The Day I Lied to Dad
The Day I Lied to Dad
This is not something of which I am proud. I was a good Catholic kid, raised with a very strong consciousness of sin —even for something as simple as having the wrong intention for doing the right thing. So lying to Dad must have ranked among the most serious, grave, and mortal offenses! Especially when you hear what I lied about: praying.
I grew up in a Catholic community which taught me to “say prayers.” This was not a bad thing. It gave me an awareness of God. We prayed at home before meals, and during Lent we were on our knees every night saying the rosary and up early every morning for Mass. In Catholic school we said the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be at the beginning of class, before taking a test, or to help us win at football.
But we did not do spontaneous prayers. The only person I knew who prayed “spontaneously” was the parish priest who sometimes came over for dinner. I only knew how to say the prayers that I was taught. So when I prayed in bed at night just before falling asleep I turned to what I knew and said the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
BUT IT TOOK SO LONG! At least that’s what Robert in 8th grade thought. For a while I said those prayers, but said them as fast as I could. I tried to do all three in 30 seconds flat. Finally, even that was too much trouble, so I just stopped.
I stopped praying at the very time my parents were having a revival in their faith. Mom and Dad began going to a prayer meeting, met Jesus, and were baptized in the Holy Spirit! Their lives were turned upside down. They learned to pray using their own words, not out of duty, but to build a relationship with God. My brothers and I could certainly tell something was going on. Catholicism by law was being replaced with Catholicism by love.
One night, as I settled down for an evening of watching TV, Dad walked into my bedroom. He asked me, “Do you pray?”
He caught me off guard. I expected, “What are you watching?” or “Let’s play cards,” but “Do you pray?” YIKES!
For all of three seconds I thought of being honest:
“I used to pray, but it was too much work… I know it’s a terrible sin, and I will go to Confession on Saturday, and… do you want to say a Hail Mary right now?”
But, I LIED and blurted out: “Yes, Dad.”
He did not say another word, and left. But his question stuck with me. I even heard myself say the truth, “No, but I want to.”
Dad’s question was loaded. He really was not asking me if I said the rote prayers I had learned at school as a duty bound Catholic. He was asking me if I had a relationship with God and was nurturing that relationship by spending time with God in prayer.
Prayer had become a duty that I learned to do as a child and, for the first time, I was being asked to transition from a child’s faith to a young adult faith of someone actively seeking to know and love God.
I began praying that night. I had seen the changes in Mom and Dad’s life, and in the lives of some of their close friends, and I wanted that change for me too. Dad’s question opened the way to that change: knowing God’s love in Jesus and seeking a relationship with God through prayer.
Do you pray? Do you spend time consciously working on knowing God’s love in Jesus and seeking a relationship with God through personal prayer?
Fall Retreat on Prayer — Catholic Life Ministries is hosting its annual fall retreat to help you deepen your life with God by calling you away to a beautiful place in the mountains and giving you ample opportunities for quiet personal prayer, and prayer with others. Please join us.
Click here for registration information or Click here for a flyer
Thank you for your support of CLM; send us your prayer intentions! We pray for you every Thursday!
