3.3.3- Fear of intimacy? (or when one has nothing to say to God…)

Outside this logic there is still the one who experiences the task of praying as an obligation or a burden, or—on the contrary—who in practice has decided, with a certain sufficiency, to consider it optional or even to get rid of it.  However, there is also the one who does not fully understand a certain prayer like the Liturgy of the Hours or underestimates it ecclesial dimension or the “temporal” function or ministerial function of intercession,  and accumulates into one moment (“that way I don’t think of it anymore”) all that should be organized and distributed throughout the whole day.

According to Fr. Scalia, the problem is somewhat general and is very serious: “by personal experience each of us knows that only rarely, only in fortunate circumstances, is the breviary prayer, colloquy with the Father. Because “speaking” is listening and response. “Speaking” is communicating and accepting, becoming changed by joy and sadness of the other, seeing, feeling that the dialog partner feels our passions and beats in unison with our heart. As we with his” ²², but many ministries and disciples of the Lord simply no longer speak with him, have nothing to say to him, no longer have familiarity with his mystery, no unfinished conversation, no discourse to begin, no secret to entrust to him, no secret understanding like between old friends and complices…, while for him they have so many things to do, or in whose name many things to say, and in any case with him they spend a good part of their time, but using others’ words, or repeating readymade formulae and phrases, or vesting in official clothes or getting lost in a group, as though they were afraid of intimacy with him, or were incapable of it.

And so prayer becomes a way of defending oneself from God and from one’s own ego, like a colossal lie told by one who hides even from himself behind a very solemn mask. It is worship which does not keep any company with life, in the same way as one’s life, if not supported by a certain praying spirit, can not be company to another life.

Perhaps, then, it is really true that learning to love means learning to pray. While OF is this slow daily learning to speak lovingly with God, to enjoy his very sweet company in prayer.