The Power of Prayer

If you’ve been watching the news these past couple weeks, no doubt you will have heard about the cardiac arrest that 24-year-old Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills football team suffered after receiving a blow to the chest by a team member of the Cincinnati Bengals.  Aware that a serious injury had occurred, a group of players and staff knelt in prayer around Damar as medics worked with him until an ambulance arrived to transport him to a nearby hospital.

As Hamlin lay in a coma, the world watched as sports fans and people around the globe prayed for his recovery.  The media announced that staff and students at Pittsburgh’s Catholic High School, from where Hamlin graduated in 2016, prayed throughout those early days. An evening prayer vigil was held at the school as the medical crisis unfolded.

““If we didn’t believe that prayer (works), we wouldn’t ask this of you, God,” Orlovsky said in the prayer. “I believe in prayer. We believe in prayer. We lift up Damar Hamlin’s name in Your name.””

— Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback, prayed for Hamlin during Tuesday’s NFL Live broadcast as his two co-hosts bowed their heads and said “Amen” when he was done.

'God Using Me in a Different Way': Damar Hamlin Tweets His Faith as Entire NFL Teams Bow in Prayer

As the days passed, more and more people joined their hearts and voices in prayer as Damar began his slow but remarkable recovery.  The now famous footballer, a man of faith, was loud in his praise and thanksgiving to God, the attentive doctors, and medical staff for helping him to stay alive.  Newspapers even reported on the healing power of prayer and faith.

Now, as Hamlin continues his recovery, our society is beginning to reflect on the power of prayer in healing.  This was evidenced in the faith of Damar, his family, friends, teachers, and countless others placing their trust in God’s love. Many people already experience the gift of faith in their lives and the power of prayer to uplift and sustain, especially in times of crisis.  At this time in history, with global fanaticism about sports, Hamlin’s cardiac arrest caused citizens to pause and witness faith-filled athletes and people turn en masse at the encouragement of Damar himself, and storm heaven for divine assistance.

“There is power in prayer.”

God’s grace and help are with us at every moment.  All we need to do is acknowledge it and lean on each other for support.  I’m sure that’s why the phone in our home rings often with people requesting our prayers for various needs.  There is power in prayer, especially where two or three are gathered.  Go Bills!

-Sister Jean Moylan, CSJ

Accounting for One’s Hope

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 3:15

We might find ourselves at times somewhat hesitant to answer this soul-searching question posed in 1 Peter 3:15. Yet, being ready to give an accounting for one’s hope has the power to ground us. Furthermore, I trust it has the potential to be life-giving for others.

Regarding hope, a newly published book by Maude Barlow caught my attention. As an avid bookworm, how could I resist adding it to my library? The writer is a well- known Canadian activist and author. She openly admits in the first sentence of the introduction that she has been contemplating the notion of hope for a long time. In her book, Still Hopeful: Lessons from a Lifetime of Activism, Barlow, without hesitation, eloquently delivers the reasoning behind her hopefulness amid global trauma.

The author relays her life experiences during her forty plus years as a social activist. She was active politically during the struggle for the expansion of women’s rights, the battle against free trade and globalization, and the global fight for water justice. Her recollections transport the reader through the twisting, slow course of societal transformation while conveying the lessons she has learned in the process. Barlow provides the reader with 223 pages of wisdom and encouragement. Woven within her engaging storytelling are eight cameo appearances of other notable changemakers who answer the question, “Where do you find hope?” Together with Barlow, they contribute an antidote to the temptation to succumb to a growing sense of universal pessimism.

At right, Maude Barlow being interviewed about Still Hopeful: Lessons from a Lifetime of Activism and here is a link to a wonderful 4-minute interview on Global News.

 -Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ

Future Is An Attitude

Those of you who follow our CSJ blog posts may be familiar with how I draw inspiration from TV commercials while enjoying my morning coffee.

Let me make a disclaimer before I continue - I have no stock in Audi! This morning, I heard the current Audi slogan, “Future is an attitude.” What I found while googling this reiterated phrase of Audi provided me with greater detail concerning the car company’s self-professed vision and how it sees itself.

-Abraham Lincoln

Audi advertises that its vision is not only embodied in how it designs cars but also in how it sees the future. This company shares its belief that what we create today will lead, (as in their case) not only to better cars but to a better future. They assert that their 100-year constant progress relies on, “Seeing possibilities where others perceive impossibilities. And inspiration, where there are obstacles.”

Attitude, seeing possibilities, and inspiration got me thinking. On a personal level, I was made more aware of how my attitudinal stance in the present, has the ability, to some degree, to shape my future circumstances and experience of the now. My current attitude does, in fact, create what’s in my control going forward. For instance, if I feel hopeful that I will be able to meet the changing nature of COVID circumstances, there is a much better chance that I will be able to do so.

“Our congregation’s intention is to respond daily to the inspiration of God’s Spirit.”

On a communal level, attitude, seeing possibilities, and inspiration connect me to the spirit of our current congregation’s Direction Statement, Moving with Love. In part, it states:

Immersed in Life and Love

We embrace this moment of possibility

as a graced path to Transformation.

In essence, the above words express much the same spirit that is contained in the Audi tagline, “Future is an Attitude.” Our congregation’s intention is to respond daily to the inspiration of God’s Spirit. We trust that our communal attitude can influence the whole-making energies released in ourselves and in the planet for the healing of the world.

-Sister Nancy Wales, csj

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Image: Unsplash/Rianne Zuur