Ps 22(23)  

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

Back in the 5th century AD the richest woman in the Roman Empire was a widow called Proba. Because she had wealth, she had time on her hands. And as she was a very devout Christian woman, she wanted to spend as much time as possible in prayer. So she wrote to St Augustine for advice. Augustine’s reply was his famous Letter 130, the only time he wrote specifically on the subject of prayer. It is a gem.

In that letter, he writes that prayer begins with desire. Wanting to pray is already prayer, already the grace of God at work in our lives drawing us to him. But if we are to keep the ‘flame of desire’, as Augustine calls it, alive in our hearts, then we have to set aside time for prayer, daily. And prayer need not be lots of words, either. ‘Sighs and tears’ are often better than many words, he writes. Prayer is a movement of the heart towards God, not so much of the head, though we need that too.

Somewhat surprisingly, in answer to Proba’s question about what she should pray for, Augustine says she should pray for happiness. However, he then goes on to explain what he means by ‘happiness’.  Everyone desires to be happy, without exception, except that many go looking for it in the wrong places: in personal ambition, in pleasure, in the self-centred pursuit of one’s own needs at the expense of others, in drugs, drink, sex, whatever.

But Augustine’s description of happiness is taken from today’s psalm: to dwell in the Lord’s own house for ever and ever. That is the true happiness we all yearn for, even if we don’t realise it.

A reflection written by Paul Graham O.S.A., St Joseph's Broomhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland

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