The Monks Of Norcia-Newsletter:

 

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May 15, 2012
 

Below you'll find Fr. Thomas' homily from this past Sunday, which also happened to be Mother's Day in the United States.  The monks of Norcia hope that all of our friends who are mothers and grandmothers had a very special day.

Also, about a month ago, a delegation of monks traveled to Foligno to celebrate Mass for their bishop, His Excellency Gualtiero Sigismondi, using the extraordinary form and Gregorian chant.  Here are some pictures from that occasion.

Finally, we've extended our "Facebook Challenge" until the summer feast of St. Benedict, which is July 11th.  So, we hope to reach 547 likes by then.  We only need about a hundred more!  Have you "liked" the Monks of Norcia yet?  Help us reach our goal by sending this email to others who will like us, too!
 

Accepting the Will of God
by Fr. Thomas Bolin, O.S.B.
Monastery of San Benedetto, Norcia, Italy

                “Amen, amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you” (Jn 16:23).  What does Jesus mean?  Is this even true?  Can we really receive all that we want if we just ask for it in the Jesus’ name?

            There are two objections to this statement.  The first objection is that we have all prayed for things without having received them.  This objection is weak, though, because perhaps we didn’t truly pray in His name. To do something in the name of someone, one must be authorized.  Without authorization, one cannot act in the name of someone, even if one claims to do so.  So if we didn’t receive the thing for which we prayed, perhaps we were not authorized by Christ to ask for that.  For example, if we pray for something evil, it’s reasonable to say that we are not authorized by Christ, and so shouldn’t expect to receive anything.  In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas explains seven conditions for truly praying in the name of Jesus.  In other words, it’s not that simple.

            But there is another more profound objection.  As I said, we have all prayed for things without having received them.  But not just us:  even Jesus himself prayed for something without receiving it in return.  According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus prayed, “Father, all things are possible to you: remove this chalice from me” (Mk 14:36), that is, the chalice of his passion and death.  But, as we know, this didn’t happen; Jesus suffered and died just as if he had not prayed.  Jesus himself, therefore, did not always receive that for which he prayed.  So, it seems that even He has asked for something in his name without having received it; so, how can he promise us that we will receive something if we ask for it in His name?  He likely enough won’t be able to obtain it for us, just like He couldn’t obtain it for himself.

            But let us pause to reflect on this for a moment. Perhaps we have not read the Gospel carefully enough. Immediately after the prayer that we just mentioned, Jesus adds, “But not what I will, but what you will” (Mk 14:36).  Jesus did not pray to avoid his passion and his death absolutely speaking, but only with the condition that this was in conformity with the will of the Father. So perhaps we can find here a hint to the solution of both objections. We cannot say that Jesus’ prayer was not fulfilled, because Jesus always prayed with perfect acceptance of the will of the Father, and this was always fulfilled.  It seems reasonable to think that if Jesus prayed in this way, then he certainly wants us to pray in the same manner. Thus, if we pray without understanding this condition, if we say to God, “I want this, I want it even if you do not,” then surely this prayer is not authorized by Christ, it is surely not a prayer “in His name.”

            Finally, if this is the case, then is prayer useful or not?  Of course, it’s useful.  If we truly prefer the will of God to our own will, then we will always receive that which we prefer, because the will of God is always fulfilled.  In this way, in loving the will of God, we are able to become friends with God, because a true friend wants to do the will of his friend.  And if we become friends with God, then he truly becomes our friend.  And so, even He wants to do our will—and consequently we begin to receive those particular things for which we pray.  In this way, Jesus says, “if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain:  ‘Remove from hence hither’, and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible to you” (Mt 17:19).  But one must begin with love and with accepting the will of God.  Therefore, first we must pray for this love, and then the rest will follow.  (The Monks Of Norcia: here)