The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
“To [God] be glory forever and ever.”
This statement is one of the most powerful statements that a human person can utter. It is a proclamation that all that we have and are is not based upon what we do or the achievements that we make, but in the ever-merciful, ever-gracious power of God. He sends us into the world to be His Children, to promote the goodness that always is, so that, at the end of our time on Earth, we may return home and continue to exclaim that God deserves all glory. Simply put, it is a statement that orders our hearts to the peace that we were made to inherently know.
We also order our hearts through the gift of prayer- the prime way we communicate with the God who made us, shaped us, gifts us abundantly, and seeks to make a relationship with each of us. In prayer we talk to God, the “unmoved mover,” and communicate with the One who can actually do something about our problems and concerns. Through prayer, we get to know God, grow in appreciation of His will, and establish a level of connection that ideally grows over time, through the experiences amidst the challenges. We humans have our ups and downs, but God never changes. Thus prayer is an investment towards security, not a show against our limited reality.
To truly pray is to realize that this mission is not ours but God's. This is what it means to be poor and lowly: to recognize that “it’s not all about me!” Rather, it is about the work of the Lord through me as St Paul hints in His race analogy. Jesus Christ teases the Pharisees’ notion of prayer in His parable, because true relationship with God is not a demonstration of comparison or how good we are. God has no need to compare His creatures and He knows exactly who you are.
The Lord must be our guide, rather than the praise, attention, comparison, or glory of ourselves or another created being. The proof of such stability lies in the manner we carry ourselves, a reflection of who brings us true security. As we continue this race of life, may we keep our eyes focused on the right prize- the gift of eternal life.
Fr. Houston Okonma is a first generation Nigerian American, the oldest of four. The Lord called him to be a priest at an early age, a call he felt incapable of doing, and never really wanted, because according to his father, "that is not our plan, man." Instead of being a medical doctor, he is proud to be a doctor for the soul, that the Lord may use him as an instrument of His grace. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
