Continuing on our blog series on “Our Catholic Faith,” Chris Pillizzi shares a reflection on prayer. Summer is a time in which sports, picnics and activities increase. Maintaining an active prayer life can be a challenge. Chris shares some thoughts on this beautiful gift of prayer. She resides in Pleasant Prairie along with her husband, Joe. Together they have two grown daughters, Jackie and Kristy, and two sons in-law, Tom and Adam, and three grandchildren who light up their lives.

Listening to our grandchildren say their prayers this evening makes me think how my own daily prayers have evolved over the years. But what moves me so much is their ability to pray with so much trust and happiness. I thank God for their unconditional faith right now, and pray it will grow as they do.

Private prayer is such a personal relationship with our Lord, so I’m not going to tell you how to pray. Everyone who believes in God speaks to Him in his or her own way. As in any relationship, love, trust and honesty and humility, are necessary for a healthy relationship to grow. The same is true with our relationship with God. This takes time and great effort on our part to set time aside from a busy and noisy life to spend time with Him. But God is patient, waiting for each of us as the all-loving Father that He is.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2725, “Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray.”

As we just celebrated the feast of the Pentecost and Holy Trinity, I can’t help but reflect on how grateful I am for the love of God the Father, the teachings and ultimate sacrifice of Jesus the Son and, the everlasting gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised would be there for us in good times and bad as we journey through life.

I’d like to share a couple quotes from the lives of the Saints about prayer.

“Acquire the habit of speaking to God as if you were alone with God. Speak with familiarity and confidence as to your dearest and most loving friend. Speak of your life, your plans, your troubles, your joys, your fears. In return, God will speak to you…not that you will hear audible words in your ears, but words that you will clearly understand in your heart.” St. Alphonsus Liguori

“Give some time, if it is only half an hour in every day, to devotional reading, which is as necessary to the well ordering of the mind as the hand of the gardener is to prevent weeds destroying your favorite flowers.” St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Wishing you many blessings during this summer season…keep praying!

St. Anne offers several prayer opportunities: Daily Mass, Sunday Mass, Rosary on the first Thursday of the month at 5:15 p.m.; Rosary on the first Sunday of the month starting in July before 10:15 a.m. Mass. Reconciliation, an important sacrament in the Catholic faith, is also a form of prayer. See link for schedule of all these opportunities.  https://saint-anne.org/worship/daily-mass-schedule/

Our blog series continues.  Our St. Anne Blog Series, “Our Catholic Faith,” is devoted to the Catechism of the Catholic Church four pillars, “What We Believe,” “How We Worship,” “How We Pray,” and “How We Live.”  During this Easter season, Linda Bevec reflects on the Holy Spirit and how when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we are able to live according to God’s will, using the gifts He gives us.  Linda is a regular contributor to our series.  She and and her husband Frank reside in Kenosha with their three children, Frankie, Claire and Grace.

“As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10

I took a walk to the beach with my daughters today. One of our favorite things to do is meander along the sandy shore and search for treasures. Pieces of sea glass in frosty blue, green and red are our favorite finds, especially when they’re silky smooth from being tumbled in the rolling waves and deep currents of Lake Michigan. Sometimes we find fossils, granite, or interesting pieces of driftwood. We never know what we’ll discover when we go “treasure hunting” but my daughters Claire and Grace usually head home proud with their pockets heavy and bulging at the seams.

Today, Claire was the first to spot a piece of sea glass and she held it up to the sky revealing its glowing green hue. Delighted, she eagerly searched for more. Grace began to look even harder, determined to find a piece of green sea glass like her sister, but she became frustrated and discouraged when it was time to go and she hadn’t yet found one of her own. She pouted a bit and hung her head looking all defeated and mad. Then she dug deep in her pocket and tearfully said, “All I found was a stupid pink rock!” It took a lot of convincing and coaxing before she hesitantly accepted the pink rock as a suitable treasure after all, and we made our way back home.

This made me think of how often we dismiss our own unique treasures because we’re too busy searching only for the ones we want. Like my daughter Grace, we carry the gifts God has given us deep in our pockets, longing instead for something different or seemingly better; something others have. The bible says we are all laborers in the vineyard, each of us as God’s child using the gifts He has given to us in service to Him for the church. In Isaiah 11:1-2, He talks about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.

Like the apostles, these gifts can enable us to know and love Jesus so we too can accomplish His work here on earth. What gift has the Holy Spirit given to you, and how are you using it in service to Him in this life? It’s difficult to know what our gifts are, but I think we can see and even feel them at work in our lives; in the interests, skills, abilities and talents we use each and every day and the quiet longings of our hearts. We just don’t always know they’re there, or recognize them as unique treasures God has carefully selected just for us.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we’re taught that the Holy Spirit (the sap of the Father’s vine is a great analogy) brings about these fruits in each one of us. And together this “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor 13:13) transforms the faithful and helps us participate in the Church’s great mission.

Friday, July 13, 6 p.m., “Keep Hope Alive” featuring Mollie Marti, Ph.D. at Bristol Oaks Country Club–Dr. Mollie Marti is author of a newly released book, “Walking with Justice…Uncommon Lessons from one of Life’s Greatest Mentors.” Mollie will share her faith journey and life lessons learned from her own mentor, Judge Max Rosenn. Mollie is an international speaker who trains in the areas of leadership resilience, servant mentorship, life design, and business ethics. All adults are welcome to attend and hear an inspirational talk and witness story by our own Fr. Bob’s sister, Dr. Mollie. Cost for the evening is $25 per person. Books are now on sale, $20 each or two for $30. Limited supply. To register or order your book, call the parish office at (262) 942-8300 or e-mail jcunningham@saint-anne.org. Mass will be at 5 p.m. that evening at Saint Anne, for those who would like to attend.