![\"Ralphie](\"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/christmas_story_ralphie.jpg\")
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Being a parent or grandparent can be really strange.
\nAnd one of the strangest things about it
\nis when the kids start to imitate you.
\nAt first its kind of funny and cute,
\nthe way you make faces at them
\nand they try to make faces back.
\nThey dress up as mommy or daddy,
\npretending to do grown up things.
\nBut it\u2019s not so funny when they start imitating your bad habits
\nor repeating certain words.<\/p>\n
As they get older they begin to admire other people
\nand try to imitate them.
\nAnd it continues even into adulthood.
\nWe read biographies from business and political leaders
\ntrying to discover the habits and practices that make them so successful,
\nand we try to imitate them.<\/p>\n
Well that\u2019s what\u2019s happening in today\u2019s gospel reading.
\nJesus has gathered around him a group of disciples.
\nWe recall that the word disciple means \u201clearner.\u201d
\nThese are all learners.
\nThese people who are following Jesus
\nare trying to learn what he has to teach,
\ntrying to learn how to live life the way he does.
\nThey must have been watching him all the time,
\nthe way a child watches a parent:
\nwatching him heal people,
\nwatching him speak to the crowds,
\nwatching him spending time with outcasts,
\nand, today, watching him pray.<\/p>\n
And of all the things they see Jesus do,
\nthe one thing they ask about is prayer.
\nWe don\u2019t hear the disciples say,
\n\u201cLord, teach us to heal,\u201d
\nor \u201cLord, teach us to speak to the crowds.\u201d
\nNow, maybe they did ask Jesus those things,
\nbut Luke only records this one key request:
\n\u201cLord, teach us to pray.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus was praying in a certain place,<\/em> Luke records more instances of Jesus praying And the disciples see this. The first disciples recognize this, And so in today\u2019s gospel, That\u2019s why they ask Jesus. So Jesus tells the parable of the man who needs three loaves, Jesus is clear that we have to persistent with our prayer, It\u2019s a little like Ralphie in the movie A Christmas Story<\/em>. He leaves the BB gun catalog for his parents to see, Ralphie\u2019s child-like persistence Through our perseverance, When we persevere in prayer To get a little more practical, It might even be helpful to get a little notebook like this, Whether you write them on paper or keep them electronically, The second section is for all those family and friends Finally, A small notebook like this or a note on a smartphone A larger notebook or journal could even be used in a home If our children are going to imitate us, Prayer is only one dimension of being a disciple of Christ, If something is important enough to pray for once,
\nand when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him,<\/em>
\n\u201cLord, teach us to pray\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\nthan any other gospel writer.
\nJesus prays before his baptism,
\nhe prays before the Transfiguration,
\nhe prays after the seventy disciples return from their mission;
\nJesus prays all the time.<\/p>\n
\nThey notice that prayer is an essential part of Jesus\u2019 life,
\nand that if they want to follow Jesus,
\nif they want to be like Jesus,
\nif they want to imitate Jesus,
\nthen they must pray.
\nPrayer is essential
\nto being a disciple of Christ.
\nIt\u2019s non-negotiable.
\nTo be a Christian means to be one who prays,
\nbecause that\u2019s what Jesus did.<\/p>\n
\nand so do we.
\nWe understand that prayer is non-negotiable
\nin living the Christian life.<\/p>\n
\nthe disciples see Jesus at prayer
\nand they ask him to teach them to pray.
\nBecause prayer isn\u2019t something you can learn by observing.
\nYou can watch the way a person looks at prayer,
\nthe way they hold their hands,
\nor the way they stand, sit or kneel,
\nbut you can\u2019t really know what\u2019s going on inside a person\u2019s mind or soul
\nwhen they\u2019re at prayer.<\/p>\n
\nThey know how to pray as Jews,
\nthey know how John the Baptist taught his disciples,
\nbut they want to know from Jesus.<\/p>\n
\nand ends by saying,
\n\u201cI tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
\nbecause of their friendship,
\nhe will get up to give him whatever he needs
\nbecause of his persistence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nand keep asking until our prayer is answered.<\/p>\n
\nAll Ralphie wants for Christmas is an “official Red Ryder,
\ncarbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle,
\nwith a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time.”
\nIn other words, he wants a BB gun.
\nHe tells his mom, and she says, \u201cYou\u2019ll shoot your eye out.\u201d
\nHe writes an essay about it at school, and his teacher says,
\n\u201cYou\u2019ll shoot your eye out.\u201d
\nBut little Ralphie is persistent.<\/p>\n
\nhe even tells Santa, who responds,
\n\u201cYou\u2019ll shoot your eye out.\u201d
\nEven though the answer seems to be no,
\nhe keeps up his persistence.
\nIf you\u2019ve seen the movie you know whether or not his prayer is answered.
\nIf you haven\u2019t seen the movie enjoy a little Christmas in July
\nand watch it when you get the chance.<\/p>\n
\nis what we need to have in prayer.
\nIf something is important enough to pray for once,
\nit\u2019s important enough to pray for again and again.<\/p>\n
\nthe need for which we are praying takes root in our heart
\nand has the ability to transform us.
\nBy praying for the same need every day
\nmaybe we\u2019ll discover the prayer behind the prayer.
\nSo many times the needs we ask for are surface needs
\nthat conceal a deeper desire.
\nPersevering in prayer may open our hearts up
\nand reveal what it is we really need.
\nOr maybe over time we\u2019ll discover
\nthat the need really isn\u2019t as important as we thought,
\nor that we can let it go.<\/p>\n
\nthe desires of our hearts are transformed
\nand conformed to God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n
\none simple way to help us persevere in prayer
\nis to write our prayers down on paper and read them each day.
\nWriting prayers down gives them concrete form
\nand helps us articulate our real needs.<\/p>\n
\nsomething small enough to fit in a pocket or purse during the day
\nbut durable enough to last a while.
\nI used this particular one for about six years
\nbefore switching to a password-protected note on my phone.<\/p>\n
\nI found it helpful to divide the prayer list into three sections:
\nFirst, are the perpetual prayers.
\nThese are needs to be prayed for all the time, without end.
\nFor instance, here is where you would list each member of your family.
\nThis is also the place to list our Bishop and the Pope,
\nyour fellow parishioners here at St. Peter,
\nyour high school or college classmates,
\nor any other needs that you wish to pray for for the rest of your life.<\/p>\n
\nwho have died.
\nWe know that praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy,
\nand listing the names of our deceased loved ones
\nhelps us to persevere in praying for them.<\/p>\n
\nthe third section could be for those immediate needs we have,
\nor those that people have asked you to pray for.
\nWhen you meet someone who tells you they need prayers,
\nor when you get a phone call, a text, an email,
\nor maybe when you happen across something in the newspaper
\nor on the news,
\nthis is where you could write it down.
\nWhen you know someone looking for a job,
\nor when someone is in a difficult relationship,
\nor if a friend or family member is struggling with an illness,
\nwriting their need down will help you remember to pray for it each day.<\/p>\n
\ncan help us persevere in praying for the specific needs we have.
\nYou can even record the date when your prayer was answered.
\nAs the years go by, this notebook becomes like a little spiritual journal.<\/p>\n
\nto create a family book of intentions, similar to our parish book.
\nIn fact, a family could take the parish bulletin home
\nand each week cut out the section titled \u201cRemember to pray for,\u201d
\nand slip it inside the notebook.
\nIt could have those same three sections:
\nperpetual prayers, prayers for those who have died, and immediate needs.
\nThe family book of intentions could be brought out at dinner time
\nor just before bedtime, or even first thing in the morning over breakfast.
\nFamily members could take turns reading the different needs
\nand placing them before God.<\/p>\n
\nthen what better habit for them to imitate
\nthan praying daily for the needs of others?<\/p>\n
\nbut it\u2019s an essential dimension.
\nAs disciples of Christ,
\nJesus calls us to take up our crosses daily,
\nto gather in worship with a community of faith,
\nto care for the poor and vulnerable,
\nand to pray.<\/p>\n
\nit\u2019s important enough to pray for again and again.
\nMay God give us the faith and strength
\nto persevere in prayer.<\/p>\n