“CALL TO ME, AND I WILL ANSWER YOU” (Jer.33:3)
By Rev. Fr. Dominic Mbomson, OP
As we begin a new year 2025, the oracle of the prophet Jeremiah: “Call to Me, and I will answer you” is an compelling invitation to prayer for us as it was for Jeremiah in his time. Nigeria and a number of countries are facing the same precarious situation of socio-political and economic malady as in the time of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was still very young when he was called to his task in the thirteenth year of the pious King Josiah (628BC). Jeremiah heartily supported the reforms of King Josiah until King Josiah’s death when the old idolatry and corruption returned. The Prophet Jeremiah confronted and opposed the nation’s impenitence to idolatry with all his strength and consequently suffered arrest, imprisonment, and public disgrace at the time. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah who followed the false prophet Hananiah and revolted against Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar clamped down on Judah and destroyed Jerusalem in 587 and sent its leading citizens into exile. It was about this time of exile that Jeremiah uttered the great oracle of the “New Covenant” (Jeremiah 31 to 34). This passages of Jeremiah are sometimes called “The Gospel before the Gospel.” Jeremiah remained amidst the ruins of Jerusalem, but was later forced into Egyptian exile by a band of conspirators who murdered him thereafter. However, the influence of Jeremiah was greater after his death than before. The exiled community read and meditated on the lessons of his prophesy until it was published after the exile.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis designated the year 2024 as a year of prayer, in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’ There was a particular focus on the ‘Our Father’, which St. Thomas Aquinas called ‘the most perfect of all vocal prayers’ because on the one hand, Christ taught it; and on the other hand, in it we ask for all that there is to humanly desire, listed in their order. In the next paragraphs, we shall briefly reflect on: Why we should pray? Who should pray? To whom should we pray? And how should we pray?
WHY WE SHOULD PRAY?
Our Lord Jesus warned: “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come” (Mk.13:33). In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus urged the Apostles to “pray, lest you be tempted” (Matt.26:41; Mk.14:38; Lk.22:40-41). THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH quotes in St. Augustine in its section on prayer thus: “Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for Him” (CCC, 2560). We pray, not to change God’s will, but to align ourselves with God’s will. St Gregory says, “By asking, men may deserve to receive what Almighty God from eternity is disposed to give.” Meanwhile, we have the example of Jesus and Mary. Jesus often went aside to pray. He spent nights absorbed in prayer (Lk.6:12-13), and constant prayer to the Father. His Blessed Mother is a model of prayer: “But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk.2:19).
WHO SHOULD PRAY?
Prayer is not in the appetite but in the life of the soul. Prayer is an act of religion; it is an ordering and a relationship between man and God. Therefore, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches (Summa Theologiae, II-II, 83) that Prayer is proper to rational creatures exclusively. Only rational creatures have the capacity and duty to pray. Neither irrational creatures nor God who is non-creational Reason have any occasion to pray. Sinners can effectively beg God’s blessing, for God loves the sinner even as He hates the sin. In His Divine Mercy, God hears the prayers of a sinner earnestly who perseveringly asks for what he needs to turn from sin and save his soul. Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” St Augustine says (Tract. XLIV Super Joan.) “If God were not to hear sinners, the publican would have cried in vain, ‘O Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner’” (Luke 18:13).
TO WHOM SHOULD WE PRAY?
St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that the cause of prayer is Charity:the friendship of God. God is love (1John 4:8). In prayer, the soul that has the capacity to loveis raised to God, who is Love Himself. Psalm 121:1, “I lift up my eyes to the Lord from where my help comes. Hence, we should ceaselessly pray as Jesus said, “Pray always and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). We honor God when we confess that we need Him and proclaim His Almighty power to bestow blessings. We honor God in Himself by seeking God’s help and blessing by praying to God directly. We also honor God indirectly through His blessed creatures when we pray to the saints and angels to engage their cooperating prayer. Prayer for others is born of charity and the saints who are closer to God have greater charity than we have and so their prayers are more effective than ours.
HOW SHOULD WE PRAY?
On the one hand, Prayer could be spontaneous, personal meditation or impulses with God; on the other hand, Prayer could be formalized and public. Both are modes of expression of the heart. Vocal prayer is necessary for: 1) Common prayer with people and for people; 2) Even in private prayers, vocal prayer can also help to fix attention and arouse devotion; to give bodily powers opportunity of joining the spiritual powers in honoring God; And to give natural outlet to the overflowing affection of heart and mind. Vocal prayer requires attention to mitigate involuntary wandering of mind. St. Thomas Aquinas enumerated threefold attention that should be given for vocal prayer: 1) To the words as pronounced and its meanings; 2) To God and; 3) To things prayed for. The four parts of prayer, namely: adoration, penitential supplication, petition, and thanksgiving, could fit into either silent or vocal prayer. The Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Liturgy of the Hours, and other public rites of the Church are called liturgical or public prayer. And the greatest liturgical prayer is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In all, five dispositions must be attained by the soul to make prayer fruitful (according to Blessed Columba Marmion, OSB): detachment/purity of heart, reconciliation, complete acceptance of God’s will, reverence for His presence, and humility. Our Lord said, “And whenever you stand to pray, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mk.11:25); “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be your as well” (Matt.6:33); And recall the words of our Lord to St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2Cor.12:9).
To all of us, devotees of St. Jude Thaddeus, our hope as we begin the jubilee year 2025 is prayer. Of course, “where there is prayer, there is hope!” The six periodic novenas for the year begins with the first, beginning of the year novena (1st to 9th January), under the theme: MOTHER OF NEW BEGINNINGS. The promotion of the St. Jude Chaplet shall also be intensified in 2025. Our devotions and prayers shall be in response to God’s own invitation, “CALL TO ME, AND I WILL ANSWER YOU” (Jer.33:3). The gravity of suffering in our world is doubled because of the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and the devastating effect of corrupt leadership. Speaking of the theme for the 2025 Jubilee (Pilgrims of Hope), Pope Francis emphasized the importance of a deeper spiritual reflection on Mercy, encouraging prayer and a higher awareness of the divine will in our daily lives, through concrete actions of compassion, forgiveness, and solidarity.
