Here's praying at you!

Readings for this Sunday (Proper 29...21st Sunday after Pentecost) - 17th October 2010. Jeremiah 31:27-34 and Psalm 119:97-104 or[Genesis 32:22-31 and Psalm 121]; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 ;Luke 18:1-8(-15)

This week many of Australia's Roman Catholics will be focussing on Rome

as Mother Mary MacKillop is 'canonised'

or added to the list of official saints.

One of the good things about being an Anglican has been that we have been freed from the bizarre process which seems almost impossible to endure.

Instead Anglicans have in, say, the last 50 years promoted local calendars

helping us to focus on individuals

who have led good Christian lives

without the need to be scrupulous about declaring them perfect

or, more controversially, without seeing the need to locate their sainthood

in a couple of impossible 'miracles'.

One RC sister commented on TV last week that she thought the process had gone a bit overboard

in focussing on miracles

surely a saintly life was more than just this.

What then do we imagine saints do?

Clearly a lot of popular focus and discussion

has gone into getting the saints to "answer" prayers.

Let's be clear that no church teaches that anyone other than God

answers prayer.

The idea that is being proposed

is that we invite the Saint to pray with us

to God for a particular cause.

So many people are asking Mary MacKillop just at this time

to pray to God for them.

This is a thoroughly Christian idea!

we say in the Apostles' Creed

I believe in the communion of saints (see another homily here)

To be blunt, the word 'saint'

is not an extraordinary word at all.

It is the word the New Testament uses

to refer to the members of the church

that is, all those who are baptised into Christ;

God's holy people (saint means a 'holy person')

It's you and me....so it is really close in meaning

to the Anglican idea of the local saint

rather than the almost supernatural figure .

Now saints, you and I, pray for each other

and for the world, and for the church.

It is our job, our duty, our core business!

Some of us are possibly quite good at this

I guess we notice some of these and they become larger than life!

When I want help I ask people to pray for me.

I am pleased when you do!

Some of us who are part of the communion of saints

have died, it doesn't mean that we have stopped living in Christ.

My mother, for example, and dear Alder Hall who we buried only last week

and certainly Mary Mackillop continue to live in Christ.

Our prayer is that their prayer joins ours!

Don't starve yourself of prayer support.

We join our prayers with the saints, and they with us.

In special times we are drawn to particular saints,

this is our human way

It is also the way of the Holy Spirit

encouraging us to pray and to be prayed for.

I don't care, just as long as we pray

and then pray

and then pray a little bit more.