Prayer in Relation to the Passion
The conversation revolves around a reflective discussion on the intersection of prayer and the passion of Christ. The speaker emphasizes that Jesus is the essence of prayer and that through prayer, one can experience a profound sense of joy and love from God. The speaker shares a personal story of how a conversation with a Catholic missionary led him to a deeper understanding of joy and love through prayer, ultimately transforming his life and leading him to dedicate his life to missionary work. The session concludes with a call to prayer and reflection on the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
MC: Adam Hohn
Parochial Vicar: Tyler Arens
Presenter: Joseph Gruber
Deacon: Rick Freedberg
Brought to you By: The Knights of Columbus
Audio Trasnscription
participantOne:(1540-36820): Shall we pray? Oh, good. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Direct, O Lord, our actions by thy holy inspiration, and carry them on by thy gracious assistance, that every word and work of ours may begin in thee, and by thee be happily ended. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Gentlemen, I'd like to offer some points of reflection on the intersection of prayer and the passion. Anything I say today...
participantOne:(37919-66880): will be lacking. Everything that I say today will not be enough. I could speak for hours and I will not come anywhere close to unpacking everything that ought to be unpacked about this. So this is my way of saying before I say anything else, this is going to be insufficient. But that should be exciting because it's supposed to be insufficient. Because it's supposed to be an encouragement to you and to me
participantOne:(67160-101940): to continue the exploration of the great mystery that is the Passion of Our Lord. The first point to consider, there are several points that I will present to you, one, and then I'm going to offer you how that has personally impacted me in my life. So some points to consider, then personal application, then we'll have some time for prayer, and then some time for discussion. That's the layout for the morning. Good? Good. The first point.
participantOne:(102920-138239): Jesus is prayer. He is the eternal word spoken in eternity, given to man to give back to God. Jesus is prayer. Any prayer that we pray is a participation in the life of Christ because he is the word spoken from all eternity to God, from God, given to us to give back to God.
participantOne:(141320-171640): I wanted to say he's more than that, but this is actually sort of a less than that, because he's also our humanity offered to God, eloquently offered to God the Father. And why do I say eloquently? Because when we look at the passion of the Christ, when we look at him on the cross, when we see him bleeding, when we see him dirty, when we see him spat upon and cursed, we might say, how is that possibly eloquent? How is it possible that this horrific event...
participantOne:(172080-210260): could also be spoken of as eloquent. Because he represents us in our wounds from our own sins, how we have torn ourselves apart, how we have disintegrated ourselves by doing what we ought not to have done. He represents us in our wounds from being sinned against. Not only is he representing everything bad that we have done, he's representing everything bad that we have suffered.
participantOne:(210900-253340): the sins that we have received, he is also making an offering back to God. He represents us in our powerlessness to heal ourselves. The punishment of crucifixion was meted out to the rebellious, to those who were committing treason against Caesar. They who wanted to exert their power against the empire were made powerless before all. And he represents us in our powerlessness. But fundamentally, he also represents us
participantOne:(253840-288659): our lovableness before God. The horrific scene that the prophet Isaiah said would be a disfigurement that we would want to turn our eyes away from, where he would not even really be recognizable anymore. This horrific scene is the scene that God the Father finds acceptable. That's why, well those are some of the reasons why I would say that the Passion of the Christ is an eloquent and
participantOne:(289060-326540): of our humanity to God the Father. I'd like to point out a curious piece of the Passion to you. In his offering to God the Father, he becomes again an offering to us. While he's on the cross, he speaks words of forgiveness to those who are crucifying him. He speaks words of consolation to those who are suffering beside him. He speaks words of love to those who are before him.
participantOne:(327360-363060): and from his side flows the blood and water that becomes the sacramental life of the church. He becomes gift to us on the cross in the same instant that he becomes gift to God the Father. So Jesus is prayer, is the first point, but to see that the arms of the cross, he has the vertical to God and the horizontal to man. Prayer establishes our relationship with God,
participantOne:(363560-405219): And it also, in the very same act, it draws us to become gift to our neighbor. The fundamental dynamic of the Christian life is the love of God and neighbor. And prayer reorients our hearts so that we can live that dynamic. Jesus is prayer. There's no other point that I make, and this is my primary point for the morning. Remember this, Jesus is prayer. No prayer that we've ever said has been without him.
participantOne:(411200-443040): So I'd like to offer in just a few minutes a little bit of my own story and how I came to experience and appreciate and to tentatively live out that dynamic in my own life. My senior year in college, I was a practicing Catholic. I was to set the scene. I was the president of the Catholic club on my college campus.
participantOne:(443280-474320): I was in a Bible study. I was leading a Bible study. I was mentoring another student who was leading a Bible study. I had three younger siblings at the same college as me who were all getting involved in their Catholic faith. I was the, well, it was really hard to tell who was in charge of the men's house that I lived in, but I think I was in charge of the men's house that I lived in. So that was my senior year.
participantOne:(474800-516820): And I went for a walk with a Catholic missionary, and he asked me a very simple question. He asked me, Joseph, are you joyful? And I didn't know what to say to him. And so he asked me again, well, but are you joyful? And I started listing things that I was doing. And he's like, but are you joyful? And he's like, well, and I didn't know what to say. I was like, I don't know any reason why I shouldn't be joyful, but are you joyful? And I said, you know, honestly, no.
participantOne:(517459-553640): I'm not sure what that word means. I think I've seen joy in other people, but I'm not sure what that means. And he said, well, that's a bit of a problem because you're in leadership in the Catholic community and the Catholic life is a life of joy. And I said, Luke, his name was Luke. That is news to me. And then I said, well, what should I do? And he said, well, do you pray? And I said, well, I go to the chapel.
participantOne:(554459-590360): He's like, what do you pray? And I said, well, I pull out a book and I read. And he said, but do you pray? And I'm like, maybe not. Maybe I don't. And he's like, well, why don't you just sit before our Lord in the chapel and ask him, Lord, why am I not joyful? I was like, sure, I'll do it. Now, I mentioned I was leading a Bible study at the time. And the guys in my Bible study said, Joseph, could you lead a Bible study going through all the seven sacraments?
participantOne:(590939-618520): It's like, sure, why not? Sounds easy. So I ordered some books on the sacraments and I said, yeah, easy peasy. We'll do a really academic breakdown of the sacraments. But here's the problem. I was going to the chapel every day and I was turning before our Lord. I was saying, why am I not joyful? And so I decided, well, maybe I should talk to him about these sacraments, too.
participantOne:(619780-655480): And in one of the books in the opening chapter, it said that the sacramental life of the church flows from the side of Christ, that the blood and water that came from the heart of Christ is the sacramental life of the church. It's like, well, Jesus, is that true? He's like, yes. Oh, OK. How is that true? And so I was asking him this. How is that true that all of the sacraments come from you on the cross, Lord?
participantOne:(656219-685700): And so we went through baptism, and we went through confirmation, and we went through Holy Communion. So we knocked out the sacraments of initiation, and then we came to the sacraments of healing, and we got to the sacrament of reconciliation. And I went to confession pretty regularly because I did things that I was not proud of, and I wanted to be absolved of those sins because I didn't like being wronged.
participantOne:(686020-727060): That's why I went to confession. I knew I'd done wrong things. I wanted to have that resolved. And in the book about reconciliation, they were pointing to the phrase, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, as sort of the source of the power of the sacrament of reconciliation. And so I sat there before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and before an image of him on the cross, and I looked at him, and it was in that moment...
participantOne:(727300-764980): that I not only realized that he was looking at me, but that he had been looking at me when I had done all of the things that I was most ashamed of. And that's one thing. But in the looking at me, I knew beyond any shadow of doubt that he looked at me in that moment and at all of the moments when I had done the worst things in my life, and he looked at me with love. And that blew my mind. When I...
participantOne:(768280-801060): When I realized that God found me lovable, even at my worst, it blew my mind. I grew up in a family where it was the norm to hide, where it was the norm to ignore anything bad, where if you did something that you ought not to have done, don't let anyone know. Because the risk of letting anyone else know is too great.
participantOne:(801260-839660): the possibility of overreacting, the possibility of being shamed maybe for the rest of your life was too great. Where my father figure was not the most reliable of men, where there was no sense that I could turn to him in my confusion and in my pain and find in him love. So when I say
participantOne:(840819-875580): that turning to Jesus and seeing that he loved me at my worst blew my mind. This was an experience that radically reoriented my entire understanding of who I was and what I could be. Everything became different from that point. Not that I became perfect, not that I became suddenly brave or incredibly awesome, but I started turning outward
participantOne:(875839-903560): away from just all of the things that I would obsess over. And I would actually pay attention to the men and women around me. The same Catholic missionary who asked me if I was joyful several months before, asked me if I wanted to go out on campus to say a prayer and just go talk to people about Jesus. I was like, you can do that. It's like, they can't stop you. And so we would do that
participantOne:(903959-937700): Like every week we would go out, we would go get lunch and sit with guys that we had never met before and just talk with them and invite them to things. We would go out on campus and we would find people and just chat with them. And it became so life-giving. It became so incredibly thrilling to live not just for myself. To realize that the love that Jesus had for me was also the love that he had for other people. And that's a love that's worth sharing.
participantOne:(940100-978100): That became so transformational for my life, my senior year in college, that I went and applied to become a Catholic missionary. And I dedicated 13 years of my life to being a full-time Catholic missionary. Because one day in the chapel, I realized that at my worst, Jesus still loved me. Not only did he love me, but he wanted to offer everything in my life to God the Father,
participantOne:(979120-1011580): in the sure and certain belief, knowing that God the Father wanted to receive everything that I had. It's one thing when Catholics say, you know, offer it up. You know, just offer it up. You know, you've got a pain in your shoulder, offer it up. You've got some trouble in your life, offer it up. You've got the stress, offer it up. That's something maybe you heard a lot if you grew up Catholic, offer it up.
participantOne:(1014040-1047780): It's true. That is what we should do. It's also true that God wants to receive us. He wants to receive our best and our worst. He wants us. He wants all of us. I could go on and on about the lessons that I've learned sitting at the foot of the cross. But that first lesson, the fact that God loved me in where I felt unlovable, is probably the realization that has changed my life the most today.
participantOne:(1048000-1074820): There were other realizations. I can list a couple of them. One, that if he loved me when I was sinning, he also loved me when I was sinned against. That if he loved me in the past, he probably loves me right now, in this moment. And in this moment, he has something for me to do or to say or to be. And that if he loves me in this moment and in the past...
participantOne:(1075420-1105500): He's going to love me in the future, that I can actually trust him to be there in the future. That when I get to that point in my life, he will still be there. Whatever point I'm worried about, he will still be there. It's a radical reorientation of my entire existence by sitting at the foot of the cross, by entering into the prayer of Christ and realizing that's what he was there for. He is there to offer me a chance to enter the dynamic of the love of God.
participantOne:(1106400-1137780): God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself in a plan of sheer goodness, freely created man to share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He does that so we can enter into his blessed life. He draws close to us. And Jesus on the cross is saying, there is nothing, there is nothing that you can bring to him that he is not ready to receive.
participantOne:(1139700-1176320): There is no dark corner of my life. There is no dark corner of your life that you need to leave in the darkness. Everything can become light. Jesus completely changed me, and he isn't done doing that. I am not yet the man that I'm called to be. And that is exciting because it means that he has more for me in this life. So the question I want to leave you with is,
participantOne:(1177220-1214280): What might you uncover by putting yourself before our Lord today? What might you uncover by sitting at the foot of the cross today? What freedom does he have for you to discover? What mission does he have for you to discover? He is there, and he is waiting for us. With that in mind, I'd like to invite you to pray the fifth sorrowful mystery, which is the crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
participantOne:(1216480-1245000): In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The fifth sorrowful mystery is the crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation.
participantOne:(1245700-1270560): deliver us from evil. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
participantOne:(1270980-1294020): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
participantOne:(1294100-1317120): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
participantOne:(1317000-1339100): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and for our sins in the night. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and for our sins in the night.
participantOne:(1339280-1365400): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
participantOne:(1365020-1385220): as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those that most need thy mercy. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
participantOne:(1385740-1408720): All right, gentlemen, if you want to take a few minutes to refill your coffee, you can go back to the round tables for small group discussion. Yes? You didn't answer the question. Are you joyful now? More often, yes. Yeah. Thank you.
