THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
Do you believe in the power of prayer?
That was the question a friend asked me recently. He dropped by my office at the Antipolo City Hall late last week after spending some time at the city’s Cathedral – the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. May is Pilgrimage Month and my friend joined the thousands of devotees who visit the city daily.
When I found out he had just been at the Cathedral, I asked him what the model of his new car was. I had to ask him that. After all, many people who come to the International Shrine go there to have their vehicle blessed. A similar number asks for the blessing of a safe trip abroad. Many of our Overseas Filipino Workers make it a point to pray at the Cathedral before they leave for the country of their employment.
My friend laughed at my question. Then, he turned serious and asked the aforementioned question. I had to pause before saying a tentative “Of course, I do.” I realized at that point that his pilgrimage to the Shrine had an important intention. I seriously asked, “What did you come here to pray for?”
“To pray for inner peace,” he said.
That brief moment in our conversation brought me to a pleasant realization that many people still believe in prayer and its power. I am glad that my friend – a successful businessman – shared that faith and had come to the Patroness of Peace to ask for that favor. A person who professes to believe in the tenets of the Christian faith cannot but possess that faith. After all, that was a promise based on Scripture:
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
A similar promise can be found in the same Book:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you find; knock and the door shall be opened to you.”
Today, we find ourselves a nation in prayer. Faced with problems that beset our daily lives and our very existence as a country, we have turned to collective prayer to address them. We heeded the Church’s call to prayer and once again displayed the formidable faith of our race.
A clear example of this was our response to the call of the Catholic Bishops to storm the heavens and plead for relief from the scorching heat we are now experiencing in nearly every part of the country. A few days ago, congregations began the “Oratio Imperata.” This means “obligatory prayer.” Given the punishing temperatures which have disrupted the conduct of our daily affairs, people are just too happy to oblige to the call to prayer.
“We humbly ask you to grant us relief from the extreme heat that besets your people at this time, disrupting their activities and threatening their lives and livelihood,” congregations pleaded. “Send us rain to replenish our depleting water resources, to irrigate our fields, to stave off water and power shortages, and to provide water for our daily needs,” they called on the God who, as Almighty Father, has watched over our country and saw us through the many difficult chapters in our history.
Our prayers must have been heard.
We saw the 10-day forecast of PAG-ASA. If the forecast proves accurate, we will be experiencing afternoon showers and thunderstorms more often in the next few days, starting tomorrow. The weather agency described the expected rains as “scattered” and “isolated”. No problem. We can always pray that the rains will fall where they matter most. At this point, rain is rain. Every drop would count.
Once again, we proved that we are a praying people. Prayer is our strength. Others, however, see it as a weakness. Critics say that our propensity to pray when faced with major challenges in life prevents us from creating solid, responsive solutions. We are “fatalists,” critics say. We put too much weight on the mercy and compassion of a God whom we call Father.
We are sure some would say that the anticipated coming of “scattered and isolated rain showers and thunderstorms in various parts of the country” is a natural occurrence that does not require Divine Intervention. The rains would come whether or not we begged God for it, they would say.
It could be tempting to surrender to skepticism. However, Filipinos would not have kept their centuries-old faith in the power of prayer had they not experienced the joy and delight of having them answered. Many people who come to Antipolo to pray at the International Shrine are regular visitors. They return to either say “thank you” for favors granted or to ask for more. This is not blind faith. Many of them possess evidence that there is a God who hears them.
We can use that same faith in the power of prayer to knock at the doors of Heaven for help with the concerns that our country seems unable to address through mere human power.
We hope our Bishops will rally the faithful to collective prayer for Peace in the West Philippine Sea. We are also praying that the hoped-for ceasefire in Gaza will also materialize. At present, solutions to these conflicts seem to elude world leaders. In situations like these, Filipinos know exactly what to do. When Filipinos kneel to pray together, they become a formidable force that even God, our loving Father, could not resist. (For feedback, please email it to [email protected] or send it to Block 6 Lot 10 Sta. Barbara 1 cor. Bradley St., Mission Hills Subd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Rizal.)