Friendship with Christ

A Short Reflection from The Way of the Pilgrim

Sometimes I fall into thinking that prayer and communion with Christ depend solely on me, as if I must produce them by my own effort. But these gifts of spiritual communion are not learned skills; they are given by Jesus, who simply asks for our friendship. Prayer of the heart is one of these gifts. It is silent and hidden. It is not a technique to be mastered, but a mercy and grace we receive.

When we quietly descend into our own hearts and call on the name of Jesus, something mysterious happens: a light rises within. In that recollection, we begin to see differently. At times, this seeing is painful; at other times, it is tender. We come to know ourselves as we truly are, we weep over what is broken, and yet we taste a sweetness that can only come from God. And this gift is not reserved for a few. No, it is offered to all who are willing to enter the silence and call on the name of Jesus.

Let us pray for one another today.

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Catechism of the Catholic Church

Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.

The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place "to which I withdraw." The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant.

CCC §2562-3

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© 2025, Lawain McNeil, Mission Surrender, LLC.