“What is this? A new teaching with authority.”                                                                                               (Mk 1:27)

We know that many people were amazed when they experienced Jesus’ authority. Nothing prevented Him from entering the most difficult situations to heal people even from unclean spirits. How did He do this? It reminds me of the story of how once upon a time many people would pay great money to hear a famous orator speak. This orator had a powerful voice, and many felt uplifted when they heard him quote a famous speech or read a biblical passage. At one of his performances with a packed house, he finished his speech by reciting Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want….”

The audience got up and gave him a five-minute standing ovation because they loved his performance so much. In the audience there also happened to be an old priest who had come to enjoy the performance. The famous orator noticed the priest and asked him to come forward to say a prayer before the dinner was served. Being caught off guard, the priest felt unprepared. Since the orator used Psalm 23, he thought he too would use it as his prayer since he knew it so well. When he started saying “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,” it was said with such a soft and gentle voice that people were profoundly moved. The whole audience was silent; a number of people began to sob in tears. There was so much reverence in his voice, that everyone could feel the presence of God coming from his heart. After he finished his prayer and sat back down, the orator got up and thanked the father. He then added: Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to know that when I said the prayer, I gave you my best performance; when father said the prayer, he gave you, his heart!” The point of this story is that the priest had real authority. Why? Because he experienced closeness to God. He knew how to give his heart to God and the people experienced God’s presence through his voice and manner. We too as disciples of the Lord have that same authority. Prayer is speaking with Jesus with heart, soul, tears, joy, love and conviction! Let’s not “perform” pray, let’s live it.     ~ Fr. John