INTERCESSION

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"Tell them I love them and I shall always love them; tell them I am praying for them, and I shall always pray for them."

-- Fr. Huntington's last recorded words

The Prayer Book teaches us that Jesus is "our only Mediator and Advocate", but it does so after asking us "to make prayers and supplications" for all people. The reason is that when Jesus told his disciples to begin their prayer with the words "Our Father" just as he did himself, he was giving them (and us) a share in his mediatorial office. That is not because when we ask God for something, we are telling God something God does not know (God knows "our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in asking"). Rather, God gives us an opportunity to help distribute the gifts he offers us through his Son. In other words, since God's very nature is Love, he has bestowed the "dignity of causality" on us creatures, by promising to grant what we ask in Jesus' name (Jn. 14:13-14). Prayer, of course, is not magic--we cannot compel God to do anything, not even in Jesus' name. Christian Prayer is rooted in a desire to do God's will. Thus like Jesus' own prayer in Gethsemane, it contains the proviso, "Yet not what I want but what you want." Nevertheless, God's desire to have our wills

mingle with his can sometimes do great things. That is why the Bible tells us to pray "without ceasing" for one another and for ourselves (I Thess. 5:17).

The monks of Incarnation Priory try to do this by praying for our Associates and for others who may ask our prayers. The efficacy of prayer does not depend on any goodness we think we might have or holiness we might possess, but solely on God's great love for us and for all people. That is why we ask all of you to pray for us. If you wish us to pray for you or for some specific intention of yours, you can tell us about it briefly in the space provided below:

We will remember you when we offer the Divine Office.

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