By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald

Speaker urges others to live and pray with passion

RICE LAKE --The call to pray without ceasing, from the head to the heart, was the theme of the 2002 Diocesan Fall Institute, held Oct. 9 at St. Joseph Church and School. Over 500 teachers and catechists participated in a number of workshops throughout the day. Four educators were also awarded for their outstanding efforts, achievements and service.

The program began with a musical celebration of faith. Ziggy Stardust, liturgist and music teacher at St. Peter the Fisherman Parish and School in Eagle River delighted all who gathered for opening Mass with his composition called "Mass of Earth Angels." He played guitar and led a group of children from Eagle River and Rice Lake in song and dance.

Bishop Raphael M. Fliss celebrated Mass with several priests from the diocese. During his homily, Fliss welcomed the religious educators and thanked them for their hard work and dedication. "Thank you. Thank you, one and all, for what you do to help me with my responsibilities, what you do for the church, what you do for all those wonderful people you touch," he said.

Fliss also reflected on words inscribed in Latin on a building in Switzerland: "Called upon or not, God is present" People often forget that, he said, adding that it's always best to begin by praising God. "God is present; God wants us to communicate with him," said Fliss.

Those educators gathered before him, Fliss said, fully desire to "witness Christ and bring God's triumph to our prayers." He said, "I believe with all of my heart that every one of you sitting here ... has accepted that responsibility of carrying on our lord's mission: to bring God's kingdom right here on earth, to make this a better world, to help everyone come to know Jesus. And I compliment you for that."

Following the Mass and award ceremony, keynote speaker Elizabeth-Anne Stewart (formerly Vanek) spoke about prayer as a way of life and a total and passionate response to God. Stewart currently teaches in the departments of university ministry and religious studies at De Paul University, Chicago. She holds degrees in English and theology and is a noted author and speaker.

Stewart began by sharing three stories to illustrate her point that prayer and passion go hand in hand. The first story involved a lady who carried her rosary beads everywhere she went and had been saying the rosary five times a day for the last fifty years. When Stewart asked the lady how she felt God through prayer, the lady said, "No one ever told me I could feel God when I pray." She was reluctant to search for alternative means of prayer that might make her feel more connected to God.

The second involved a young woman who asked Stewart how she could deepen her faith in God. The young woman said, "Recently I've been very busy, but there have been times in my life when I really felt connected to God." The lady talked about an experience in the Swiss Alps and another when she lived with the poor in Honduras. Both experiences made her feel alive and close to God.

Stewart said to this lady, "You know how to pray, you know how be in the moment, how to experience your faith ... how to see God in others and feel alive. Prayer is about feeling alive. It's about resting in God's heart and allowing God to rest in our heart."

The third story is about a seminarian who came to see Stewart and told her about his powerful experience of God. "He said it was so powerful, he felt he was on fire." The seminarian responded by going home and taking a cold shower and forcing God to go away. He said he wanted to experience the fire of God's love, but he was afraid of it.

Through these stories, Stewart said she hoped to show that it is possible to live in passionate relationship with God. Children are a prime example. Stewart said she was blown away by the children performing during Mass; she was "amazed by their voices and movements, by their vulnerability and authenticity." Children, she said, seem to be born with the ability to relate passionately to God.

Adults, however, often create distance between themselves and God, she said. They develop adult ways of doing things, which tend to be boring or lack passion. According to Stewart, "Many of us are afraid of really being alive, and we bring our own deadness to prayer, and sometimes to the children." She spoke about how adults often stop children from dancing or giggling and make them color in the lines. "We deaden what the children have naturally," she said.

Also, "our language in prayer is too polite," Stewart said; it distances people even further from God. Turning to the psalms as an example, Stewart spoke of prayer as "daring to speak, not out of piety, but authenticity." She said prayer does not have to be boring and predictable. It should be a celebration of raw emotion, both positive and negative, anger and praise. Even public prayer, she said, can be creative and surprising.

Stewart gave examples of the violence and bad things that happen when people block God out of schools, the workplace and politics. Amazing things happen when we invite God in, she said, recalling the singing and dancing that took place earlier in Mass. "God wants to be part of every aspects of our lives."

How can people invite God into their lives? Stewart said they should make a commitment to living life to the fullest. They should do whatever brings them joy, whether it is gardening, cooking, carpentry. She said the activities that bring passion and pleasure are life giving and allow us find God in our lives.

"Don't model to children that life isn't joyful," Stewart concluded. Instead, she urged her audience to "mirror and model a loving God who weeps and grieves, a God who offers the universe and more, and only asks that we respond."

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002