Day 54. Ark and Altar
And will they not believe us when we say that the righteous soul is the truly sacred altar, and that incense arising from it is holy prayer?
Clement of Alexandria
In the heart of the temple, before the veil of the holy of holies, there stood a small golden altar: the altar of incense. Daily the priests offered prayers here before the curtain to the inner sanctuary. Here we find a critical relationship that will, for the remainder of this Novena, govern all other relationships we explore.
Here stands ark and altar. One is the manifestation of the throne of God – the footstool of his heavenly seat. The other is the self-gift of the worshiping community. One is the sign of God’s authority and Lordship. The other is the sign of our attentive contemplation and daily self-sacrifice. The incense from the altar, sweet and fragrant, fills the house of the Lord with a pleasing aroma, as the prayers of the faithful fill the halls of heaven.
Incense is a sign of prayers rising to God. “Let my prayer be incense before you;” writes the psalmist, “my uplifted hands an evening sacrifice” (Ps. 141:2). In heaven, the saints bring our prayers before the throne of God as incense: “Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones” (Rev. 5:8).
This is the heart of all relationships. The standard to which all others are compared. As a silent sentinel or a lover contemplating the face of her beloved, the altar burned daily with quiet ardor before ark of God. No one disturbed the simple, wordless gaze between ark and altar. All who ministered there were at the service of this communion. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).
From the holy of holies, as God looks out through the veil upon the worshiping community, he first sees this altar. The holy Trinity looks on the face of the people of God and we, in turn, raise our face to heaven. Love looks on love. Person to person. Divine eyes gaze deeply into the heart of the worshipping community and speak words of tenderness and comfort. “You are my delight. I made you. You are precious to me.” The fire of the altar glows brighter. Each human soul, with face turned to heaven, burns with a desire, a longing to hear this voice, to see the face of God.
Have you ever been aware of this desire? It is a longing to know lasting joy and satisfaction. It’s a hunger to discover and hold fast to what is truly beautiful and good. To make of yourself a gift to something, to someone greater than you are. Have you ever felt this?
I have spoken of the relationship of ark and altar in the larger context of God’s relationship with the worshipping community, but now I speak of that same relationship within you. In your temple – the “body” of your relationships – you should find the ark and the altar: the communion of the eternal Tri-personal Lord and your person. It is the nucleus around which all other relationships orbit. It regulates and orders all. It is the very heart of the matter.
We have said little about prayer so far. Now its central role in our personal communion with God becomes evident. Prayer is the primary expression of this relationship between altar and ark. Prayer is the opening out of the soul to the Other; to the One. “Prayer is a surge of the heart,” wrote St. Therese of Lisieux, “It is a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy” [1].
These beautiful words may seem far from our daily experience. For many people, prayer is both a chore and a bore. When it comes time to pray, we can think of almost any excuse to put it off. Once we settle down to do it, a flood of distractions fills our minds along with countless urgent needs (which were not nearly so urgent 10 minutes ago!). I know this is true for me. I suffer from a kind of A.D.D. when it comes to quiet times with God. Should I just give up on prayer? I’ve been at this a long time. Maybe it’s just not for me.
I have heard these thoughts in my head many times. Fortunately, I know where they come from, and therefore I ignore them. Though my inner experience of prayer is usually distracted and difficult, I know that by merely taking the time to attend to the presence of God, I glorify Him and draw closer to Him in my heart. He, in turn, reveals Himself more deeply to me – not only in the times I spend in the chapel, but throughout the day. Daily prayer is the humble acorn that grows into the oak tree of life in Christ. You can’t have one without the other.
Still, it can be hard to get going in prayer. Though they start out with good intentions, many students tell me that they quickly lose the desire to pray. It doesn’t seem to be absolutely necessary and therefore it gets pushed aside in a busy schedule. It just isn’t a priority. Many appear to be able to live daily life fine without it. So why bother? Isn’t life difficult enough without adding something else difficult to it?
The story is told of a young monk who struggled with prayer and went to an old hermit to ask for help. “Why don’t I pray as much as I should?” The wise hermit invited the young man to come down to the river with him. When they had waded into a deep part of the water, the hermit took hold of his head, pushed him under and held him there for a long time. Finally, he released him and the monk came up coughing and gasping for air. “When you desire God,” said the old hermit, “as much as you desired that breath of air, then you will pray.”
We must pray in order to live. Life without prayer is merely existing…and barely that. Prayer isn’t boring because God is boring. Prayer is boring because I am boring. “There are no dreary sights, only dreary sightseers,” said G.K. Chesterton [2]. It was surprising for me to discover that boredom is the normal experience of being in the presence of something so much greater than I am that I simply can’t grasp it. I don’t have the tools yet to engage this mysterious, eternal, Tri-personal Being, so I feel bored. The lack is mine, not His.
As prayer unfolds into a rich and deep relationship, the necessary tools are furnished by God himself. Slowly, through patient daily devotion (a modest but adequate amount of time is all it takes to start out) I begin to open up to the reality of God’s abiding, indwelling presence. I awaken to the central reality of ark and altar.
Still, it’s a rather cold image, isn’t it? A stone room in the center of a cold, stone building containing a golden box and a golden altar? Hardly the stuff of warmth, love and communion. Maybe another way of visualizing this relationship would help. This brings us to marriage. You might be wondering, “What’s all this about marriage? I thought this was a Novena dedicated to the discernment of a celibate vocation.” The connection will soon be clear.
Note: An excellent guide for getting started in prayer is found in the writings and teachings of Fr. Thomas Dubay, SM. Some of the thoughts above are gleaned from his material. I recommend “The Prayer Primer,” by Dubay for anyone who has questions about starting or strengthening their prayer lives. Also, “Prayer for Beginners” by Peter Kreeft is a favorite among young people.
Novena Prayer
Jesus says: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Pier Giorgio responds: St. Paul says that “the charity of Christ urges us.” Without this flame, which should burn out our personality little by little and blaze only for other people’s griefs, we would not be Christian, let alone Catholic.
Let us Pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me by your example of mercy to open my heart more widely to those in need, especially the poor and the sick. Guide me in extending that mercy both to friends and strangers, to those who love me and those who do not. Help me to reflect God’s own mercy, especially in words and deeds of forgiveness.
Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is gracious and merciful and just, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (in your own words, ask for the Lord to grant you grace in the struggle for purity of mind and body – especially in the area of chastity)
A Book of Prayers in Honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, by Rev. Timothy E. Deeter
Make it My Own
Daily Discernment Workbook
EXAMINE MY HEART
1. Please Excuse Me
Admit it: Prayer is hard. That’s why it’s so easy to forget or overlook my obligation to pray in a busy schedule. We all have our favorite prayer excuses. What are mine? (I check off below all the excuses I’ve used). How would I answer these excuses using insights I gain from the scripture passages below? I can also use the other quotes in this workbook section for ideas in responding.
It’s not really worth it because I’m too distracted when I pray.
I’m too busy to pray. Later when my schedule is better, I’ll get into a regular pattern.
Prayer doesn’t come easily for me the way it does for others. I’m never sure I’m doing it right.
It seems like an empty exercise. Doesn’t God already know what I need? Then why do I have to ask him for it?
I always fall asleep when I pray. I’ll be wide awake, then I start praying and before I know it, I’m out.
I usually only remember to pray as I’m lying in bed and about to fall asleep.
I feel like I’m praying about the same old things over and over and I run out of stuff to say after only a few minutes.
Luke 10:38-42
Luke 11:9-13
Luke 18:1-8
Matthew 6:5-8
Ephesians 3:14-19
Colossians 4:2, 3
1 Thessalonians 5:17, 18
A QUOTE TO NOTE
2. Non-Stop Prayer: Can it Be Done?
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, St. Paul urges his community to “pray without ceasing.” Many spiritual writers over the ages have wrestled with the meaning of this and wondered, “Is it possible?” Here’s how Pope Benedict XVI explained it.
We are all familiar with the danger of reciting habitual formulas while our mind is somewhere else entirely. We are at our most attentive when we are driven by inmost need to ask God for something or are prompted by a joyful heart to thank him for good things that have happened to us. Most importantly, though, our relationship to God should not be confined to such momentary situations, but should be present as the bedrock of our soul. In order for that to happen, this relation has to be constantly revived and the affairs of our everyday lives have to be constantly related back to it. The more the depths of our souls are directed toward God, the better we will be able to pray. The more prayer is the foundation that upholds our entire existence, the more we will become men of peace. The more we can bear pain, the more we will be able to understand others and open ourselves to them. This orientation pervasively shaping our whole consciousness, this silent presence of God at the heart of our thinking, our meditating, and our being, is what we mean by “prayer without ceasing.” This is ultimately what we mean by love of God, which is at the same time the condition and the driving force behind love of neighbor [3].
Have I ever thought of prayer as a whole way of living, and not just something on my ‘to-do’ list?
Do I think this is possible for me? Why or why not?
SAINTS SAID IT
3. Driven to Distraction
If my distractions in prayer discourage me, at least I am in good company. Saints and spiritual writers for generations have acknowledged that distractions are common – but even so, they never gave up on prayer. Who do I feel most encouraged by below?
Thomas a’ Kempis
I must confess – and you well know it, Lord – that I am usually very distracted. So often my thoughts are miles away from where my body stands or sits and these thoughts are mostly occupied with the things I love; the things I most readily think of are things that are pleasant to nature and the product habit [4].
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Really, I am far from being a saint…; I should be desolate for having slept (for seven years) during my hours of prayer and my thanksgivings after Holy Communion; well I am not desolate. I remember that little children are as pleasing to their parents when they are asleep as well as when they are wide awake….Finally, I remember that: “The Lord knows our weakness, that he is mindful that we are but dust and ashes [5].
St. Teresa of Avila
At other times I find that I can’t even form in a fitting way a thought about God or of any good, or practice prayer even though I’m in solitude; but I feel that I know Him. I understand that it is the intellect and imagination that does me harm here, for the will is all right it seems to me and disposed toward every good. But this intellect is so wild that it doesn’t seem to be anything else than a frantic madman no one can tie down; nor am I master of it long enough to keep it calm for the space of a Creed. Sometimes I laugh at myself… [6].
Based on these readings, is it possible to grow in prayer (and in holiness) while still suffering from distractions in prayer (provided I’m not being careless with them)?
How can I draw strength and encouragement from these passages when I find myself distracted in prayer?
GOING DEEP
4. Alone With Christ Within
The image of the inner sanctuary of the temple – of the relationship of the ark and altar – is also a way of seeing our inner communion with Christ. In light of this consider Our Lord’s words: …When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Matthew 6:6
St. Faustina explains how she experiences the indwelling of Jesus:
My heart is a permanent dwelling place for Jesus. No one but Jesus has access to it. It is from Jesus that I derive strength to fight difficulties and oppositions. I want to be transformed into Jesus in order to be able to give myself completely to souls [7].
A spiritual classic, the Imitation of Christ, explains how we can apply this personally:
Close your door and call to your beloved Jesus. Remain with Him in your room, opening your heart completely to Him; for nowhere else will you find so much peace [8].
Before proceeding to the 4th Consecration, I take a few minutes of silence to do what the passages above describe.
PROCEED TO THE FOURTH CONSECRATION RITE BELOW
Conclude with
“Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be.
World without end, Amen.”
[1] St. Therese of Lisieux, Manuscripts and Autobiographies, C25r. cited in Catechism of the Catholic Church 2558
[2] G.K. Chesterton, Alarms and Discursions, ch. 39 A Romance of the Marshes, 1910 public domain, accessed 5/8/2023 online at: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9656
[3] Benedict XVI (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger), Jesus of Nazareth Vol. I, tr. by Adrian J. Walker, New York, Doubleday, 2007, p. 129
[4] Thomas a’Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, ed. by Clare L. Fitzpatrick, New York, Catholic Book Publishing Co. pp. 201, Book 3: Interior Conversation; Ch. 48, Troubles of This Life – #2
[5] Story of a Soul, the Autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, tr. by John Clarke, O.C.D., Washington, D.C., ICS Publications, 3rd edition, 1996
[6] The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Vol. I, The Book of Her Life, tr. By Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D., Washington, D.C., ICS Publications, 2nd edition, 1987, p. 261
[7] Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul, 1987 Massachusetts, Marian Press, p. 104
[8] Thomas a’Kempis, Imitation of Christ, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1988-1977, Book 1, ch. 20, par. 8, p. 47
FOURTH CONSECRATION
It’s time to perform another short consecration rite using your Ebenezer. The elements of this rite are the same as the first and second.
You’ll need: olive oil, a teaspoon , a small dish or plate, a candle and your stone of help. You’ll also need some paper towels.
Go to your quiet, private place. On a level surface, place the dish with your Ebenezer in the center. Near the dish, place the candle and light it. Have the olive oil to your right along with the teaspoon.
MIZPAH: FOURTH CONSECRATION RITE
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[Read aloud the story of Jacob’s covenant with Laban (Gen 31:45-55)]
Lord Jesus, in the old covenant you led Jacob to set boundaries in his relationship with his kinsman Laban. You marked out for him the territory which would be a land of freedom and prosperity for his descendants. Lord, instruct me now as I reflect on the patterns of my own relationships. You have shown me that I, too, must set a guard at my boundaries so that even the friends and family who are closest to me may not take from me what I have freely entrusted to you. Reveal to me where I have allowed too much access or too little. Show me where I have been unwilling to risk openness. Or again, show me where I have carelessly allowed too many to know too much.
Lord Jesus I admit that I am far too willing to make room in my life for those I wish to please. I admit that I am far too willing to compromise on my commitments to you when defending your place in my life will cost me friends or social status. Only by defending your rightful place in the temple of my relationships will I find the peace, the freedom and the prosperity that you promise to those who follow your commandments. “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (Jn 14:23). Lord I believe this is true, please help my unbelief!
(pour olive oil into teaspoon, and then pour the teaspoon out over the stone in the center of the dish).
Jesus, I consecrate this stone to you and I rename it Mizpah. The name is for a watch post or sentinel. The stone’s name reminds me to set a watch at the boundaries of my inner self so that with the help of your grace I may keep them secure from wrongful intrusions. Lord Jesus, in the weeks to come when I feel this stone in my pocket, I will turn to you in justice and say, “Lord Jesus, not to my name, but to your name be the glory.” Jesus, when I pray, please remind me that you alone must occupy the most hidden and intimate part of my heart. You alone must have full access to my whole body-person. Lord, if I have permitted someone or something else to occupy the inner sanctuary of my heart in a way that encroaches on your primacy, make it known to me that I may repent and expel the intruder.
Lord Jesus, I ask that your Holy Spirit will be at work within me in the coming weeks reordering my relationships according to your heavenly blueprint. Grant me eyes to see his activity, ears to hear his voice, and a heart filled with courage to cooperate with his plan in restructuring all my relations around the central communion of Ark and Altar. May your glory fill this temple, Lord Jesus, and may your name be praised in my life for all eternity.
All this I ask in your name, Lord Jesus, who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Hail Mary…
Dry off your Ebenezer and return it to your pocket.
[1] St. Therese of Lisieux, Manuscripts and Autobiographies, C25r.