Polis - The city of Scout

Learning from the Benedictine tradition to combine prayer and work . The added value of prayer in the life of man. No need to talk about God if you do not know how to talk to God prayer and illusory claims of wealth. The authenticity of prayer in the transformation of their lives.

The Benedictine motto "Ora et labora" proposes a way of life with the contemplative and realistic, practical and open to transcendence. First: Please, for God comes before everything else, but you also have to work, work, because you need to get on your hands, but do not stop praying. Why? What is the meaning of this ancient rule? It requires that human existence is balanced in its rhythms so that requirement (that of the work or that of the prayer) does not cancel the other and does not produce a life-style unilateral, partial. Euripides already noted that not enough to have the name of the mouth, if you do not roll up their sleeves to plow and sow and reap. But the psalm reminds us that if God is not to build the house, "it labor in vain the builders."

Also willing to "waste time"

But because the work needs to be accompanied - and, somehow, preceded - by prayer? What adds prayer to the activity of those who work with honesty and competence? From the economic point of view, little. Some, indeed, might feel that prayer is a waste of time, precious time that could be used for activities most useful to the person or company. But this is the first lesson of prayer: that in life we ​​must be prepared to "waste time". There is an invitation to laziness, of course, but to be able to see beyond the issues of productivity.

There are in man's life experiences that you can not do without committing time: friendship, for example, the case of feelings, the couple's life, everything that has to do with human relationships. To build them we must be willing to spend time and energy to listen, understand, respond, tune ... And so it is with God Until we speak of God, I do not know at all, only when you speak to God and listening, the relationship with Him becomes serious and, little by little, our life becomes familiar with his way of being. From this encounter with God, man returns enriched the world of men. The book of Exodus tells of Moses went up on Mount Sinai, God rested forty days talking with and listening to his voice from the revelation of his will, the commandments. When he came down from the mountain, the skin of his face had become radiant light. If you really in prayer we enter into dialogue with God, prayer go out with the radiant face, that is freer, more joyful, more rich in hope, better able to discern good and fight evil.

The glory of God is man fully alive

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." It is the prayer that Jesus taught us. Father, manifested your name, what are you, because the world is empty of you, dumb and unable to speak your praise. I look around and see the garden of the world in its beauty and harmony, but I also see the ambiguity of history with injustice, violence, the suffering that destroy the lives of many men, I see an opaque world, that does not pass the ' love of God As a child, then I ask God, our Father, to intervene and touch this world with the strength of his compassion, to establish his kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice of love and peace.

I'm asking for a miracle striking? A lightning incenerisca evil? For establishing a power force for good? No, I'm asking that God works slowly, through His creatures in order to direct the course of the world to the beauty and goodness. And when I ask this offer to God with freedom and joy of myself as an instrument of his action: I offer my heart because you love God, because God works in my hands, my desires for God form them according to his wishes . It so happens that when I pray, I am forced to introduce, in the evaluation of my behavior, the criterion of the sanctification of God's name

Example. In First Corinthians, reflecting on how to live one's sexuality, Paul writes: "You were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." Sexuality is, according to Paul, a dimension of life where we can and we must glorify God, manifesting the truth of his love and loyalty. This is not to obey rules that forbid this or that abstract, it is rather to enrich the human experience, not to waste all that sexuality has the potential to express the glory of God in human love. We need much prayer, we do so much admire the beauty of God's faithfulness to want to express it also in sexuality and even friendship.

His disciples that brigavano to obtain positions of prestige Jesus opposed to a new concept "is not so among you: but whosoever will be great will be your servant and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all." This is true especially for me, Bishop, that I must live my service without seeking the honors of any kind, and true for every Christian for that size small or great power that is granted, and that has to manage. "The glory of God is man fully alive" says St. Irenaeus. Wherever men and women served, received, honored, respected, supported, there is manifested the glory of God. However, when the prevailing fear, or resentment, or interest, there has tarnished the glory of God. We need to contemplate in prayer the face of Jesus crucified. Because if this face is printed in our hearts we can love even when the service becomes humiliating and asks us to accept defeat, undeserved judgment, a bad figure.

Finally: the use of money. It is forbidden to be rich, I've said before. But the wealth produced in the one who has a responsibility not easy to face: to use the money bearing in mind its social function, of procuring the good of all. Inventing jobs and promote education and training and entry into employment of new generations, guaranteeing health care to even the poor are just some of the many ways in which wealth can be transformed into solidarity and become instrument of sanctification of God's name But this, transformation is not difficult if you give time to prayer is the prayer that unmasks the illusory promises of wealth, which increases the heart's desire and the power of good.

Sanctifying God's name

I then put in the presence of God and start to pray. Obeying Jesus, first of all recognize that God is my Father and at the same time, Father of a multitude of children. I pray, therefore, recognizing that dwell among brethren. And among them, I pray that God may sanctify his name, his presence manifest that love in the world. What makes this prayer with me? The desire and willingness to become an instrument of God because his name be sanctified, desire that what I am as a sexual person, the fragment of power that is in my hands, the amount of wealth that I have and I manage all This will contribute to "sanctify the name of God."

I mentioned to some element of this transformation, but who knows how many things you could say. I was interested only to realize that prayer is not an escape from the world. Certainly one of the world escape the grip and stand before God, but to return to the world with new desires, new courage, new strength. To operate in the world and transform according to the logic of the will of God, the authenticity of prayer is measured by how it transforms my life. If I pray constantly but quietly handle sexuality in a disorderly manner, the power so sectarian, the money in a selfish way, I can be sure that prayer was pure appearance If I begin to perceive the shortcomings of my behavior and undertake a journey of much conversion, then prayer becomes a way: long, probably, and demanding, but that brings me closer to the goal.

Theologian Borel