I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may
hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is
stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
Psalm 77: 1-2
The
morning prayer of the Church begins today by calling to mind one who cried aloud to
God throughout the night without ceasing.
It serves to remind us that we have a place to turn in the day of
distress. Although appearances and all
evidence of the senses may seem to scream out that we are alone, our faith
urges us to turn to God.
In
all honesty it would be rare for most of us to spend an entire night in prayer crying
out. Usually at the end of my day sleep
comes with little effort. Truly no sane person would want such troubled sleep that he or she felt forced to cry to God for
comfort in the soul. However, we should
consider that there are in fact many people whose lives bear such difficulty that sleep does not come easy and perhaps they spend the night calling out for help.
Several
years ago I went on a retreat given by an elderly priest who had a knack for storytelling. One of stories I remember best was his
telling about how as a teenage boy, living on a farm in Texas during the bad
years of the Great Depression, he was awakened one night by the sound of his
father whom he discovered on his knees in the living room praying for his
family.
Situations
so severe that they have the power to cause a person to spend the
night awake are real. I think such people numerous
and all around us. When I consider the places in the world where trouble
abounds it tends to be somewhat mind boggling.
Considering the war, violence, disease, hunger, and poverty that exists—often
in our own cities—there seems to be plenty to warrant crying aloud to God.
Years
ago, before my conversion, I recall that a congregation I attended held an
all-night prayer vigil from time to time.
I first remember attending one such gathering when I was just a young
boy. It left me with a strong
impression, though the kinds of things that were preached about that evening
(there was preaching in addition to prayer) had more to do with saving souls
than meeting the corporal needs of humanity.
Occasionally
I have known of Catholic parishes that will have a night of adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament. Whenever we get an opportunity
to spend a significant portion of the evening in prayer, we may find that it
carries a blessing. It’s our opportunity
to spend a little time awake with the Lord.
What should be on our minds and hearts any time we pray or any time that we have occasion to reflect deeply? In addition to our
personal needs and the needs of those closest to us, we should consider the needs of those who suffer most
in this world. Especially we ought to
pray for those who yearn for peace.
Peace will bring healing to a multitude of pains, and reaching out to
make it happen may just heal us in the process.
However, regardless of what our concern might be, whether we have a concern for the world that all of us share, whether it is our families, our ability to provide for those who depend on us, or any other need-- personal or otherwise, we may bring our concerns to God. If only we possess a minuscule portion of faith, or even less I think, and in sincerity voice our concern to God, we will see results. I cry aloud to God that he may hear me, indeed I cry aloud to God.
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