Each year as we approach Lent, I think about our call to prayer, almsgiving, and fasting to help us prepare for the celebration of Easter. I reflect on the power of prayer in my own life as a source of conversation with God, providing peace and guidance.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he says “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people” (Ephesians 1:18). While one of my first supervisors did not use these words, he blessed me with a similarly powerful message more than 50 years ago and prayer was the key to enlightening my heart as to what God was trying to communicate to me through him.
As a college student, I spent summers at the “Jersey Shore” working at a popular hotel in Avalon, N.J. One year, as I prepared to return to school, my boss pulled me aside. He said, “I see something in you, something that you don’t see in yourself…you have a gift for leadership and inspiring others.” His comments were flattering, and the only part I believed initially was regarding my lack of self-awareness. But what he said next was the part that most resonated. He continued, “You have a responsibility to do something with that gift.”
At the time, I couldn’t help but question why my boss had said this to me. I also couldn’t escape the weight that his comments placed on me to do something with the talent that he saw in me. As is written in Peter’s first letter, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10) We are reminded that we must think about how we can use the talents we’ve been given to impact others. How can I follow Christ and use my talents to spread His message? Throughout my life, there has only been one way to answer this question – prayer.
LENT: WHAT IS IT, WHO'S IT FOR AND HOW DO YOU DO IT?
The burden of my boss’s expectation around using my gift sparked an interior question which through prayer helped me nurture and understand where God was calling me. This experience helped me recognize the importance of prayer in my life, a lesson that I have carried with me ever since as it was only through prayer that I was able to understand God’s will for my life.
My reflection and prayer on these words from my boss led me down the path that was chosen for me. This path has blessed me with the opportunity to serve the Church and its leaders for the past 30 years. Prayer allowed me to drown out the noise around me, and really listen to God’s plan for my life.
As the founder of a Catholic apostolate, Catholic Leadership Institute, there have been instances of both great opportunity and great challenge where I have had to humbly turn to the Lord and say, “Lord, if you want me to continue this vocation, I place my trust and prayers in you.” Each time, my prayer has been miraculously answered in His own perfect way.
Today, we are constantly bombarded by information. It becomes very difficult to process and organize our thoughts in a manner that help us see the ways that we can do something good with the talents that we have been given. But God has given us the gift of prayer as a way to drown out the noise and focus on His message.
On Ash Wednesday, I will be thinking about the ways that I can continue to strengthen my reliance on prayer. My favorite saying is, "God’s gift to us is our potential, and what we do with it is our gift back to God." Prayer is the vehicle in which we learn how to use our gifts in service to others so that we can give glory to God.
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