Prayer to Start the Week

What makes a classic a classic? Pondering that question, I turned to a good friends, my New Oxford American Dictionary (presented to me by Michele on Valentine's Day 2004; true love in action). A classic is "a work of art of recognized and established value."

Okay, but what causes us to recognize the classic's value? I think it's about an ability to speak, make sense, and to stir us, even though many years may have gone by. That is, the classic never fails to make its impact. At least that's why I consider Augustine such classic stuff. Sometimes, if I didn't know better, I'd guess I was reading someone's really great blog.

Take, for example, this one from among his letters:

"Why does the Lord urge us to pray, when he knows what we need before we ask him? This can seem puzzling and can make prayer seem like wasted effort. But prayer is not merely expressing our present desires. Its purpose is to exercise and train our desires, so that we want what he is prepared to give us. His gift is very great, and we are small vessels for receiving it. So prayer involves widening our hearts to God.

"We pray at fixed times of the day in order to remember our desire for God. And we pray in words--which in themselves are mere symbols--in order to focus our hearts on the inner truths behind the words."

"O God, you are close to all those who call on you in truth. You are truth itself, the source of eternal life. Instruct us with your wisdom, and teach us your love, so that we may know the truth that works through your love. We ask this in the name of Jesus, in whom truth was made manifest."

Amen.