| Christopher Torres ‘14
Every Christian is called to have an intimate and constant prayer life with God. It is from our prayer that we receive our nourishment for the pilgrimage of life. This spiritual sustenance is the life-giving presence of God. It is the beginning of life in the Kingdom in which we encounter and intimately know Jesus Christ. It is the revelation of the Father through the Son. In a word, this spiritual sustenance—prayer—is the beginning of the beatific vision in heaven. Prayer and knowledge of the living God depends upon grace. This means that no human contrivance of intelligence or study, when lacking faith or love, can bring us to the reality of Jesus Christ’s living presence. No amount of scientific data, historical documents, or even miracles—no amount of seeing—can satisfy our spiritual hunger to see the Kingdom. Recall that after Jesus had fed the five thousand, the crowd demanded yet another miracle from him to believe that he was the Messiah. It is the eyes of the soul—not the eyes of the body—that reveal the Kingdom. It is the eyes of the soul that use the light of faith, hope, and love. It is the eyes of the soul that gaze upon Jesus and receive his peace in prayer. The consoling gift of spiritual sight is one that the Father eagerly awaits to give to everyone equally, but it is always the little ones who are humble enough to ask. All we must do is knock at the door of prayer, and our loving Father will answer. |