How do we go from prayer to action and having our action bear fruit. Everything starts with prayer. Pray unceasingly. Prayer includes personal prayer or conversation with God, specifically Jesus, the second person of The Blessed Trinity. Prayer comes in many forms and includes the daily mass, the rosary, the prayers of the church, called The Liturgy of hours. It is also important to read and study, starting with your Bible, The Catechism of The Catholic Church, lives of the saints, church documents and encyclicals from Popes. Be a sponge and absorb. Make your conscience a formed conscience based on Church teaching; know what the church is teaching about current events. Be steadfast in faith; pray for wisdom. If you rush out of the gate like a wild stallion, you may tire. Our race is a marathon, not a sprint, even though sometimes we may have to sprint. Rejection will happen. You may feel like your prayer and action is not bearing any fruit and you may never see the fruit of your actions. Trust the Lord, even in the face of opposition and obstacles. Stay connected to a small group of people of faith to run ideas by. Meet with a Spiritual director for guidance. The fight never ends, so you have to be prepared properly and make sure you are doing God’s will, not your own. It takes time, practice, much prayer and faith to bend your will to the will of God. It took the Apostle Saint Paul three years of prayer and study before he went out into the world. Jesus did not start His public ministry until He was 30. The Apostles walked with Jesus for three years and still had to wait for the power of The Holy Spirit from on high to strengthen them before they went out into the world to take action.
You will have ups and downs and stumble and fall backward. Go to confession regularly as well. Only God’s grace can allow us to do anything. Don’t run ahead of God’s grace, but keep acting. Look for ways you can help others. Start with things that interest you but understand you may have to go in a different direction. Always stay open to the promptings of The Holy Spirit. Keep walking, ask questions, follow the lead of others you admire. You can do it. Faith and action are life long journey. Be the clay and allow God, The Father, to be the potter that molds you.
God bless!
Charles DeFeo: Catholic Blogger and Useless Servant of Christ 