What You’re Missing in Your Prayer Life

What You’re Missing in Your Prayer Life

The following is a transcription of a homily given by Deacon Robin Waters on Ash Wednesday (March 5th, 2025)

Year C, Cycle 1 - Joel 2:12-18; Psalm 51:3-4,5-6,12-14,17; 2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2; Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. 

In this verse (our responsorial psalm today), we hear something that I’m sure all of us have cried out to the Lord many times. I know I have. Based on the times we’re living in, the influence of the enemy, and even things we might tell ourselves (or others might say to us), the battle against sin in our world and in our hearts is getting stronger every day. So, I thought I would share some battle tips that I think could really help us grow closer to the Lord during Lent, a few things that we could reflect on, that might help give us perspective when faced with sinful temptations and tendencies (especially those sinful things we may have been struggling with for a long time.

So when we’re on the brink of falling into sin and the world, our culture, and everything in us tells us, “follow your heart,” we should remember that Jesus said, “follow Me.” The world says, “be true to yourself,” but Jesus said, “whoever wants to be My disciple must deny himself.” The world says, “believe in yourself; you can do it”... Jesus said, “believe in Me.” The world says, “live your truth.” Jesus said, “I am the Truth.” The world says, “do whatever you want as long as it makes you happy;” Jesus said, “what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet loses his soul?”

As we enter the season of Lent today, let us all ask the Holy Spirit to give us the resolve to spend this time drawing closer to the Lord as we prepare for His Passion, Death, and glorious Resurrection. Let us truly surrender ourselves to His Love, body, mind, and soul, and strive to live a life of discernment, seeking God’s will in all that we do, especially in those times when our emotions or opinions (both positive and negative) may lead us to stray from God’s will. Not because we are actively seeking to go against God, but because of our lack of discernment, we may not fully understand. We may even convince ourselves that our way is God’s way, even if our way is against the teachings of His Church and we hadn’t even considered taking the matter to Him in prayer. When we do go to the Lord in prayer, the key to knowing the path He wants us to follow is found by speaking to the Lord and then sitting quietly and listening for His response. We can’t do all the talking! A conversation, even with God, doesn’t work that way. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us use the time God is giving us during this penitential season of Lent to honestly discern the life God is calling us to live. We can do this in many ways: by fasting, by praying more (including praying the rosary and praying over scripture), by participating in the sacrifice of the Mass (which is the perfect prayer) as often as possible, not just on Sunday, and by examining our conscience daily and frequently receiving God’s mercy and grace in the Sacrament of Confession several times during Lent.

You might call me a “Jesus freak,” but my plan is to go to Confession at the beginning, middle, and end of Lent. You might ask, why would I want to go to Confession that often? One reason is because when you go to Confession regularly, it’s so easy. I honestly can’t do that much sinning in just a couple of weeks, and more importantly, through the Sacrament of Confession, we receive sanctifying grace. That is the grace that makes us holy, which (over time) gives us the strength to actually live our Act of Contrition: “to sin no more and avoid the near occasion of sin,” because our soul is staying cleaner and more holy all the time.

While we are doing all these things to grow in our relationship with Jesus during Lent, we need to remember (as Jesus said in the Gospel) that we should “take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them, otherwise you will have no recompense with your heavenly Father.” Anything we do to draw closer to Jesus should not be done to make others think we are “all-holy,” but should be offered up as a worthy sacrifice to the Lord.

Speaking of sacrifice, Lent is a great time to offer small self-sacrifices to the Lord daily, not just those occasional sacrifices the Church asks of us (such as today when we’re asked to fast and abstain from meat). Fasting in particular, when offered to the Lord, has great benefits–not just physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. 

We can also draw closer to the Lord by being aware of and helping our brothers and sisters in need (again, be it physical, mental, or spiritual needs), and searching for ways to bring them the joy only God can provide.

It’s also very beneficial to come here to the church regularly to pray and sit quietly with Jesus, listening to what the Lord has to say to you! He’s here all the time in the tabernacle, just waiting for us to come and seek His guidance. As I mentioned earlier, sitting quietly, listening to God’s response to our prayer, is an essential part of our faith, but doing it here in the church, in the presence of Jesus, is especially powerful. If you haven’t done it in a while (or if you’ve never done it), give it a try. You’ll be amazed at how the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart when you sit quietly with Jesus.

We should take advantage of all the blessings and gifts God has given us through His Church to grow closer to Him, so that we can avoid turning to ourselves (or any other person except Jesus) for answers, especially when we are suffering or in pain. 

Let’s take the opportunity given to us now, during this time of Lent, to reconcile with God any offenses we’ve committed against Him, because as St. Paul said in our second reading: “Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the time of salvation.” And I’d add that now is a great time to make Jesus the most important person in our lives.

My friends, growing in our relationship with God and seeking to do His will in our lives is not easy. There is (and always will be) opposition, but it’s our choice. God freely gives us this choice. Let’s choose God! 

Amen.