‘Your spirit is not willing and the flesh is also weak’

Tony and James attend Plainview Intermediate School and Saint Mary Catholic Church in Ardmore. They are typical youth interested in sports and video games. When their 70-year-old grandfather took them recently to adoration, something surprising happened to the young boys.

When entering the church, they were struck by the quiet, the serenity, peacefulness, the darkness, and after a few minutes of short prayer and reflection, they decided it was a great opportunity to take a nap. These energetic young men haven’t taken naps since they were 2-3 years old and are difficult to get to bed at night.  

The grandfather smiled and understood human nature hasn’t changed much in 2000 years. It is human nature when the Lord asks people to spend an hour praying. Jesus had 12 beloved Apostles and he choose the cream of the crop – Peter, James and John – to pray with him for just an hour on the night before he was to die.

Instead, the apostles fell asleep … Matthew (26) Mark (14) Luke (22) all reported how the Apostles failed Jesus. The grandfather also remembered when he was 10 years old. His father had “dragged” him to adoration and the young boy promptly fell asleep.  

Afterward, his dad asked him, “You wouldn’t have fallen asleep watching Dallas Cowboys on TV, why would fall asleep in front of the Lord?”

The 10-year-old quoted Matthew 26:41, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

The dad said, “We are going to fix that next time. In the meantime, if we have a car accident tonight and both die, I am going to tell the Lord, ‘Here is my phony son, his spirit is not willing and his flesh is also weak.’”

The next time at adoration, his dad gave him an exhaustive list of things to pray for that was much longer than an hour. It included things like thanking Christ, the Church, family, faith, friends, health, school, country, relatives, people who have died, etc. 

However, most important, he said to visualize that Christ was seated next to him and Christ wanted to hear all about his life as a long-lost friend.

“What are the good things, bad things, what do you want to be when you grow, your concerns about Russia, ask for any other intentions, etc.  Most important, remember to thank him for dying for us.” 

The grandfather remembered to do the checklist for his grandsons the next time they went and adoration proved much better. Also, in the middle of the hour, rosary was mixed in with special intentions of family and friends. 

It took many years for the grandfather to appreciate the foundation and love that his dad gave him for adoration. Now the grandfather always looks forward to telling Christ about his many years of marriage, his job challenges, his wonderful children and grandchildren. 

His dad died 50 years ago, so he longs for the day he can tell his dad the same stories and thank his dad for their shared devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

There are many ways of praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament in adoration. Father Mark Toups of Ascension Press suggested: “Tell God how you feel. Tell him what you think. Tell him what you want. Share all your thoughts, feelings and desires with God.  Listen to what he is telling you. Maybe he invites you to reread scripture. Perhaps he invites you into a still, restful silence. Trust that God is listening to you.”

Dana Dempewolf, also of Saint Mary Catholic Church, said, “Be still, let the words fall like rain on your heart and let them puddle there. You are spending time with God. That alone is enough.”   

Dempewolf quoted Saint Bernard, “The Holy Spirit is really doing the heavy praying.”

Becky Goza of Saint Monica Catholic Church in Edmond said, “The more I practice the silence, the more I long for more time in his presence. I just don’t know how you can sit with Jesus and be anything other than humbled and surrounded by a feeling of great love and peace. In this busy world where we are connected at every minute by our social sites and mobile devices, just taking a break to be with Jesus for a short time, really sorts out my priorities for the day.”  

Goza added, “Two of my favorite sayings attributed to Mother Teresa are ‘Jesus has made himself the bread of life to give us life. Night and day, he is there. If you really want to grow in love (remember Matthew 22), come back to the Eucharist, come back to that adoration,’ and ‘each one of us is a co-worker of Christ. We must labor hard to carry him to the hearts where he has not yet been known and loved ... But, unless we have Jesus, we cannot give him. That is why we need the Eucharist. Spend as much time as possible in front of the Blessed Sacrament and he will fill you with his strength and his power.”

Charles Albert is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.