Dear Brother Knights,
St. Teresa of Avila said that contemplative prayer “is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” The first thing that we bring to prayer is the knowledge that our Lord loves us deeply. We have in our midst images of his suffering and death, which were done purely out of love for us.
We know of his humble, loving heart as we reflect about the many Gospel narratives of Jesus reaching out to the forgotten: the poor, widows, lepers, and notorious sinners. Our faith is rooted in the reality that God is a loving God.
When Jesus tells the disciples how to pray, he gives them the “Our Father” prayer. Here, Jesus tells us to call God, Father. However, it is deeper here than we may presume. The Hebrew word that Jesus would have used here is “Abba,” which is an affectionate term that we could translate as “daddy.” This prayer is perhaps so common to us that we forget the tenderness of this prayer. It is to be prayed with the affection and dependence that little children would show their loving fathers. This is, indeed, how close our Heavenly Father wants us to be with him in and through our everyday prayer.
Sincerely in Christ Jesus,
Father Kipper
