PRAYING ON YOUR KNEES?
How did Our Lord pray? “And he was withdrawn away from them a stone’s cast; and kneeling down, he prayed,” [Luke 22:41]. Drbo.org (Douay Rheims Bible online). “For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also.” [John 13:15]. How did St. Paul pray? “And when he had said these things, kneeling down, he prayed with them all.’ Acts 20:36. How did the Apostles pray? It was said of St. James and St. Bartholomew that they knelt so much on their knees, that their knees were hard as a camel. The Apostles knew that prayer was the bedrock of evangelism. “For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” [1 Timothy 4:5]. ” And it came to pass, whilst he blessed them, he departed from them, and was carried up to heaven. And they adoring went back into Jerusalem with great joy. And they were always in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.” St. Luke 24:51-53. That’s why we see many saints who prayed hours during the night.
This reflection is not directed towards those who are old, worn out, sick, handicapped and so forth. But many of us who are still able oftentimes choose the more comfortable means of praying. St. Margaret Mary was once sitting while praying her rosary, and the Blessed Mother spoke to her, and reproved her strongly for it. But let us see how the Blessed Mother rewards her servants for kneeling down while praying the rosary. This is taken from that wonderful book called THE SECRET OF THE ROSARY by the great Marian saint, St. Louis de Montfort.
Our Lady said to Blessed Alan: “I want you to know that, although there are numerous indulgences already attached to the recitation of My rosary, I shall add many more to every fifty Hail Marys (each group of five decades) for those who say them devoutly, on their knees—being of course, free from mortal sin. And whosoever shall persevere in the recitation of the Holy Rosary, saying these prayers and meditations, shall be rewarded for it; I shall obtain for him full remission of the penalty and of the guilt of all his sins at the end of his life. Do not be unbelieving, as though this is impossible. It is easy for me to do because I am the Mother of the King of heaven, and He calls me full of grace. And, being full of grace, I am able to dispense grace freely to my dear children.”
St. Louis goes on to say, “ Father Dorland says that in 1481 Our Lady appeared to Venerable Dominic, the Carthusian, who lived in Treves, and said to him: “Whenever one of the faithful who is in a state of grace says the rosary while meditating on the mysteries of the life and passion of Jesus Christ,, he obtains full and entire remission of all his sins.” All this is from the TWENTY-EIGHTH ROSE, chapter 28, THE SECRET OF THE ROSARY.
When we think often about what God has done for us, meditating, it makes us appreciate what He has done, and inflames our heart to love him. “In my meditation a fire shall flame out.” [Psalms 38:4], “the fire of divine love,” says Fr. Michael Mueller. St. Louis also says: “A Christian who does not meditate on the mysteries of the rosary is very ungrateful to Our Lord, and shows how little he cares for all that our Divine Saviour has done to save the world…A Christian of this kind ought to fear that having never known Jesus Christ or having put him out of his mind and heart, He will disown him at the Day of Judgement and will say reproachfully: “Amen I say to you, I know you not.” St. Matt. 25:12.
The 15 Mysteries are actually summed up in St. John’s Gospel: “He came unto his own,” (the Joyful Mysteries); “His own received him not,” (the Sorrowful Mysteries); ‘’ But as many as did receive him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name.’’ 1:11,12. The 153 fish that were caught at the end of St. John’s Gospel prefigure the 153 Hail Marys in the entire rosary. “Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, one hundred and fifty-three.” St. John 21:11.
HOLY GHOST, TEACH US TO PRAY WELL
We all have distractions, voluntary and involuntary. The involuntary ones are not a sin, but the voluntary ones must be resisted. St. Peter Eymard said, “Most of our dryness and lack of devotion in prayer is due to our lack of respect for our Lord on entering the church; to our disrespectful posture.” He said we must be quiet and show respect to Our Lord in the tabernacle if we wish to pray well and our prayers be heard. How can we expect God to listen to our prayers if we are talking and chattering, and disrespecting Him in his own House, which is a house of prayer, not a social hall? St. Peter Eymard says, “Remain quiet for a moment after you have come into church; silence is the greatest mark of respect, and the first disposition for prayer is respect.”
The Importance of Bodily Posture
Today, many think bodily posture is unimportant and thus they assume the most casual and relaxed posture in prayer. St. Peter Julian Eymard teaches otherwise: ‘’You owe Our Lord exterior respect, which is the prayer of the body. Nothing helps so much the prayer of the soul…. He [Jesus Christ] gave us the example of exterior worship by praying on his knees; tradition tells us He prayed with arms outstretched in the form of a cross and lifted up to heaven. The Apostles have handed down to us this manner of praying; the priest uses it during the Holy Sacrifice.…Our piety is agonizing because we lack this external respect. I know that we should not tremble with fear before God, nor be afraid to come into his presence; but, on the other hand, neither should we seem to be despising him.’’ This same Saint goes on to say: ‘’An austere posture helps us to pray better; but we refuse this help in order to satisfy our sensuality. We imagine we are tired; how often our imagination deceives us! … And even supposing that we are really tired, why are we so afraid of suffering, which gives wings to prayer? We should at least have even then, a becoming and grave posture. Let the lay people sit down if they are tired, but in a becoming manner; they should not slouch in their seats. Let them not take any position that would tend to weaken the soul’s energy and render it unfit for prayer. We religious, however, should remain on our knees; that is the correct position for an adorer.’’ (THE REAL PRESENCE, pp. 164-5). – Taken from the brochure, WHAT IS YOUR CONDUCT IN THE HOUSE OF GOD? – Robert T. Hart. http://www.sicutincaelo.org/downloads/WIYC.pdf
When was the last time you made a visit to the Most Blessed Sacrament, or, a Holy Hour? ‘’ What? Could you not watch one hour with me?’’ St. Matt. 26:40
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A warning to Extraordinary ministers of theEucharist: https://motherofgodlibrary.org/2022/12/24/black-hands/
According to Pope John Paul II you are only allowed to do so in case of real necessity:
- Eucharistic Communion. Communion is a gift of the Lord, given to the faithful through the minister appointed for this purpose. It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice, still less that they should hand them from one to another. (This the Extraordinary ministers do).
- The faithful, whether religious or lay, who are authorized as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist can distribute Communion only when there is no priest, deacon or acolyte, when the priest is impeded by illness or advanced age, or when the number of the faithful going to Communion is so large as to make the celebration of Mass excessively long.[20] Accordingly, a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity.
- – Inaestimabile Donum, issued and ordered by Pope John Paul II to be published, 1980
- A CAREFUL FATHER I WANT TO BE! Poem: https://tinyurl.com/5n7a9cxb
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- Father’s Day tee shirt https://www.gearbubble.com/mlbts01