I don’t know about you, but when I find myself struggling to pray its usually after I’ve committed a pretty serious sin, or at least, feel extra guilty about my own sinfulness.  I was reminded of this after praying with the readings for Mass this past weekend.  My preaching went in a  different direction that you can see here; however, as I continued to pray over the readings this revelation came to me.  Prayer is always a struggle and something we need to work on.  I wish God implanted a special prayer gene into priests to make it easier for us but He didn’t.  Prayer is just as difficult for me as it is you.  After I sin, or realize my own sinfulness, it becomes even harder for me to pray.  I think it’s because I don’t feel my prayers are sincere or worthy enough of God’s time.  Now, this is a real feeling and it hurts when I feel this way; however, its also a bold face lie from the evil one.  

Jesus couldn’t be more clear when he says “I did not come for the righteous, but for sinners.” (Luke 5:32)  The evil one wants us to believe the lies that we’re unloveable, that God hates sinners, and that God expects us to be perfect all the time.  Does God hope for us to be perfect?  Of corse he does and that’s why he send his son to save us and call us to that perfection.  Does God expect this to happen by a certain time or he’ll never love us?  NO!  This is why Jesus gave us the Sacraments so that we can continually be renewed and start over again.  God never puts us on a timeline to become holy.  This is something we work at our whole life.

Harkening back to Christ’s words, “I did not come for the righteous, but for sinners,” (Luke 5:32) this should serve as a reminder for us that when we sin and feel “unworthy” of God’s love and mercy, that is when we need prayer most.  Each time I feel like prayer is pointless because I’m not worthy for God to hear my prayers is when my guardian angel should slap me across the face.  That’s not how God’s love works.  It’s in those moments of weakness that I should run, not walk, to prayer and call on the Father and Spirit for help and guidance.  It’s in those moments I should run, not walk, to Jesus in the Sacraments for forgiveness and healing.  Sin is never an excuse to stop going to the Sacraments or prayer.  Sin is the reason we run, not walk, to the Sacraments and prayer.  

Let’s keep each other in prayer that the next time we allow our sinfulness to keep us from prayer and receiving the Sacraments our guardian angels will remind us that Christ came for the sinners and not the “perfect.”  Sin is the reason we pray and never an excuse to stop praying.