Following the Lord

"Follow me." Jn 21:19

Jesus is our model for everything in life, but never more so than when he reminds us that he is never alone, that his father is with him always. That is why he commands his disciples and us to follow him. We may not always feel the presence of God, especially when we are worried or fretting about matters we cannot control, but we must keep acting as if God is with us. We must keep following him.

The great saints in every religious tradition teach this consistently. Ghandi counselled his followers not to think of prayer as the work of the old or the weak, but as an act of submission to God and the food that strengthens us along the way. Prayer is the foundational practice of followers.

Rooted in this conviction, Ghandi writes about the fruit of prayer: "Nothing is so aggravating as calmness." Committed to non violence, Ghandi knew he would be tempted to act aggressively, to abandon calmness, especially in defense of the poor and voiceless, but he reminds us, “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."

Today, pray for the faith to follow the Lord even when you are walking in the dark.

How has prayer changed your life?