Prayer and the Trinity ... by 410 alum and Daniel's older sister Andrea Brunal

If you were told to write a letter to God, how would you address it? “Dear God” seems like an obvious choice, right? What about “Dear Lord” or “Holy Spirit” or maybe “Father”? Is one of those more correct than the others? Are we bad at praying if we don’t address all three parts of the Trinity? The answer is absolutely not. God is one God, and the Trinity exists within this truth. So when we address one part of the Trinity by name, we are all addressing the same God. It’s somewhat confusing and difficult to wrap your head around (which is why it is a mystery of faith!!), but the way I like to think about it is that God understands us well enough to know that we feel most comfortable addressing him in a certain way. Some days you might need some fatherly support. Other days you might need a friend who lived some of the same human struggles you currently have. And maybe some days you just need peace, a more quiet but interior change of heart. Today I’d like to talk about prayer in the context of the Trinity, and I hope this helps shape some of your prayers in the future!

The Father

“He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will, but what you will."”-Mark 14:36

This is one of my favorite prayers in the Bible for many reasons, but one is the use of the word abba. Abba is an Aramic word which was used colloquially and loosely translates to “dad” or “my dearest father”. When Jesus falls to his knees in the Garden of Gethsemane, he pleas to his beloved Father, the one who he looks to for guidance and unconditional love, to be spared from His cross. Yet he beautifully ends with a total surrender to the will of God the Father. This is a fantastic example of what it’s like to pray to the Father. Of course, it’s different for us because we aren’t asking God to spare us from being physically crucified, but we all have our own “crosses” we struggle with. Maybe it’s the pressure of making good grades, the pain of losing someone in your life, or conflicts with people around you. Maybe it’s something else. We all struggle with something in our lives, but the key is to remember the Father awaits us with open arms.

I find myself addressing the Father when I feel like a child in some way: lost, immature, impatient, or disobedient. I like to picture myself running up to God in these moments, taking His hand and gazing up at His face as He smiles down at me and guides me to where I need to be next. In these moments I can relate deeply to the meaning of abba. It implies respect and reverence but creates a sense of intimacy, of trust. God the Father is in control, we just have to trust in His plan. Is this easier said than done? Absolutely. I’ve found that my favorite prayers to the Father are made up of two main parts. First, honesty about what I’m feeling. Second, addressing the fact that I’m going to keep trying to figure it out. For example, “Father, I don’t understand why this is your will. I’m not a fan of what is going on around me or how I’m reacting to it, but I trust in your plan. Please continue to guide me.” Remember, God created you in His image. He knows exactly what you need. He chose to create you exactly as you are and you are valuable simply because He loved you into existence. Yeah, he loved you into existence, pretty cool, huh?


The Son

Jesus.
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What did you picture when you read His name? Was it the man on the cross, the man clothed in white in Heaven, the infant in a manger? Or was it different? For me, it depends on the day. What’s really cool about praying to Jesus is that he’s the only person of the Trinity who has lived the human life. He’s lived all sorts of human experiences, from the pain of loss and rejection to the joy of spending time with friends and helping those around Him. Yes, he worked miracles and eventually resurrected, but he also dealt with things as simple as sand getting stuck in his sandals. Jesus understands us on a deep spiritual level because he lived it too.

Some of you might say, “That’s cool Andrea, but it’s hard for me to pray because I can’t see Jesus…” First of all, I know exactly how you feel. You know who else does? St. Thomas. He didn’t believe Jesus had resurrected until he himself put his hands in Jesus’ wounds. My advice? Think about the Eucharist. That small piece of bread is Jesus Christ. Whether you are receiving communion or gazing at Him in adoration, He is physically there with you, hearing your prayers (shameless plug for adoration: you should try it! If you are wondering what adoration is, ask Eric or Katie about it. It’s my favorite way to pray!). He humbles himself into the Eucharist simply to show us how much he loves us and wants to be in communion with us.

Something else you might be thinking is, “Yeah he did live a human life, but I don’t have time to sit down and have long heart to hearts with Jesus. I already don’t spend as much time as I’d like with my friends and/or family.” Well, the awesome thing about prayer is that it can be done in many different ways, which means you can pray in many different places. For example, I often pray while biking between classes on campus. Sometimes it’s as simple as “Wow Lord, that test was way harder than I expected…” or “Jesus, thank you for speaking to me through my friends and their advice.” Sometimes when I’m really emotional about something, sad or happy, I turn the music off in my car as I drive to or from campus and have a conversation with Jesus out loud. Yes, I’m pretty sure people at stoplights probably think I’m crazy, but I’ve found that praying out loud really works for me. My point is that prayer doesn’t have to be in a church or in a structured pattern. It can be, and that’s awesome too, but prayer is whatever you make it because it is how you communicate with the Lord.

The Holy Spirit

I was listening to a speaker give a talk my freshman year, and she started with “Come, Holy Spirit”. I thought it was cool but I honestly didn’t think much of it. Last year when I went to Eric’s Bible study in December, I opened in prayer one night and started with “Come, Holy Spirit”. I think I did it mostly because I thought it was cool, but I still didn’t really think about what I was doing when I said it.

“Veni, Come. That is how these prayers begin. Their first word is addressed to the One whose presence we desire within us. And it is indeed God’s will that the Holy Spirit be our guest, that we be his temple” -Fr. Henri Caffarel, Being Present to God: Letters on Prayer

Without truly understanding, I was calling on the Holy Spirit and inviting him into the room, into my heart. I was giving him permission to guide my thoughts and desires so they would lead me closer to the Father and the Son. Guys, the Holy Spirit is super cool. He isn’t some weird ghost-like being floating around, jumping into our bodies when we say so. He resides in our hearts, waiting for our permission to instruct us. “He is a living spring welling up within you that inspires, sustains, and encourages your prayer, your faith, and your love” (Fr. Caffarel). The Holy Spirit gives us concrete tools to help us battle sin and be more receptive to God’s word. Think about the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If we allow Him into our hearts He will help us grow in these fruits and refine our prayers to the Father and Son.

The Holy Spirit also helps us through the tough times. “As our friend, the Holy Spirit consoles us, but not after the manner of earthly friends. His help comes from within. He is the energy that strengthens our will, and the fire that brings our heart to incandescence… [but] he has infinite respect for our freedom, and refuses to make a forced entry into our souls” (Fr. Caffarel). The Holy Spirit is powerful, but gentle. All we need to do to receive his help is simply invite him in. We can pray lengthy prayers of invitation, but it can also be as simple as “Come, Holy Spirit”, as long as we’re being intentional about letting him into our souls.

Tying it all together

“Christian prayer is not so much the work of man, as the work of God within a man… It is within you like the flame of an oil lamp. But this flame needs to be fed with oil, or it will flicker and go out. The oil that nourishes the prayer of the Spirit within you is your love for God.” -Fr. Caffarel

Prayer is as simple and as difficult as having a conversation with God. I say easy because all it really requires is opening our hearts to His will for us and the message he has for us when we dialogue with him. I say difficult because it requires is opening our hearts to His will for us and the message he has for us when we dialogue with him. It can be really hard to open to up to God, but I assure you it is well worth it. Some of the best conversations I’ve had with God started with me saying something along the lines of, “God, I have no idea how to start my prayer today. Please teach me how to pray”. There is no secret formula for how to pray, and prayer is different for everyone. But as long as you are receptive to God’s words and allow his love to fill your heart, He will help you with the rest. As St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney once said, “Prayer is nothing else than union with God. When the heart is pure and united with God it is consoled and filled with sweetness; it is dazzled by a marvelous light.”

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