Sacred Heart

Isn't that a pretty sun
setting in a pretty sky?
Will we stay and watch it darken?
Will we stay and watch it darken?  

The church not made by hands
Not contained by man
That precious place
Unmade by man

---

What is prayer anyway?

Clasping of the hands, head bowed, eyes closed, solemn faced.

There's more to it than that, right

It's about attention, isn't it? Intensely attending a certain matter

I thought it was about supplication. Asking humbly for something to happen or some harm to be averted.

It's a conversation, isn't it. A conversation between heart and spirit. That's why it requires so much concentration.

How do you mean

We're so used to using our flesh to communicate, we're not so good at speaking from the heart. Or listening to it for that matter.

Smoke rose in the distance, a slow and ominous plume. Sirens wailed softly beyond the horizon.

So if prayer is just talking then what's it good for? Why should we pray for this or that or anything if it doesn't actually change anything

What makes you say it doesn't change anything

Well I can talk to you about the shape of this table for as long as I want, but that won't make it into a triangle.

That's true

No, that's right. Just talking about it wouldn't change anything - but what if you were talking to a carpenter instead.

What do you mean

If I were a carpenter and had my tools with me, I could certainly make the table into a triangle - but the owner probably wouldn't be very happy with me

... What are you trying to say?

The growing glow tinged the sidewalks orange and cast long flickering shadows across the bistro walls.

Sorry, let me try putting it another way.

No, I see what he's saying. You're saying that things only change if you talk to someone who has the power or ability to change things, right?

Sure, yes I get that, but my original point still stands: that just merely talking about something - without taking any further action doesn't accomplish anything.

No, of course not. But that's not to say that talking about it isn't useful.

I feel like we're not talking about prayer anymore.

... what do you think it means to pray for someone

I always thought it was something like hoping for the best? Like sending positive energy or something. Or at the very least, just spending a few minutes thinking of them

Which goes back to attention and awareness

But how on earth does that benefit the person you're praying for. I just don't see how logically it would make any difference at all.

Unless you do something about it

Right?

But how do you know what to do about it? It's not always so simple

Perspiration forms like dew on their foreheads. The dried wood crackles and the ambient roar of combustion makes it harder to hear each other.

So a prayer is the meditative component that hopefully leads to epiphany and effective intervention, but without action to back it up doesn't actually make any difference in the real world. Ok, I get what you're saying.

I see! why didn't you just say so

The smell of burnt concrete and smoke engulfs the group. The flames lap at their shoes.

No, that's not it. That's not it at all.