Worshipping in Spirit

It is written: “Forty years I loathed that generation, and I said: they are a people of erring heart, and they know not my ways. Therefore, I swore in my anger: They shall not enter into my rest.” [Psalm 95: 10- 11] The rebellious tribes of Israel met their utter doom when God judged them to be inadmissible into his presence, as they had not known the ways of truth. That was then before the coming of the promised redemption of man. Now that the promise had been fulfilled, is being fulfilled, as it is a living reality for all peoples of succeeding generations, Today is the time of grace, sealed by Jesus’ word: “When he comes, however, being the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” [John 16: 13] And as such, man once again has gained admittance into God’s rest, in the now and in the hereafter, as he is washed clean by the blood of the Lamb and sanctified by the Spirit of truth. This abiding blessing that paves the way for man’s entry into God’s rest happens whenever Jesus’ authentic disciple follows the Holy Spirit’s lead into the Father’s presence, as this is the essence of worshipping in Spirit, the gift that renews life which was withheld from the sons of Jacob because of their erring hearts. Jesus said: “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” [John 4: 24] Man is created in the image and likeness God who is spirit and as such, man is endowed with an immortal soul/spirit, which in union with the Holy Spirit, enters God’s rest and there offers the authentic worship that the Father seeks. This is the closest experience of heaven on this side of eternity, which is the spiritual accent to the Creator-God, as the physical body is incapable of this miracle and for good reason, as the infinite joy that comes from the experience of God cannot be contained by the body from dust, as it will implode into nothingness at very moment of its subjection to this incomparable grandeur that no eye has seen. Yet, man being an integral being, the pure joy experienced by the soul flows down to the body, like the radiance in Moses’ face after his encounter with the Lord, which the Israelites found disturbing and thus the need for Moses to veil his countenance. (Exodus 34: 29-35) This is the reason, one of many, why angels who are pure spirit, are said to be created higher than man but only for a little while, as mortality has a short lifespan. The ultimate joy of a created being is to behold his Creator, which happens in the Kingdom of Light where the creature molded from dust perfectly realizes the truest essence of his being—that of the image and likeness of the Triune God. The foretaste of this sublime reality happens every time the baptized worships in Spirit, which is the other face of worshipping in truth. To live without the truth is to live a lie and to live a lie is to live without the Holy Spirit and for such persons, God is inaccessible either in prayer in this lifetime or in the afterlife. Man’s ascent to God happens in Spirit and truth because in the simplest term, the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth, as no one can have fellowship with the Spirit if he or she is not living in accord with the truth revealed by Christ. The Spirit whom Jesus promised to come after his Ascension, probes the deepest recesses of man’s heart, as no one can lie to him and thus, anyone who desires to offer worship acceptable to the Father can only do it successfully if done in Spirit and truth. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, gave clarity to this key aspect of worship: “The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercessions for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech.” (8: 26) Paul underscored the limitation of humans when it comes to the act of praying and at the same time showed a way out, which is to pray in Spirit or in other words, allowing the Spirit, who has been given to the baptized, to communicate to the Father what cannot be expressed in words. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, he wrote: “At every opportunity pray in the Spirit, using prayers and petitions of every sort. Pray constantly and attentively for all in the holy company.” (6: 18) This excellent approach to prayer is given greater emphasis by Jesus words: “In your prayer, do not rattle on like the pagans. They think they will win a hearing by the sheer multiplication of words. Do not imitate them. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6: 7-8) Long string of words does not make prayer effective, again because God, who sees all things, perfectly knows the ache of the heart, as no one can tell him in human lingo what he had already examined thoroughly long before the person kneels in prayer. No litany of words can induce Him to give beyond one’s needs, as need is the prayer of truth, which God can choose to alleviate at his own good time; as time in his hand is infinitely stretched without the cumbersomeness of hours, days, months, and years; as the divinely orchestrated, chronological unfolding of events that bring fulfillment to his plan, is not solely based on time but rather, the state of consciousness of his servant who needs to understand in order to make the right choice. He sees beyond what man sees, he thinks beyond what man thinks, and no one can reproach his ways, as he has perfection on his side, and yet the grace to know the wisdom of God is accessible to man through prayer, as Paul wrote: “The Spirit scrutinizes all matters, even the deep things of God.” (1Corinthians 2: 10) And so, Paul’s insight into the inner working of the Triune God is the best approach to prayer and that is, to let God, the Third Person of the Trinity, do the work for the worshipper. To begin with, it is necessary to make a distinction between the two types of prayer. This, however, does not mean that they are mutually exclusive of each other, as one can flow to the other, as one can be the spring board of the other, for as it is, the underlining reality for both is the same, as their effectivity is solely based on whether the Spirit is invoked to take part in the dialogue between God and man, being the best intercessor of needs. In this state of total nakedness before the Spirit of truth, man has no access to subterfuge, false stratagem, the folly of turning wants into needs or making dogmas out of human precepts. The two types are formal prayer and the prayer of quiet. The preeminent formal prayer is the one that Jesus thought us, The Our Father. Another example is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where the community of the faithful prays for its needs—the forgiveness of sins and the grace to be worthy of the supreme celebration of the mystery of the Christian faith. On the other hand, the prayer of quiet does not employ words, thus its name. It is the wordless communication between two hearts, the created and the Creator. This silent wonder is only possible with the Spirit of the Almighty, as only he can truly speak for the baptized, as only he can bring the groanings of the human heart, impossible to put into words, to the heart of God, as only he knows full well the spirit of man who is burdened by the cross of mortality, the fullness of which can go beyond the awareness of the supplicant. The inescapable weight of being human and the yearnings of the heart created in God’s likeness can only be probed by the Spirit, as he has the power to scrutinize all matters. (1Corinthians10) Nothing is off-limits, as he searches the hearts and minds of men. This power he shares with those who live in total accord with the truth, as to be in total oneness with the truth is to achieve union with God. In this blessed state, the spirit of man abides in the Spirit of the Almighty, allowing man to interpret spiritual things in spiritual terms, inclusive of needs, which must first be appraised in the context of spirituality so as to know whether these desires are in consonant with the truth, as “needs” can give false reading if not probed spiritually. It is so easy to be misled by the exigencies of the moment especially when the wheel of fortune is not in one’s favor, which can discolor perceptions, which in turn can imbue petitions with highly charged emotions, even passions, yet failing to reach the authentic level of need, as man can be readily duped by trials and suffering. Thus, it is of outmost importance that a Christian prays with the Spirit to see as the Spirit sees. With light from above, need takes on different meanings, as it is exposed from divergent angles that reveal its true nature. Petition even with copious lachrymal discharge could be a mere cry for relief in times of trials, as whether relief, short or long term, is the optimum grace necessary to see the petitioner through, might not be founded on the truth. Trials and sufferings need not be displaced as shown by Jesus’ life, as these are the blessings that lead to spiritual growth and maturity but only if they are embraced in faith, hope, and love, in unity with the cross of Our Savior, as the cross brings to 

perfection these three cardinal virtues, which are discussed in the next section.

To the unbelievers, man is just a speck of dust, hurling through the cosmos with a fate long predestined, or the total opposite as someone put it-- “the master of his fate and the captain of his soul.” In the former, man is a victim of forces beyond his control; in the latter, man is the champion of his destiny, as he holds the power to stir his soul to safe harbor. Neither one is true, as the most secure place for anyone is the rock of faith where he remains unmoved by tempest, grounded by suffering, victorious over death though forged in weakness. The Christian who worships in Spirit and truth carries the hallmark of truth that created him, allowing him the victory over the supernatural forces that tries his soul and weighs his heart, not by his inherent strength, of which he has none, but by the finger of God, as heaven is just a heartbeat away, as the Father is always attuned to the prayer of his heart. Here, in this supernatural realm in time yet goes beyond time, the authentic disciple lives in freedom from want, as the grace from heaven, full to overflowing, reduces finite needs to mere trifles, and the desire for a comfortable life distasteful. This does not suggest that petitions are out of fashion, not as long as the heart is beating, but in this blessed state, needs have been spiritualized, immune to self-serving motives, the passing judgment of time and the bitter herb of urgency. This does not mean that grace has taken him out of this world, on the contrary, it is the opposite, as he is more grounded than ever in a world living in darkness, as his spirit has acquired extreme sensitivity to any edition of lies, even those with thin veneer of truth. And thus, he suffers martyrdom, which no one can see and yet the heart bleeds for man’s transgression against God. Yet an enduring hope, a faith that knows no defeat, and a love that wraps around all men including sinners, sustains him in this road less travelled, as he is assured by Jesus’ promise: “Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7: 7-8) And so he asks to be a channel of grace for the conversion of sinners, a soldier of Christ, valiantly wielding the double-edge sword of truth while shielded by the armor of faith and to bring to fulfillment his unique reason for being. He remains undisturbed even when the enemy seems to have the upper hand, for he knows without doubt that heaven is on his side. God will triumph and the Spirit of Truth will bring creation under the banner of the Prince of Peace, the King of kings. On this truth, he stands. There are times when the road ahead is shrouded in darkness, but he remains steadfast in his vocation, knowing without an iota of doubt that light will shine when the time comes to make the decisive commitment to a particular course of action in line with the truth, as the latter is the true north of his calling. In another sense, the prayer of quiet is the prayer of the child of Truth, who is solely dependent on divine providence to make this spiritual miracle come about, as it is totally beyond his power to ascend to the realm where Absolute Truth reigns supreme. An excellent analogy to this out-of-this-world experience is that of a child in his mother’s arms, unconcerned with the banalities of life, as the thing of paramount importance is the warmth of his mother’s love that suffuses his whole being. Silent, peaceful, joyful in a blissful embrace, the child is at home, which immensely fulfills his need to belong that only God can give in overflowing measure. Such is the super-reality of one who prays in Spirit, for like a child, he is caught up in a realm beyond time, in a state of endless wonder that no word can make sense of, as his whole being is unfazed, unafraid of the numerous concerns of mortals, which gives truism to what Jesus said: “Stop worrying, then, over questions like, ‘What are we to eat, or what are we to drink or what are we to wear?’ The unbelievers are always running after these things. Your heavenly Father knows all you need. Seek first his kingship over you, his way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides”. (Matthew 6: 31- 33) Small, weak and inconsequential, but imbued with the unbreakable strength of one who fully trusts in God’s loving care, as this is the paradox of a child of God that allows him to move mountains. It is as Jesus said: “Let the children come to me. Do not hinder them. The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19: 14) In this state whether short or long depending on grace, sound stops, movement ceases, and the intellect stays silent and unoccupied, and time passes in the blink of an eye, for the Paraclete, united with the soul, is doing what he does best-- praying, interceding, groaning in accord with God’s will. Paul wrote: “The Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills.” (Romans 8: 27) This state should not be likened to a drug-induced trance nor a state of hypnosis, in order to attempt escape from the world, for such vain and feeble pursuit is a mere flight of fancy that evaporates as soon as one wakes up, as there is nothing that can change the world by quackery. The child of God, on the other hand, is at the very heart of the action by choice, always is, always will be, as this is where battle lines are drawn between good and evil. He is of this world and yet, not of the world; vulnerable and yet, he is in the frontline of the fight for the triumph of truth. All this power, he draws from his life of prayer in Spirit and truth, emboldened by Jesus’ promise of victory: “I solemnly assure you, the man who has faith in me will do the works I do, and greater far than these. Why? Because I go to the Father, and whatever you ask in my name I will do.” (John 14: 12-4) And so he asks at all times of the day, as his prayer claims all its moments, as the act of worship moves beyond the hours set aside for it, as there is no stopping the Spirit of the Almighty from continuously interceding on his behalf, nor has he the power to cease from offering adoration, praise and thanksgiving to the God who created, redeemed and sanctified him. The Spirit opens up vistas, showing his favored status as the child of God, born not by man’s will but by divine choice, persisting not by the mercy of his fellowmen but the overflowing grace from heaven as Jesus said: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” As such, blessings fall on his lap even without asking, for he cannot anticipate the realities that the unforeseeable tomorrow brings, as only the Father knows his future needs and, on this subject, I am speaking from experience. At one time, I received a sizeable resource, which I did not pray for and so my response was to ponder this in my heart, as the preeminent question was— “What is this for?” Barely two months had passed, and I got the answer. True enough, I would need this amount. My Father in heaven knows my needs even before they arise!

“Rising early the next morning, Jesus went off to a lonely place in the desert; there he was absorbed in prayer.” (Mark 1: 35) Worshipping in Spirit requires a conducive setting which explains why Jesus went to deserted places when communing with his Father. Shielded from prying eyes, unhampered by religious conventions, undisturbed by movements of bodies, stripped of any motive other than to offer a fitting worship acceptable to God, the soul in union with the Spirit aims to take flight to the One who dwells in the unapproachable light and there remains as a child in the bosom of the Father. Whether the spiritual experience comes with vision like the one recounted by Paul in 2Corinthians 12: 1- 4 and/or a deep sense of euphoria or rapture like the experience of Saint Teresa of Avila, is not the only validation of its authenticity, but the awareness of peace and wellbeing, during and after worship is. It is  grace given in degrees that rests solely on the Giver but even on the minimal level, the disciple should be grateful for the grace of worship, as to commune with God, prompted by the Holy Spirit, is only reserved for those who have been adopted as children of the Most-High, allowing this most sublime flight of the soul to Him. At this height that goes beyond the universe of matter, words cease to matter, as worship is spirit to spirit communion that no mortal language can hope to capture, or its essence expressed. In this solitary space held in silence, the heart moves in unison with the truth that gave it life. This does not mean that crowded areas are disqualified as places of prayer of this type, as all that is required is to close the window of the soul to the outside world and there in secret, enters into a rendezvous with God but only if stillness of being and freedom from sensory distractions can be attained. A quiet nook in a park, a lunchbreak from work, a passenger seat on any form of transport, the waiting time between appointments no matter how brief, or even when doing menial jobs that need no intellectual inputs are invitations to break away from the confines of the temporal, and soar even briefly to the heavenly Father who ceaselessly waits for his sons to make contact. Love arrows from the created to the Creator, powered by the Spirit, is the essence of worshipping in Spirit and in truth. Like all endeavors, there is the essential first step to worshipping in Spirit, which is house cleaning. Sin is the barrier to worship which can only be removed by repentance. Thus, the examination of conscience is a must do and dead work must be exposed to the healing power of grace. It is imperative that the act of contrition be made before liftoff, as sin weighs down the disciple, mooring him to the ground from where he was taken. No one in a state of sin, even venial transgressions, can raise his spirit to heaven, let alone commune with God. If the sin is of the mortal kind, then the sacrament of reconciliation must be sought first. If he does not, then he has effectively sealed his fate by choice, as anyone in a state of sin will not seek prayer. Sin waters down the passion for God, more so with mortal sin, as this state of separation from grace will force the person to seek the cover of darkness, afraid that the light of truth will reveal the secrets of his heart. If a sinner would choose to pray without first seeking forgiveness, it is surely done for personal benefit, as the act of praying, strategically displayed for the consumption of others, is an act of trickery that can shield him from public scrutiny, thus becoming a hypocrite for fear of the consequence of his mortal transgressions. Beginners should not be disheartened in the face of the many difficulties that come with the prayer of quiet because all those who have reached spiritual maturity started as beginners, as there is no other place to start but the herculean effort to discipline the soul. The reality is that the person is one, with natural and supernatural entities integrated in one being-- the lower component, which is the mortal body and the higher one which is the soul. Thus, the need to close the windows of the lower part, which are the body’s sensual faculties like sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell, as they are hindrances to this type of prayer. This quieting-down process takes time, and a mantra repeated over and over again will be an effective tool in preparing the soul for communion with the Supreme Being. An example of a mantra is the Jesus prayer, that is, the Most Holy Name of Jesus said deliberately and prayerfully, over and over again until the senses quiet down. The hindrance to this type of prayer does not end with the negation of the senses. The intellect once deprived of the information actively collected by senses will start to feed on its stored sensual delights in its memory vault or let lose the imagination to procure pleasures in a flight of fancy. If the Jesus prayer is not enough in quieting down the intellect, then meditation on the passion, death, and resurrection of Our Lord is an effective means. It is noteworthy that the flesh will not give up easily without putting up a fight because the experience of complete silence, necessary in the prayer of quiet, is in direct opposition to its mode of existence which is interaction with the world, based solely on its needs and desires. The morsels of gratification do not end with natural food, as there is also the spiritual kind. The battle to win the upper hand on this front starts with the acceptance that prayer is an act of self-denial, done for the love of God, as soul strives to strip itself of anything that can weigh it down. The important thing is to achieve lightness of being by reminding oneself that he is nothing and that God is everything, that all powers rest on the One who commands him to pray, as his hands are empty of treasures both natural and spiritual, and that this sacred act of worship is made worthy, not by him nor his desire no matter how holy, but by the Holy Spirit. It is as Jesus said: “When you have done all you have been commanded to do, say, ‘Weare useless servants. We have done no more than our duty.’” (Luke 17: 10) Man is on the receiving end of grace, which allows him to do God’s commandment inclusive of praying in Spirit and truth. Yet, it is good to remember that God is always by his side, assisting his every effort to take this spiritual flight to him, feeble as it may seem especially for novices. Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Romans: “If God is for us, who can be against us? Is it possible that he who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides?” (Romans 8: 31- 32) Last advice: Do not give up when the road is rough as perseverance is always rewarded in the end, as the roughness of the way to Him is a mere test of the disciple’s desire to pray. Heedless of difficulties especially when prayer seems to be unfruitful, the Christian soldier marches on, as the victory that Our Lord Jesus Christ won on the cross is waiting to be claimed by those who are steadfast in their prayer life, for unknown to the worshipper, the Paraclete never ceases in his work on behalf of those who pray even with the perceived absence of consolation. It is a common temptation to go easy on prayer when aridity comes, when the soul seems to have dried up, with no desire left to engage in prayer. In such instance which comes to all, the effort must be redoubled, as slacken arms and tired knees if go uncheck, can lead any disciple to stormy seas with the distinct possibility of crushing on rocks, as prayer is the anchor of life offered to God, as it is the lifeline of grace that gives constancy to the strivings of the heart to please God, the mildness of temperament even when the plate is full of bitter herbs, and the fortitude to remain faithful to one’s calling despite the lack of clarity on the way forward. Prayer is life, as life is a prayer, as it is the surety of victory for the child of God. A note of caution about prayer, especially the formal type, must be stated. It is susceptible to a common trait of humans, which is moving the lips but without the ascent of the heart, reducing this type of prayer to a mere ritual— worshipping sans Spirit, external piety but without passion for God, a litany of words that causes the movement of the buccal muscles, but the spirit remains grounded, unable to soar to the heights of heaven, as it is lip service and not the proclamation of the truth. Jesus condemned this

hypocrisy when he said: “This people pays me lip service but their heart is far from me.” (Matthew 15: 8) In this sense, the prayer of quiet is superior, for it cannot be faked because the requirements that allow it to happen cannot be attained perfidiously. No one can withstand silence, solitude and stillness of being if there is no power granted to the soul, as these three requisites in themselves are the action of grace, paving the way for the worshipper to enter the mystery that no eyes can see, that no ears can hear, and what awaits those who love Him. On the other hand, if the worshipper is afflicted with the inability to pray, lip service is not the answer, as this act of dishonesty offends Our Lord. If the heart remains dry for an extended period, he should do meditation to soften its soil thus making it receptive to the grace of prayer. This is a tried and tested approach, as this is enshrined in the Catholic’s most common devotional prayer. Meditating on the passion, death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the essential part of praying the Holy Rosary, as the formal prayers, namely the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be, are said in conjunction with the meditation of Scriptural passages that recount Our Messiah’s salvific act. Another way to help induce prayer is the recollection of the many graces that have been heaped on him through the years, especially those times when trials and hardship were his lot. On the other hand, if the hindrance lies in the inability to achieve stillness of being, primarily because the mind is preoccupied with mundane concerns, the worshipper can employ a mantra, meaning a word or phrase said repetitively. Silence is ineffective in quieting a restless mind, but a mantra said over and over again can displace its concerns, as the mantra represents an idea that is discharged into the stronghold of the intellect, toward one end and that is to subdue it, as its input is unnecessary to the present undertaking. Prayer is not an intellectual discourse unless one is meditating, which is only a prelude to prayer. For those who regularly suffer from this form of distraction, a thorough examination of life is necessary. It is likely that the difficulty of quieting the mind is the offshoot of an imbalanced life where work takes precedence over everything, consuming the greater part of the day, leaving little time for the essentials of life in the spirit. And when he does manage to lock his door to pray, he remains a busy body, not physically but mentally, replaying the affairs of the day that just passed and/or stepping into the future for the commitments that tomorrow brings. If this is where one is, no mantra can help him to achieve stillness, as his problem lies in his heart that speaks boldly amid silence and solitude, as it cannot lie as to where its true devotion lies. If this is the case, the blessing needed is the grace of conversion. Yet, Jesus has a warning to those whose passion for God had cooled off, as he likened this to salt gone flat that serves no function other than be thrown out. Prayer keeps the heart burning with love for God, as this conveniently available miracle renews and invigorates the spirit to continue the odyssey of love from God’s heart to his human likeness by doing his will on earth and so return to its source, completing the cycle of love.

Like all other activities, prayer requires energy. One cannot pray if one’s energy level is already depleted, thus making the requisites of prayer, which are silence, solitude and stillness of being, a conducive atmosphere to rest if not sleep. The body cannot be asked to do more than its share of work, as when this limit has been reached, the body needs to rest for it to mend and recover its energy. Thus, the problem lies not with the limited hours of the day but with the set of priorities that one has. For the authentic disciple, prayer takes center stage which is not possible for one who is constantly on the move, as his primary subscription is to the adage— activity denotes purpose. Anyone who falls under this category will find prayer to be the most difficult of man’s many activities, as it happens in the realm of the spirit, where activity finds no purpose, as to be in a state of prayer is grace, which no amount work can achieve, for in truth, it is God, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity in union with the soul, who is at work, thus no one can claim ownership of prayer, for it is the blessing that bestows on the disciple the foretaste of the joys of heaven, fulfilling despite its limited degree, but a window nonetheless to infinite fullness that awaits in the eternal realm, which can only be experienced wholly and perfectly when the soul is disencumbered by mortality. At the multiplication scene in Matthew 14: 16-24, Jesus prayed before the miracle and afterward “he went up on the mountain by himself to pray, remaining there alone as evening drew on.” He showed by his example the need for prayer. At the start of work by asking the Father’s blessing for its completion and afterward, to commune with Him in praise and thanksgiving for its successful conclusion.

Men are commanded to follow in the Shepherd’s footsteps most especially those who have been consecrated to the service of the Church because Satan is very active in the community of the faithful, as his prime desire is to thwart the work of the Spirit, just as he tried to do this with its Founder when he was here on earth. It will be a serious negation of work for priests and religious to go lax on prayer, as it is their source of strength which gives success to any endeavor, more so as they are not fighting physical nemesis but a very intelligent and powerful supernatural fiend, who will throw on their feet anything from his bag of tricks just to dissuade them from their life of consecration. This primary temptation can be defeated in prayer, as the devil is most afraid of those whose prayer life is strong. No forces on earth or under the earth can withstand the power of prayer, as it is the Spirit of the Almighty whom they are battling with. Thus, when scandals arise in the Church, it simply means that there were serious lapses in the prayer life of either priest or religious, as defeat is not possible for one who prays, not sparingly but constantly. For the disciple to be armed to max at all times of the day, how much time should be spent in prayer? To begin with, prayer is not a one-act wonder, as for it to bear fruit, it must be practiced daily and frequently during the day. Jesus’ words to the sleeping disciples in the garden of Gethsemani provided the minimum requirement: “So you could not stay awake with me for even an hour? Be on guard, and pray that you may not undergo the test.” (Matthew 26: 40-1) An hour is the least but the example that Jesus showed at the multiplication scene is even better, as he prayed before and after. In the same way, the disciple should pray at the start of the day and at its conclusion; at the start, to pray for the blessings needed for the day’s work and at night, the prayer of praise and thanksgiving for the many blessings received. An hour per session is the minimum time required, especially with the prayer of quiet, for it takes time to quiet down the mind. When it is time to pray, Jesus showed the way: “Whenever you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in private.” (Matthew 6: 6) With the sign of the cross, the miracle starts to happen, as the disciple invokes the Father to grant the grace of prayer, the Son to lead the way to the Father as only he knows the way and the Holy Spirit to sanctify the act of worship that makes it acceptable to God and to do what he does best—to intercede for the needs of the worshipper. This is the road to perfection that Jesus invites his follower to take and to pray for. “In a word, you must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 48) Faithfulness to prayer will gain for the disciple the fruits of the spirit. Paul in the same Epistle to the Galatians enumerated these: “the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness and chastity.” [Galatians 5: 22- 23] The disciple communing with the Father in the footsteps of Jesus, and assisted by the Holy Spirit in a purely private act is his way of renewing his spirit or call it the charging of batteries so as to return to battle refreshed, renewed, strengthened and fully armed. It is a fight to the finish with the truth uphold at all costs. Jesus said, “I gave them your word, and the world has hated them for it; they do not belong to the world, any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to guard them from the evil one. They are not of the world, any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them by means of truth--‘Your word is truth.’” [John 17: 14- 17] This is the Christian’s calling and his life’s mission—to live in the truth and to fight for its triumph, which is an impossible task without prayer, more so as this radical vocation will earn hatred for the disciple. To live is to fight and to fight means to be armed always with prayer. And thus, every day must begin and end with prayer, as each day is a battle to be won for the truth, which is assaulted from all sides, most notably at the present. Victory is an illusion for those who do not pray, for it is like going to battle armed with guns without bullets. If a Christian is faithful to prayer, he will soon discover that prayer is gradually becoming the rhythm of his life and like in the beads of the Rosary, prayer links all its moments in one act of worship. It flows throughout the day in an unceasing wave of gratitude to God, as he feels gently caressed by his grace like an early morning sunbeam after a chilly night or gentle breeze on a hot summer’s day. His dialogue with God is surprisingly animated as he goes through the day’s unfolding events, pleasant or unpleasant, punctuated at times with humor, as laughter comes easy now that the soul recognizes its powerlessness, a far cry from a time when the unbending pride insinuated illusions of power. His life in the Spirit instills a keen awareness of actions, as each is a deliberate act, prompted by the prayerful discernment of what pleases or displeases God, as knee-jerk responses were the things of the past. In this state of spiritual maturity, any act, no matter how small or insignificant, is empowered to go beyond time, hidden from the eyes of men and known to God alone, as the sanctifying grace brings it to the foot of God’s throne as an endless stream of worship, for his prayer has become the thread that weaves in and out through the day, touching all aspects of life including his engagement in the market-place, for always there are intervals where silence and stillness of being offer refuge from the daily grind of living. The disciple is aware of his power to transcend the moment and lift up his spirit to heaven in prayer, foiling any attempt by natural forces to pin him down and exact all manner of conformity demanded by the mundane task. While waiting for an appointment, sitting on a bus or train on the way to work, walking from one geographical point to another or doing mechanical tasks that do not require much intellectual inputs-- these are moments of encounter with Jesus, as His Most Holy Name repeated over and over is  like a crescendo of air moving in and out, sustaining the spirit. These many places of encounter with the Word is an oasis in the desert of Time, the necessary respite for any Christian who has the task of fulfilling God’s command in this valley of tears but all the while earnestly desiring to come home to his heavenly dwelling prepared by Jesus. Prayer is the bridge between time and eternity, as it is the strongest of connection between the creature and the Creator-God whom he worships and adores. It is also the weapon of choice against the lies of the devil, which evaporate when the dazzling light of truth shines on it, as this power over falsehood reaches its maximum potential by those who have made prayer as the immovable commitment to the life of faithfulness to the truth, as to worship in Spirit is to live in the truth. Paul wrote in his Epistles to the Ephesians: “Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. Our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in regions above.” [Ephesians 6: 10- 12] Secured in the Truth by the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Christian in prayer winnows the grain of truth from the chaff, even those whose calling card denotes a Christian, as the name does necessarily translates to an authentic follower of Jesus. John in his First Epistle wrote: “Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but put the spirits to a test to see if they belong to God, because many false prophets have appeared in the world.” [1 John 4: 1] Worshipping in Spirit returns to the wellspring of all truth—Jesus, the crucified God who triumphed over death by his resurrection, as this is the power of the believer over sin and death. Paul wrote: “if Christ was not raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins, and those who have fallen asleep in Christ are the deadest of the dead. If our hopes in Christ are limited to this life only, we are the most pitiable of men.” (1Corinthian 15: 17-9) Yet, Jesus lives and now sits at the right of power, mediating between God and man, giving victory to all who have put their faith in Him, just as he had said, “I came that they might have life and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” [John 10: 10- 11]] Worshipping in Spirit and truth is the proclamation of the all-encompassing truth that all the prophets sent by God through the ages failed to convey, as Scripture has it: “Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” [John 3: 16] Only the Incarnation of the Son could give truism to this declaration, as God himself had to define this love, for man to understand its depth. Yet, a Christian who prays in Spirit and truth has the power to fathom God’s all-embracing love, as his created spirit in unity with the Spirit of the Almighty celebrates this love as a living reality that touches all aspects of life, as the act of worship in Spirit and truth is the ultimate distillation of the Gospel of Life, revealed by Christ Jesus, as to live in Spirit and truth is love divinely and thus, enabling him to pray with great efficacy the intercession for sinners as the Savior did on the cross: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.” [Luke 23: 34] This prayer more than any other continues the miracle that Jesus won on the cross for mankind, as this is the premier prayer of supplication for the salvation of the world, which applies to all including unbelievers and enemies of the faith. Love makes no distinction, as everyone is created in the image and likeness of the Creator-God; just as the horror that awaits in the abyss of nothingness for the accursed makes all worshippers in Spirit and truth to redouble their efforts for the salvation of souls before final judgment is rendered to all creatures from dust with free will. This act pleases the heavenly Father exceedingly for it is the redemption of man that caused him to send his Son into the world. Worshipping in Spirit and truth, began by Abel and persisting to the last authentic disciple at the end of time, is the affirmation that the grace of redemption is continuously being poured on mankind, as it is the promise of victory for those who follow faithfully in the footsteps of Jesus. Amen.