The Lord said to Moses, “ Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:
The Lord bless you and keep you!
The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them”.
- Numbers 6:22-27
(I wrote these prayer points for six friends who were part of a prayer group of which I was the prayer guide. Numbers 6:24-26 was always our closing prayer. We had a mini-reunion because one of our friends will soon become an overseas professional. Of the six, 2 are married, 1 is engaged, 1 will soon be engaged, and 2 are in relationships)
1. I remember thinking at some point that the prayers for a couple at marriage are not prayers that end along with the end of the sacrament but a promise to continue praying for the couple and with the couple throughout their married life, for God to continuously shower them with His blessings, especially as the marriage matures. We might even say that the prayer for a couple is a prayer we ought to pray even before the couple gets married (as soon as they are engaged perhaps or when it seems likely that they will get married even before they are formally engaged?) But as I’ll point out later on, the prayer for a married couple or a couple approaching marriage can also be a prayer for all of our friends and their relationships.
2. I remember at some point I stopped bowing my head and asking for God’s blessings when the priest tells us to do so at the end of mass. I figured, even if we don’t ask for it, God is giving us and itching to give us his blessings. The only question is if we (recognize and) are prepared to receive his blessings. But of course preparedness to receive God’s blessings is also a product of his grace so whatever the priest says I should ask for, I end up asking for a simple blessing: that God grant me the openness to receive the graces He most wants to give me and that God help me recognize the blessings He is giving me. (of course asking in itself contributes to openness. Beg for graces, as the Jesuits say)
I suppose this can also be the grace we ask for married couples, those who are engaged and those who are about to be engaged: that they be granted the openness to receive the graces God most wants them to receive.
3. It is in this regard that Numbers 6:24-26 can be read not just as a prayer for an individual but as a prayer for a couple: May the Lord bless and keep your marriage/ your engagement/ your relationship. May the Lord let his face shine upon your marriage/ your engagement/ your relationship and be gracious to you. May the Lord look kindly upon your marriage/ your engagement/ your relationship and give your marriage/ your engagement/ your relationship peace.
4. This act of blessing a relationship, of course, is not limited to married/ about to be married couples but to all relationships. We can pray for the relationship between (us as) children and (us as) parents. We can pray for the relationship between siblings. We can pray for the relationship between friends. We can even pray for the relationship between a person and their work. Playing with one of my favorite quotes from Anthony de Mello (Behold God beholding you and smiling), we can pray that we may truly feel what it means when we say, “Behold God beholding your relationship and smiling”.
5. One final note on the act of blessing: One person I know said: “Di ko na masyado gets yung point ng "please pray for me" or "I'll include you in my prayers”. I’ve always thought that specific prayers for an other aren’t magic formulas that have instantaneous effects. Again, I’d rather go for a generic, I’ll pray for your openness to receive the grace God is itching to give you now.
But I think one thing praying for others does is that it inclines our hearts ever so slightly to that other, it is an emotional deposit on our relationship with that other.
One sermon about Numbers 6 that I found on the internet pointed out that God was ordering Moses to order Aaron to bless the Israelites. If seen in the light of making emotional deposits in our relationships to one another, then the act of praying for one another, the act of praying for blessings for each other, is a fulfillment of the greatest commandment of them all, that we should love one another.
As we pursue our respective vocations, may we continue praying and wishing blessings upon each other and in that spirit grow in communal affection.
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Hi Sir! Haha. I like this :) I have 1 main question that you might be able to help me with :D
ReplyDeleteDo you believe in miracles?
In an abstract sense, do we ask God for the grace of being open or is it more of a personal commitment to be open to Him? In a concrete divine intervention sense, what do we ask in prayers of the faithful kind of thing, healing the sick etc? I'm really confused because my theo teacher ray aguas told us that God does not meddle with natural laws/ human affairs. Perhaps prayer is really for our own discernment, a personal/communal examine of ourselves and our relationships with each other. Hehehe
Reg, you have asked me the question that I have been asking myself and others. I tend to believe what Ray believes. A (crazy) part of me also thinks that some pray-ers (people who pray) have an uncanny ability to use natural forces that are not understood for healing.
ReplyDeleteCS Lewis has a book about Miracles where he asks our question(Miracles lang nga yata yung title niya). I've gone through it but forget what it says. hehe. The library should have a copy.
Regarding your second question, I think it is both. When you do an Ignatian retreat (and you should) we are showing our commitment to openness. But we also pray for openness.
Ok will look for that book this Summer! What do you think of this Bible quote: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matt 7:7
ReplyDeleteEver since my class w Sir Ray, I've prayed mostly to thank God. Maybe asking for grace is more of a personal act of humility that allows us to be more open to God in the process. It's not so much an asking-giving relationship bet God and us, right? For we must know that He knows and provides regardless of our prayers. Maybe prayer becomes an attuning of one's self to be open to these blessings.
Yay! Thanks Sir!
ReplyDelete