Silent Pray-ers

People before and after masses are praying for each and every one of us.  Witnesses to His majesty, seldom noticed and unseen, they go about their business in reverent fashion.  Listen sometime when at a mass and you will find them in silent vigil speaking to God for our forgiveness and salvation.  To some of us, they may seem to be a strange occurrence but to the many suffering or ailing souls on earth and in purgatory, they are welcomed with open arms. 

When we profess our faith, do we just say the words or do we really mean them?  Jesus often said that His teachings were the thought of application and not just mere acts of meaning.   We must be consciously aware of what we are doing at all times.  To just say something is not enough but to back it up with service to others is what makes Him happy.  We see ourselves in selflessness and in our true reflections when looking through the world from another’s perspective.  It may not be the most comfortable of situations but is probably some of the greatest caring, compassionate and kind things we can involve and enrapt ourselves in, if not only for the smallest of rewards – to be with another who needs us as much as we need them.

Many lost souls are found by this simple act of courage and many become saints not because of what they do but by whom they touch.  Blessed Pope John Paul II used to talk about love to the sinner or to the hardest of hearts because it was here he could meet the person halfway.  In the middle of a war, in the most frantic of events, or even in the calmest of waters, he could then speak to the true person.  Those in silent prayer are meeting us when we join them in celebration of the mass.  Just think, prayers multiplied in uncountable degrees, in each town, city or village around the globe, the power of this can be staggering.  That is what many believe keeps our world in balance.  For every dark element that can surface, there is an equal and opposite aura of light that can beautifully overshadow it.

We all have those elements within each of us, but it is our responsibility on which of them to act upon.  I was always under the impression that by doing we put ourselves at risk for ridicule, so I remained absent when it came to this devotion.  I was embarrassed by the mere thought of praying out loud.  In a silly way, it was my procrastination that brought me to the assumption that if we do not try, we would never know the lovely character of feeling that comes along with contemplation. 

Our minds need time to recharge, to recuperate the energy drained from a day of home, work and play.  As we quietly reminisce about the day’s events, it is surprising how much baggage we carry with us.  Praying silently offers us the chance to collect all our broken thoughts and form a more unified understanding of the people most important in our lives.  It allows us time to stretch our spiritual muscle and become more globally connected to those around us.  My mom used to say ‘Never put yourself over anyone - like a car on a freeway, there is always somebody that’s going to be ahead of you’.  Rather, let us concentrate on how we can impact society’s needs over time.  Listen more, hear more, remember more, live more, and love more.  Only through reflection can we grow into more perfect ideas of what we wish to become.  The next time you think that your problems are more precious than another’s, look around.  You just might find someone saying silent pray-ers for you.