Rogation Days

"Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full." (John 16:24)

These are another words of Jesus referring to the efficacy of prayers offered in His name. Let us think carefully about these words. For God, priority prayers are always those referring to our spiritual progress, such as petitions for strength to overcome faults, imperfections and habitual sins that may separate us from Him. Equally important are prayers for help to overcome passions, for guidance and light in doubts, for grace to overcome laziness, sloth, for patience and resignation in trials, for spiritual progress and increase in virtues. Only after these petitions come those for temporal favours such as good health, successful and profitable jobs, good and happy marriage, long life etc. Although praying for temporal favours is well justified, however, we can re-consider our priorities and remember to ask first for spiritual needs: "Not in bread alone doth man live" (Matt 4:4). Wellbeing of the soul should be our priority for eternity is our ultimate end. Our Lord has given us instruction on well structured prayer. We address God as our dearest and loving Father with affectionate words of first petition: "Our Father, hallowed be Thy Name!" - followed by second and third petitions: "Thy Kingdom come!" "Thy will be done". Now comes petition for our temporal needs: "Give us this day our daily bread". In the Litany of the Saints, we first petition God to spare us from every evil, sin, God's wrath, deception, from sudden and unprovided death and these petitions are followed by prayer for deliverance from thunderstorms, lightnings, hunger and war. In our prayers we should be always careful to ask for first for: "the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt 6:33)

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Rogation Days

"Hitherto, you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full "(John 16:24).

What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? It means praying with confidence based on our Lord's infinite merits. Why we should pray in the name of Jesus? We pray to God asking for favours, blessings, graces and it is very good and right way to present our needs to Him, Who mercifully provide for all our needs and on Whom depends our very existence for He sustains all. Therefore we address our petitions to the Almighty and omnipotent God and needless to say we cannot even comprehend His real Power and Might. We are but dust. We can ever have enough confidence to ask for favours from all powerful God, offering Him in return our own good works and merits, even of the greatest value in our own eyes? It might happen that they are not enough to win His attention and compassion. God is our Benefactor, therefore, we need to make sure our petition might be pleasing to Him even when offered with the utmost humility of a beggar: "The prayer of him that humbleth himself, shall pierce the clouds" (Ecclesiasticus 35:21). Prayer of supplication offered with humility and supported by infinite merits of our Lord can be pleasing and acceptable to God. This is based on His own words referring to Christ: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt 3:17). In Old Testament tradition, prayers were always offered supported by the merits of Patriarchs and Prophets - Moses prayed for Israelites who had fallen into idolatry in this way: "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants" (Exodus 32:13). His petition was granted: "And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people" (Exodus 32:14). The merits of God's only Son are infinite and of much more value than all the merits of Prophets and Patriarch of Old Testament (Matt 3:17). For this reason the prayers of the Church are always offered "through Christ, Our Lord". This is the best way to pray to the Father (John 16:24) and again recommended by St Paul: "He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things?" (Rom 8:32)

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Rogation Days

"Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you". (John 16:23)

We are just about to enter Rogation Days that are traditionally committed to the prayers of petition to Jesus in hope He may take and present them in Heaven to the Father on our behalf. We can also have a good chance now to reflect on our own prayer life. Do we like to pray? Do we always remember to say our morning and evening prayers, graces before and after meal? Are we praying with humility and zeal? We can join the prayers of the Church during Rogation Days for our own particular needs or the needs of those we love: "Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone? Or if he shall ask him a fish, will he reach him a serpent? "(Matthew 7:7-10). In this time of the year all nature around us come to life, the fields and gardens become beautifully green and colourful. But at any time, the young crops may be destroyed by thunderstorms and hurricanes. Traditionally, the petition prayer of Rogation days was the Litany of the Saints to be prayed once a day up to the Feast of Ascension: "From lightning and tempest, Lord save your people, From the scourge of earthquake, Lord, save your people, From plague, famine, and war, Lord, save your people, and Give and preserve the fruits of the earth, Lord, hear our prayer!" (Litany of Saints). It was Bishop Mamertus of Vienna who initiated the solemn procession with prayers during terrible famine that affected the town of Vienna. Needless to say, the petition was granted and Vienna was saved. Since then, on three days before Our Lord's Ascension the faithful pray to the Lord not only for the protection of crops but for any temporal or spiritual needs. Our forefathers always took refuge in prayers and with so very good results! Sometimes we give up hope to quickly, thinking: "let then happen what is inevitable!". But God has given us promise of help in every need if we pray for His assistance. Sadly, nowadays, many Catholics depend more on themselves than on Divine help and they seem to have not sufficient trust in God. In fact, they are over-confident in times of prosperity and peace but turn into wrecks overwhelmed with self-pity in times of danger and misfortune. We think too little about God, we just have no time for prayers, we are too absorbed and busy with everyday life. However, how many calamities, misfortunes and natural disasters could be prevented by prayers, as the prophet said: "Behold the hand of the Lord is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear" (Isaias 59:1).

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