"Lord, I have cried to you, hear me." This is a prayer we can all say. This is not my prayer, but that of the whole Christ. Rather, it is said in the name of his body. - St. Augustine
I think we sometimes forget, in our lamentations before the Lord, that we are not in this alone. Our needs seem pressing, and we can get our whole attention on them rather than on the bigger picture. I think that is both a gift to us and a shortcoming to work on. We're too small to embrace all the needs of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, to be cognizant of them, nor even in many cases to do anything about the ones we are. But by remembering as we face our challenges that we are united in our struggling with every one of our fellow members of Christ's body, perhaps our journey through this life's challenges can be less egocentric and more compassionate.
"Let my prayer rise like incense in your sight; let the raising of my hands be an evening sacrifice." This is generally understood of Christ, the head. - ibid.
I now understand better why we pray this at evening prayer. I never connected it before with its fulfillment in the raising of Jesus' arms upon the cross. And if we are the body, are not we, too, joined in this prayer with him, sacrificed, crushed in our afflictions for the sake of the whole body? It is both a prayer of triumph and a joining of our struggles with the larger desire of God to have all of his beloved children brought home to him.
A day late with this reflection, but maybe another later on today's readings . . .
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