Watch Unto Prayer

We read in the Acts of the Apostles that before he ascended into heaven, being assembled together with his apostles, Christ “commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father.”  What was that promise?  That they should be “baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” This morning we find ourselves in this period of nine days between Ascension and Pentecost, celebrating our Lord’s return to his Father in heaven and at the same time eagerly anticipating the descent of the Holy Ghost on Whitsunday.  Let us journey in spirit to the Cenacle, the Upper Room in which our Lord had celebrated the Last Supper with his apostles.  Here, we find them again assembled, only eleven apostles this time, as Judas Iscariot was no longer with them…

Besides going to Jerusalem to wait for the coming of the Holy Ghost, our blessed Lord had also commanded them to do many other things.  But they were unable to do these, as they had not yet received the power that the Holy Ghost would impart on them on Pentecost morning.  Before they could spread the tidings of the Gospel throughout the world, they first had to wait.  So back they went to their familiar surroundings in Jerusalem.  They returned to the Cenacle, not only because of the Last Supper but because it was to this room they had fled when our Lord was crucified, and here again that our Lord had appeared to them several times after his resurrection.  It was a large room, big enough to accommodate them all as well as quite a few other disciples.  And most importantly, it was within the city walls of Jerusalem, where our Lord had told them they must go and wait.  And so they gathered here after our Lord rose up into the clouds of heaven, no doubt fearful as they were on Good Friday, but also, certainly, with the strength of their faith in the Resurrection recently confirmed by seeing the miracle of Christ ascending body and soul before them.

We can be sure they were confused by all that had happened, and were wondering what would happen next.  They had been promised the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, but what exactly did that mean?  All they could do was wait and see.  Our Lord was no longer physically present with them, but they had the consolation of the presence of his blessed Mother, who no doubt reassured them that all would be well and that her Son’s promise would be soon be fulfilled beyond their wildest dreams.

The Acts of the Apostles do not reveal much of what went on during those nine days of waiting.  We know that St. Peter was already taking charge, as he stood in the midst of them and explained how they needed to elect a twelfth apostle to take the place of Judas the traitor.  But other than this election of Matthias, Scripture says only one thing about what they did for nine days: “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”

This period of nine days between Ascension and Pentecost is therefore known as the first Novena of Prayer, commanded by our Lord himself before he rose into heaven.  The word Novena comes from the Latin word meaning “nine” and we have grown accustomed to the idea of repeating prayers for nine days before a great event in our lives or in the days leading up to the high Holy Days.  But it was this original Novena, in which the apostles fervently prayed to God for guidance, that set the standard for all novenas that followed.

In the first place, we need to take note that their Novena was made in the presence of the Mother of God herself.  While our prayers rise directly to God, it is assuring to know that when Christ’s own Mother presents them, they will certainly be answered.  Whatever petition we present before the throne of God, we should always invoke our Mother’s intercession to make sure we’re asking for the right things and in the right way.

Secondly, they had been commanded by Christ himself to wait and pray for the coming of the Holy Ghost and thus they knew most assuredly that their petitions were in accordance with God’s will.  We should also run this litmus test on our requests to God, that we are indeed asking for something that God wants, and not just something we want.

Next, it is always better not to pray alone.  The apostles, says Holy Scripture, all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.  While God is always listening to our individual aspirations and requests, we have been told nevertheless that whenever two or more are gathered together in his Name, Christ is there in the midst of them.  Two is the minimum number that allows charity to exist.  If we are “in accord” with others when we pray, God will be more inclined to listen to our petitions.  This is why it is so important that the Church be united, that it be “one” as well as holy, catholic and apostolic.  It’s why the official liturgical prayers offered in  the name of the entire Church are the most highly valued and effective.  It’s why we have Rosary processions at Fatima and Lourdes, why we kneel together in Church in a common act of worship, and why every family that wants to stay together needs to pray together.

Finally, let’s note that Pentecost happened a full nine days after the Ascension.  Why did our Lord not send the Holy Ghost immediately on the evening of the first Ascension Thursday?  Why did he make the apostles wait nine whole days before fulfilling his promise to them?  The answer is that he wanted to give them time to prepare for what was to come.  He wanted them to pray, to persevere in asking over and over again for the coming of the Comforter, for the inspiration they needed to fulfill our Lord’s other commandment to go unto all nations, baptizing in the Name of the Father and of the Son and, let’s not forget, of the Holy Ghost.  Only by the coming of the Holy Ghost did the apostles realize the Trinity of God, and that the Spirit of the Father and of the Son was one with them, an equal Person of a Triune God.  Their prayers and preparations for Pentecost were necessary for them to have this understanding of the nature of God.

In making them wait, Christ also wanted to instill in the Apostles the virtues of patience, fortitude and perseverance in prayer.  When God answers our prayers, he is not performing a magic trick—we ask, and poof! we get!  Our Lord told us that if we want something, we must not cease to pray, but ask over and over again till we get what we want.  This may seem like we’re harassing God at times, but it was our Lord himself who gave us the parable of the man who needed something from his neighbor in the middle of the night, and he continued knocking on the neighbor’s door, preventing him from getting any rest, until the man relented, got out of bed, and came down and gave him what he wanted.  So pray for nine full  days if you really want something!  Knock and ye shall receive.  If you don’t receive, knock again and keep knocking.  And if you feel bad about it, respectfully remind God that it’s what he asked us to do!

We’re a few days into the Novena already, but it’s never too late to start praying.  If you have any particular need right now—and who doesn’t!—start now your novena to the Holy Ghost, and pray continually for the remainder of Ascensiontide that God will hear your prayer and grant your desires.  Ask the Blessed Mother to help with your requests, and then persevere for the whole of the coming week.  Use next Saturday’s vigil, with its penance and fasting, to double down on your supplications, and have the faith to believe that God will hear them and answer them.  Follow the words of St. Peter in his Epistle today, and “be ye sober, and watch unto prayer!”