Jesus wants to talk to you…
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS

A lot of people, these days, including priests, talk about a Jesus who is in Heaven, and therefore does not need anything. Don't listen to those who say these things. Remember how much suffering Jesus underwent to redeem the human race. Jesus may not need us per sé, but He loves us dearly, like a father or mother loves their son or daughter, and so He wishes for us to communicate with Him. Jesus wants to talk to you. Let us examine our prayer to Jesus. We pray to God the Father, in the Name of  Jesus. We know Him as the "Son of God, Word of God, Lord, Savior, Lamb of God, King, Beloved Son, Son of the Virgin, Good Shepherd, our Life, our Light, our Hope, our Resurrection, Friend of mankind...." (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC*] 2665).
 
"But the one name that contains everything is the one that the Son of God received in his incarnation: JESUS. The divine name may not be spoken by human lips, but by assuming our humanity the Word of God hands it over to us and we can  invoke it: "Jesus," "YHWH saves." The name "Jesus" contains all: God and man and the whole economy of creation and salvation. To pray "Jesus" is to invoke him and to call him within us. His name is the only one that contains the presence it signifies. Jesus is the Risen One, and whoever invokes the name of Jesus is welcoming the Son of God who loved him and who gave himself up for him" (CCC 2666)
 
"The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and "brings forth fruit with patience." This prayer is possible "at all times" because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus." (CCC 2668 )
 
"No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit."  Every time we begin to pray to Jesus it is the Holy Spirit who draws us on the way of prayer by his prevenient grace. Since he teaches us to pray by recalling Christ, how could we not pray to the Spirit too? That is why the Church invites us to call upon the Holy Spirit every day, especially at the beginning and the end of every important  action." (CCC 2670)
 
Also, "The Holy Spirit, whose anointing permeates our whole being, is the interior Master of Christian prayer. He is the artisan of the living tradition of prayer. To be sure, there are as many paths of prayer as there are persons who pray, but it is the same Spirit acting in all and with all. It is in the communion of the Holy Spirit that Christian prayer is prayer in the Church." (CCC 2672).

That's a little background of how the Catholic Church looks upon prayer, and the above quotations are just the tip of the iceberg as very much more is written about our relationship with Jesus, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, the love between Father and Son, and the love between God and us. I don't know how non-Catholics think about all this, but I can assure you that Jesus in the Trinity loves them too. And, yes, He wants to have a word with all of us. He reaches out, you see, to us... but do we also reach out to Him? That's a question we can all relate to.

The more we communicate with Jesus, the more we pray attentively... the greater the possibility that we hear Him speak to us. This is not something magic nor is it a miracle. He does answer. First he answers our prayers, not always in the way we  expect, but he does answer them. The American Catholic wants everything always instantly, and I suppose a good number of people in other parts of the world do too. We are in an instant age. We push a button and things begin to happen. Well, Jesus cannot be reached with the push of a button. With Jesus we use the old-fashioned way... we pray and pray and pray... we seek to communicate with Him, and if we are  very attentive and very silent, we may hear Him.

Often, as I sit before the keyboard wondering what I am going to write about (I try to add one of these reflections about 2-3 times per month), I am suddenly reminded to do something I procrastinated on... like praying for people I've promised to pray for either by receiving their message by email or by telephone. As I am wrestling with the thought a little, I hear that little soft voice within my head that says: "Pray now, the computer can wait." Is that Jesus talking? It seems  to me, He is talking, or at least through some Angel. Now if I would hear "Pray later," watch out! - so you have to discern what you are listening to. If it's something good, it comes from God. If it's something negative, well Satan may give you a nudge or it could be laziness on our part.  Make no mistake about it, Satan is real. People who erroneously shuffle Satan under the mat are walking in dangerous straights. Always be on guard. Pray to St. Michael the Archangel for protection against Satan.

Praying for others. How do we pray for other peoples' needs? We should first thank and praise God for all He has done for us, and then, in humility, we can ask Him to help other people. And afterwards, do not forget to thank Him for helping us and them. Your prayer will be more effective if you have a habit of spending time with Jesus. Often attend Holy Mass (weekdays, as well as Sundays and Holidays of Obligation). If you cannot go to Holy Mass on weekdays, try finding a Church which has Perpetual Adoration, and sit with Jesus for half an hour or more. Keep him company now, so you may learn to be in His company forever. I should talk, I haven't gone to adoration in quite a while, but at least I can recommend it to others. If you are homebound or you are home for whatever reason, just pray. Prayer is a conversation with God, with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. Some people tell me they don't know how to pray. If this is so, just talk to Jesus as you would talk to your neighbor. It's that easy! Talk to Him conversationally. It doesn't matter whether you like doing so or not, the point is, are you serving God by giving Him the silent treatment? I don't think so.

So as we are making preparations for the second Sunday of Advent (in a couple of days, as I am writing this opus), let's begin again. Upon his death, St. Francis of Assisi said to the friars, "Brothers, let us begin again, for until now we haven't accomplished anything." When you think about that, it's true, particularly as regards our spiritual life. We haven't accomplished much or anything, so Advent is a time to begin anew, to grow as we await His coming this Christmas Day. May you all have a meaningful Advent Season.

God bless you, and be at Peace!

Fred S. Schaeffer, OFS
December 4, 2024 (based on bc189)

(*) CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - Latin text copyright (c)  Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano 1993

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