In the final analysis, talking about prayer doesn’t matter; rather, only the words that we ourselves say to God. And one must say these words oneself.
Oh, they can be quiet, poor, and diffident. They can rise up to God’s heaven like silver doves from a happy heart, or they can be the inaudible flowing of bitter tears. They can be great and sublime like thunder that crashes in the high mountains, or diffident like the shy confession of a first love.
If they only come from the heart. If they only might come from the heart. And if only the Spirit of God prays them together also.
Then God hears them. Then he will forget none of these words. Then he will keep the words in his heart because one cannot forget the words of love.
And then he will listen to us patiently, even blissfully, an entire life long until we are through talking, until we have spoken out our entire life.
And then he will say one single word of love, but he is this word itself. And then our heart will stop beating at this word. For eternity.
Don’t we want to pray?
Karl Rahner, SJ
German Jesuit Priest and Theologian (1904-1984)
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