The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 334: How Jesus Prayed

Episode Date: November 30, 2023

We look at how Jesus prays in this section of the Catechism. It is revealed how Jesus learned to pray, the frequency of his prayers, and where he prayed. Jesus brought his needs to the Father including his last words and final “loud cry”. Through his example of filial prayer, we are able to pray to the Father as sons and daughters. We can ask him for anything as all of our thoughts, desires, troubles, fears, and needs are already with the Lord. “The Father accepts them and, beyond all hope, answers them by raising his Son.” Today’s readings are paragraphs 2598-2606. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast. Where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in Scripture and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we will read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our Heavenly Home. This is day 334. Church, discovering our identity and God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is day 334.

We are reading paragraphs 2598 to 2606, as always amusing the ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the foundations of faith approach, but you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in a year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash cyy, and you can click follow or subscribe and your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications because today is day 34 reading paragraphs. As I said, 2598 to 2606, yesterday we talked about the ways in which we can pray. We talked about in the nugget day about the Psalms.

Hopefully that was good for you. I love the Psalms. Incredible. Now today we're taking the next step. The next step is in the fullness of time. Here is Jesus. And we're looking at today step. The next step is in the fullness of time, here is Jesus. And we're looking at today at how Jesus prays.

Tomorrow, we're looking at how Jesus teaches us how to pray. But today, we're going to go through and walk through these paragraphs that highlight and kind of illuminate that not kind of highlight and illuminate the way that Jesus prays, which is just remarkable that Jesus learned how to pray as a human being, with a human heart and a human intellect, he that Jesus learned how to pray as a human being, with a human heart and a human intellect, he had to learn how to pray. He has a filial prayer to his father,

because he is the son that Jesus prays before massive moments of his mission, before the size of moments of his mission, who recognize that Jesus consistently prays, that Jesus he prays in solitude, that he intercedes on our behalf, that Jesus is prayer at the very heart of it, is this gigantic yes to the Father. And so when we see Jesus make these petitions, when we see Jesus consistently go back to prayer, when we see Jesus enter into solitude, and when we see Jesus in this gigantic yes to the Father, we recognize, as we're going to recognize tomorrow, how it is that Jesus in the fullness of time reveals to us how we are called to pray and how we are called to be in relationship with the Father. As adopted sons and daughters, we too can pray like the eternal Son of the Father. And so we pray now in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Father in heaven give you praise. Thank you so much. We ask you to please help us to pray like Jesus. Help us to see how Jesus prays to watch out how he prays to listen to him in his prayer. And the letter of hearts grow in contemplation of your goodness. Letter of hearts grow in contemplation of your faithfulness of your fatherly love for each and every one of us, so that we can grow in trust, so that we can grow in trust, so that we can grow in our faithfulness, so that we, in all moments, can say yes, Father,

to you and to your will. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It is day 334. We are reading paragraphs 2598 to 2606. Article 2. In the fullness of time.

The drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the word who became flesh and dwells among us. To seek to understand his prayer through what his witnesses proclaimed to us in the gospel is to approach the Holy Lord Jesus as Moses approached the burning bush. First, to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear how he teaches us to pray in order to know how he hears our prayer. Jesus prays. The Son of God, who became the Son of the Virgin, also learned to pray according to his human heart. He learns the formulas of prayer from his mother, who kept in her heart and

meditated upon all the great things done by the Almighty. He learns to pray in the words and rhythms of the prayer of his people in the synagogue at Nazareth and the temple at Jerusalem. But his prayer springs from an otherwise secret source, as he intimates at the age of 12, saying, I must be in my father's house. Here, the newness of prayer in the fullness of time begins to be revealed, his filial prayer, which the Father awaits from his children, is finally going to be lived out by the only Son in his humanity with and for men. The Gospel, according to St. Luke, emphasizes the action of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of prayer in Christ's ministry.

Jesus prays before the decisive moments of his mission, before his Father's witness to him during his baptism and transfiguration, and before his own fulfillment of the father's plan of love by his passion. He also prays before the decisive moments involving the mission of his apostles, and his election and call of the Twelve, before Peter's confession of him as the Christ of God, and again, that the faith of the chief of the apostles may not fail when tempted. Jesus is prayer before the events of salvation that the Father has asked him to fulfill is a humble and trusting commitment of his human will to the loving will of the Father. He was praying in a certain place, and when he had ceased,

one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray. In seeing the Master at prayer, the disciple of Christ also wants to pray. By contemplating and hearing the Son, the Master of Prayer, the children learn to pray to the Father. Jesus often draws a part to pray in solitude, on a mountain, preferably at night. He includes all men in his prayer, for he has taken on humanity in his incarnation, and he offers them to the Father when he offers himself. Jesus, the Word who has become flesh, shares by His human prayer in all that His brethren experience. He sympathizes with their weaknesses in order

to free them. It was for this that the Father sent Him. His words and works are the visible manifestation of His prayer and secret. The evangelists have preserved two more explicit prayers offered by Christ during His public ministry. Each begins with thanksgiving. In the first, Jesus confesses the Father, acknowledges, and blesses him because he has hidden the mysteries of the kingdom from those who think themselves learned, and has revealed them to infants, the poor of the Beatitudes. His exclamation, yes, Father, expresses the depth of his heart. His adherence to the Father's good pleasure echoing his mother's fiat at the depth of his heart, his adherence to the Father's good pleasure echoing his mother's fiat at the time of his conception and prefiguring what he will say to the Father

in his agony. The whole prayer of Jesus is contained in this loving adherence of his human heart to the mystery of the will of the Father. The second prayer, before the raising of Lazarus, is recorded by St. John. Thanksgiving precedes the event. Jesus prayed, Father, I thank you for having heard me, which implies that the Father always hears His petitions. Jesus immediately adds, I know that you always hear me, which implies that Jesus on his part

constantly made such petitions. Jesus' prayer characterized by Thanksgiving reveals to us how to ask. Before the gift is given, Jesus commits Himself to the one who in giving gives Himself. The giver is more precious than the gift. He is the treasure. In Him, abides His Son's heart. The gift is given as well. The priestly prayer of Jesus holds a unique place in the economy of salvation. In meditation on it, we'll conclude section one. It reveals the ever-present prayer of our high priest,

and at the same time, contains what he teaches us about our prayer to our father, which will be developed in section two. When the hour had come for him to fulfill the father's plan of love, Jesus allows a glimpse of the boundless depth of his filial prayer, not only before he freely delivered himself up, Abba, not my will but yours.

But even in his last words on the cross, where prayer and the gift of self are but one, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Woman, behold your Son, behold your Son. Behold your mother. I thirst. My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me? It is finished.

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit, until the loud cry as he expires, giving up his spirit. All the troubles, for all time of humanity enslaved by sin and death, all the petitions and intercessions of salvation history are summed up in this cry of the incarnate Word. Here, the Father accepts them, and beyond all hope answers them by raising His Son. Thus is fulfilled and brought to completion the drama of prayer in the economy of creation and salvation. The Psalter gives us the key to prayer in Christ.

In the today of the resurrection, the Father says, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession." The letter to the Hebrews expresses in dramatic terms how the prayer of Jesus accomplished the victory of salvation. It reads,

In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. In being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Alright, there we have it, paragraphs 2598-2606. He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Alright, there we have it, paragraphs 2598 to 2606. This is just, again, remarkable. Let's go back to paragraph 2598, the beginning paragraph of today. It says,

The drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the word who became flesh and dwells among us. Now, we're also going to say in paragraph 2606, at the very last paragraph of today, that the drama of prayer in some ways is completely summed up in one cry. We're going to come back to that in a second, but this first line, the drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the world who became flesh and dolls among us. What does that mean?

What means when we see Jesus pray, praying the gamut, right? Yes, his filial prayer, right? His prayer as a son, trusting in his father from a young age. And when we have that really clearly here in paragraph 2599, where it talks about when Jesus was 12 years old, and he stays behind in Jerusalem in the temple, and his parents after three days find him. And he says, I must be in my father's house.

And we hear it says here, here, the newness of prayer in the fullness of time begins to be revealed. His filial prayer, which the father awaits from his children, is finally going to be lived out by the only son in his humanity within for all men. I love this, it's remarkable.

Because remember, because of the power of the Holy Spirit, we get to pray as God's sons and daughters, because the Holy Spirit given to us and baptism and through faith, we become a new creation, we become God's adopted children. And the newness of prayer in the fullness of time begins to be revealed in Jesus, revealed to us, because his failure prayer, I must be in my father's house.

It's finally going to be lived out by the only son in his humanity. This is remarkable. From all eternity, obviously, the son and the father who are co-eternal, our co-equally God, that's always been lived out. But the sonship, Christ's sonship in his humanity comes at one moment in time. And we get to see this. So I love this. It's remarkable. Again, 2598, the first paragraph up today, the drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the world who became flesh and dwells among us. So this first notion of we get to pray as God's children. Now, bear gaff 2598 further states, to seek to understand

his prayer, Jesus' prayer, through what his witnesses proclaimed to us in the gospel, is to approach the Holy Lord Jesus as Moses approached the burning bush. That's amazing. So, what does that mean? Well, first, to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear how he teaches us how to pray in order to know how he hears our prayer. And so this is what we're called to. We're called to do. We're called to watch Jesus pray. Because we're going to be drawn into this.

So not just watch, but contemplate, right? That sense of, here's Moses, sing the burning bush, and he gazes upon it. And then he's drawn towards it. He's invited to come to approach God's presence. So what we're called to do is also to gaze upon the Lord to watch how he prays. And so paragraph 2599, we already said that as he prays as a son, 2600 highlights the fact that Jesus prays before decisive moments of his mission. And this is pretty important for us.

If Jesus prays before decisive moments of his mission, and also when he prays before decisive moments of His mission, and also when He prays before decisive moments of the apostles' mission, this is a reminder for us. Okay, before big moments, why not pray? I mean, how often? We pray before meals, hopefully we pray before meals. Maybe you pray at the beginning of the day, maybe at the end of the day, all those things are very, very good. But there's something about marking the moment. When you know there's something significant about to happen, I guess that's probably part of what is so such a blessing

about one's morning prayers is, it's okay, God, I literally, I have no idea. In some ways maybe Jesus knew what was about to happen, especially when he chose the 12 apostles, he knew that he was about to do that. But we don't always know, is this gonna be a big day? Or is this gonna be kind of a run of the mill day? Is this gonna be a decisive big day? Or is this going to be kind of a run of the mill day?

Is this going to be a decisive moment today? Or is this going to be just kind of a Tuesday? I wonder if a day it is. The question we get to ask is not, is it going to be a decisive day, a decisive moment, or just kind of your ordinary day, ordinary moments? But am I going to pray as I walk into this day? Just like Jesus would pray before decisive moments. I'm not going to pray as I walk into this day. Just like Jesus would pray before it's a size of moments.

Are I gonna pray? Now, I was on to talk about how Jesus in 26.02 often draws a part to pray in solitude on a mountain preferably at night. And again, that is a marker for us. Now Jesus obviously lived a very different life than many of us are living. Not many of us listening to this are itinerant preachers

with no family or no spouses, no children. Not many of us listening to this are itinerant preachers with no family or no spouses, no children. Not many of us are that kind of person. Yet Jesus was. And so we get to watch and see what are the essential elements of Jesus' prayer. Well, he pursues solitude, that he goes away by himself in order to turn his heart to the Father. Not that the ever removes his heart from his Father. In fact, we're going to hear about that. That Jesus is always praying. He is constantly before his Father. And each prayer, it says in paragraph 26 or 3,

he says each prayer when Jesus offers two explicit prayers, offered by Christ during his public ministry, paragraph 26 or 3 says, each of those explicit prayers begins with Thanksgiving. That's so important for us to be able to give God praise, let praise go up first, right? Let Judah go up first, let praise and thanksgiving go up. In the first, Jesus confesses the Father, he acknowledges and blesses him because he's hidden the mysteries of the kingdom from those who think themselves learned. And Jesus says this word, yes, Father, right? This exclamation, yes, Father. And that expresses it. I love this, it says, that expresses the depth of his heart, his adherence

to the Father's good pleasure. And that's a remarkable. This yes, Father, if you want to sum up, what was Jesus' constant answer? His constant answer was, yes, Father. This absolute trust and obedience that Jesus has for his Father. In paragraph 26-05, highlights this, it says, when the hour had come for him to fulfill the Father's plan of love, Jesus allows a glimpse of the boundless depth of his filial prayer,

not only before he freely delivered himself up to death, Abba, not my will but yours, but even in his last words on the cross. So when we hear these words, again, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Father, take this cup away from me, yet not my will, but yours. We get a glimpse into the depth of Christ's of Jesus's trust of his Father that here, here is a Son being offered in sacrifice. And yet he's trusting not my will, but yours. But also the last words on the cross. I love this that phrase, where prayer and the gift of self are one.

Isn't that amazing? Where prayer and the gift of self are exactly the same. They're completely aligned. And this is our prayer, right? That how amazing would it be if your prayer and my prayer was directly aligned with your life and my life. Like that, the words we pray are actually the life we live. Amazing. But these last words on the cross reveal the life we live. Amazing. But these last words

on the cross reveal again, we just get the glimpse into these last words of Jesus where he says, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. That's revelatory, right? That reveals something truly. I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise again. They're called the seven last words of Jesus from the cross. Woman, be hold your son, be hold your mother. The words I thirst or the words, my God, your son, be hold your mother, the words I thirst, or the words, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It is finished. And then lastly, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit, every reflection, every time we can contemplate any one of these, you know, seven last words of Jesus, it reveals, again, a glimpse that says,

of the boundless depth of his filial prayer. Now, the last thing it says here is remarkable. And the last thing we'll say today is, he says these words, Father, and to your hands, I commit my spirit, until the quote-unquote, loud cry as he expires, giving up his spirit. paragraph 2606 is so, wow, so profound. It says, all the troubles for all time of humanity enslaved by sin and death, all the petitions and intercessions of salvation history. So, yeah, every prayer, every suffering, every cry, every, all the troubles for all times of humanity enslaved by sin and death, like every, every time anyone ever cried out to God, or even just cried out to the void if they didn't even know God existed. They didn't know if God could hear them all of those troubles Are summed up in this cry of the incarnate word

Have you have you I don't know if you've ever taken a moment to reflect on when it says in scripture They let out a loud cry and gave up his spirit like what what that what that means and gave up his spirit. Like what that means? And here the church is teaching us that that loud cry, what does it mean? It means every tear, every lamentation, every complaint, every trouble, every struggle,

every pain, every suffering, every death, every grief of all humanity for all time are summed up in that cry of the incarnate Word. And not only are they summed up in the cry of the incarnate Word, not only are they summed up in the cry of the Son to the Father, but the next line says, here the Father accepts them. And beyond all hope answers them by raising His Son. This is, this boggle is the mind, this breaks the heart.

How amazing, how amazing is that? To be able to recognize that here is the truth, and truth is in that cry of Jesus. Wordless, right? There's no words, it's just a cry. Every one of your cries, every one of your tears, every of all humanity, for all time, every trouble, is summed up and here the Father accepts them and beyond all hope answers them by raising his son. He just is remarkable.

Incredible. And true, we are prayer today. Your tears today, your broken heart today, is brought to the Father. Well, even through this has already been brought to the Father, in that cry of Jesus the Son. Very remarkable, and the Father's heard, the Father's heard it. He hears it, accepts it, and answers it. And that's the trust we have in the Father.

Tomorrow, tomorrow we're going to let Jesus teach us how to pray. And as we do, we still look at Him, like again Moses contemplating the burning bush, okay, teach me, teach me how to pray. That's we pray all the time. Come only Spirit, teach us how to pray. We do not know how to pray as we ought, but help us to pray like Jesus. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike, I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.