The Discipleship of Prayer

Sharing what will be in our parish bulletin this week as we ask people to meditate on how well they are living the baptismal call to discipleship.

First Sunday of Lent:  The Discipleship of Prayer

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) describes the formation of those preparing for baptism at Easter as a time they learn from others in the faith community.  What do they learn from us?  First they learn “to turn readily to God in prayer.”   That assumes that we who are already baptized and have grown to maturity in the faith are good examples – for these adults and for our children, who are watching us to discover what their baptism means.  Do you spend time with God? Do you pray to God whenever you need to make a decision? Do you pray using Scripture? Do you pray regularly, alone and with others? Do you teach your children to pray?  These are all important parts of being a disciple of Jesus – and he is the first and best example. 

Jesus began his ministry, as we see in today’s gospel, with 40 days in the desert, where he spent time alone, in prayer, meditation and solitude.  Lent calls for us to spend time doing the same, for our own good, and for the good of those who are looking at us as examples of mature faith.

Joyce Donahue, for the St. John’s Liturgy Planning Committee