prayers.

there's always a never ending quarrel about prayers: the manner in which one has to pray, the posture, the clothing, the words, the outpouring lines, the drama, the memorization, the candles, the catholics, the protestants, the muslims, the buddhist, the atheist, etc. the gods (leader/bishop/nun/ingkong) wanted to have a perfect manner in which "their" prayers are supposed to be delivered.

i am a catholic, and i must admit that i am a devotee of the blessed virgin mary (at least i know in my heart that i am, and i don't care if other people don't know that). consequently, (i don't know if it is a proper word) i am practicing my educational expertise in a catholic school, i'm not kidding, therefore i am expected to follow the stereotype: obedience, chastity, and poverty.

obedience: thou shall obey the instructions given by your superior. i don't know if God made a person that is "superior" than another, for i believe in equality. however misleading the instruction is one must obey.

chastity: thou shall not do malicious actions (sexual). with regard to chastity, the school puts it this way: thou shall not indulge in things that will make you happy. like attending classes on a weekend.

poverty: thou shall not be greedy, that's why the compensation is less than what you deserve. moreso, it's meager for your needs. (for further information about poverty please try to see the real world)

i am really not sure if the vows that i've told is for priest's or nun's reference, for i am not a priest, and absolutely not a nun, but the thing is, that the school seems to follow the vows and extend it to all its constituent. i am certain that God wanted us, his creations, to have what is due so there is no reason for austerities (pardon the word).

allow me to now focus on the title: prayers.

prayers not are uttered by the lips, it is uttered by the heart. it is not through our words we pray but through our hearts that is filled with conviction. i cannot remember the exact lines from dequiros, but i tried to preserve the thought. to this i subscribe.
it is not the unending recitation of words that makes up a person's prayer--it's like being a zombie reciting lithanies over and over. it is not the memorization of countless paragraphs that defines a prayer's solemnity; it is how a person reaches out his hand to the creator, it is how a person hold on to his faith, it is the belief that there is a God out there that is listening to him; that is prayer. at least for me.

my coordinator (i will not call him "superior" because i have high respect to him) and i happen to talked to me earlier, i do not know how it diverted to prayers, for it started with my being out last saturday. anyway, so it turned to this, he wanted to know if i am like my friend/classmate/co-teacher, who, does not often ask our students to pray before every class period; i said yes, i do not often asked my students to recite prayers before class periods, why? my reason is in the above paragraph. i hate to see students or people in general recite words, when i know that they know do not contain any meaning whatsoever. it is like asking a person to do a thing without giving him a reason for doing. it's all in vain.

"catholics" i hate to admit it, but my coor tagged catholics as the ones who are incline to "recitations" (as i have said in the previous paragraph), i am a catholic and if every catholic has this definition i cannot imagine the results that this would bring to the faith that Jesus built (as i believe it).

i am not telling you not to pray in recited verses. i am not imposing that every people should have a belief in prayers that is parallel with what i believe in. what i am trying to say is that us, catholics (i can't really speak for other relifions),should evaluate ourselves, our beliefs, and everything that goes with it. there is nothing wrong if you wonder about the validity of mores. change will only happen if there are at least few people who will have the courage to think and to evaluate these mores, otherwise, there should be no morrow.

end.