85 lines
5.3 KiB
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85 lines
5.3 KiB
HTML
<p>In the Christian prayer life there is a richness of ways to pray, and
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generally we choose those devotions which help us to delve into the mysteries of
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our Faith and to deepen our relationship with God. However, even though there
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are a variety of particular devotions one may use (e.g. the Rosary, Liturgy of
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the Hours, the Angelus) the ways we must interact with God to grow in our faith
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are the same. Primarily, we traditionally understand there to be four
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cornerstones of prayer: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication
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(a.k.a. ACTS). All four of these are necessary for having a good prayer life,
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though we may effectuate them in different ways. Of these, perhaps the easiest
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and most commonly seen is supplication, as this is simply asking God for
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something; and God who is our heavenly Father wishes to give us all which we
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need, and which we ask for in the name of His Son for He loves us (John
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16:23-27). As a consequence, thanksgiving is also a common trait in our prayer,
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albeit perhaps less frequent than it should be. Contrition is perhaps less
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common and more difficult, as it requires the humility of recognizing our faults
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before God in a solemn act of repentance; but even so many Christians know this
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to be a fundamental part of their prayer life. All this said, what is perhaps
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the most lacking element of prayer in most (Catholic) Christian groups I've
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attended is simply adoration: to adore God not because of what He does for us
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(as such is thanksgiving), nor because of His relationship with us, but simply
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because of who/what He is, because He is God and Lord of all creation.</p>
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<p>When we truly love someone it is not because of what they do for us, as such
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is only a conditional and (ultimately) utilitarian <em>love</em>. When that
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person ceases to do these things for us we no longer show them love. Christian
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love, and especially love towards God, however, cannot be as this. As
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Christians we understand that God is worthy of our worship because He is God,
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He is our Lord. He could give us nothing and we still owe Him our worship,
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praise, and adoration, for He by His nature is a being worthy of our worship -
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and He alone, as it is unjust for Him to have to share this worship with any
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created thing, as it owes any goodness to Him alone.</p>
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<p>In the Catholic context it is perhaps easier for us to mistake things like
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thanksgiving or communal prayer for adoration primarily because this is what we
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call it when we expose the Holy Sacrament (the Eucharist) in the tabernacle. For
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indeed, this is done traditionally for the purpose of adoration. He is placed
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there for us to see Him and to adore Him. Yet often times what ends up happening
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in these expositions (at least in Spain) is that in one way or another the
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ambience or collective prayer is shifted away from adoration. There may be a
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collective prayer where some people provide testimony of their personal
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experience with the Lord, and give thanks. On occasion during Lent or Advent the
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exposition of the Lord has been a time to do an examination of conscience to
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repent, go to Confession, and ultimately prepare oneself for the great
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celebrations to come. It's also often a site of many a supplication, where a
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dire situation is at hand and we wish to bring the situation before the Lord and
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ask for His mercy. Music also tends to be focused on either what we do or want
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to do for the Lord, or what He does for us. And all these things are good and
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beautiful, even during the exposition of our Lord. However, what seems to always
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be lacking is that time of true adoration, when for just a moment we forget
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about ourselves and focus on Him alone. Not on Him in what He does for us, just
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Him.</p>
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<p>To adore God may be something difficult at first, as perhaps we feel awkward
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that it seems kind of redundant - God is great, He's marvelous, He's
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extraordinary, He's glorious... - but despite this monotony we discover that we
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don't need an infinitude of words to describe just how amazing God truly is. We
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just need to marvel at His glory. That is the reason why He is there in the
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monstrance. Indeed, this is exactly what we shall be doing when we enter the
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Beatific Vision. We shall spend the rest of eternity contemplating and
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marvelling at the glory of God. In fact, this is the only form of prayer that
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will be left in Heaven. There will be no more need for supplication, as all the
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old things have passed away, and we will need nothing more than God's amazing
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glory. There will be no more need for thanksgiving, as time no longer exists and
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we have already been given the greatest gift in being in His presence in Heaven.
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There will be no more need for contrition, as all evil will be eradicated from
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us, and we shall be purified before our Lord. All that's left to do is to bask
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in God's infinite glory and adore Him for all eternity.</p>
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<p>In case you are wondering what adoration of our Lord may look like, I'd
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recommend listening to one of my favorite hymns, "How Great Thou
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Art".<sup><a href="#r1" >[1]</a></sup> It is a simple song of adoration,
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praising God and how great He is. That's all there is to it.</p>
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<p>God is truly great! Hallelujah, hallelujah!</p>
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<h2>References</h2>
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<ol class="refs" >
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<li id="r1" >
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<a href="https://yewtu.be/watch?v=a-m_6KN5ISA" >
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"Alan Jackson - How Great Thou Art (Official Live)" on Invidious
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(YewTube)
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</a>
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</li>
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</ol>
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