus Address given by Pope Francis on October 24, 2021 https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2021/documents/papa-francesco_angelus_20211024.html Picture: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/pope-francis-unique Coat of Arms: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en.html A Picture from: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/master-servant “The prayer of a humble and loving soul disarms the anger of My Father and draws down an ocean of blessings.” Jesus to St. Faustina Diary excerpt 320
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