Prayer and Memory

Abstract

This project attempts to draw the contours of defining the human experience of prayer as an intentional act in which we come before God and reach beyond the moment we pray to a life that embodies a prayerful attitude. It does so by examining the conceptions of prayer Jean-Louis Chrétien’s and Johann Baptist Metz’s writing and by bringing them into a conversation with Jewish liturgical concepts on prayer as found in the Talmudic discussions and Rabbinic interpretations. The dialogue between the three interlocutors provides the basis for defining the human approach to prayer as prayerfulness –the conscious mindset in which a person is aware of their existence before God, embodied in the moment of prayer and as a lifestyle. Jean-Louis Chrétien’s poetic take on prayer as a responsorial act of speech conceptualizes prayer as an intimate experience of one’s relationship with God. We give ourselves to God insofar as we become present with God. Prayer, then, becomes a vulnerable act in which we become aware of God and our limitations and frailties. This exposure of ourselves causes Chrétien to call prayer “wounded speech.” Our exposure is a blessure, a wound, because in it we recognize our inadequateness compared to God. This awareness becomes an unforgettable struggle, an ordeal. Also, we become aware that our speech, our prayer contains nothing that God does not already know. In other words, everything we say and do is preconceived by God. Here, memory becomes a factor in Chrétien’s thought. It seems as though prayer helps us relieve ourselves from this agony in our lives insofar as we are reminded of God’s love and the memory of God’s suffering for us. Johann Baptist Metz adds another layer to the discussion. Metz conceptualizes prayer within his political theology. Like Chrétien’s thought, this account frames prayer within the context of suffering. However, Metz is less interested in the personal suffering caused by one’s own limitations than in the suffering of those who are at the margins of society. Embedded in the context of post-world-war Germany and the shaking events of the Shoah, this concept of prayer calls for a compassionate embodiment of the suffering of the disenfranchised voices that endure physical or emotional pain. Prayer becomes a mode of remembering the other when embodied and experienced to compassionately raise the voices of the other. Here, Metz introduces a spirituality that he calls “Poverty of Spirit” that envisions one’s embodiment of prayer as a lifestyle. Prayer becomes an agent that incentivizes moral action. When brought together into dialogue with one another, the three interlocutors paint the picture of an experience of prayer this project defines as “prayerfulness.” It is the conscious mindset in which a person is aware of their existence before God, embodied in the moment of prayer and in their life. This awareness is multi-faceted and springs out of the connection between memory and prayer. One facet is the awareness of God’s presence. When considering Chrétien’s account, it is not so much the act of communicating one’s thoughts that is the primary purpose of prayer but the presence before God. This exposure itself reflects an unreserved vulnerability before God. In remembering God’s own suffering for us, we also become aware of God’s love for us. Metz, then, shows how prayer is a cry that expresses the wish that God is present, yet in this cry, God is already and always present, even if we do not perceive it. The memories of the Jerusalem Temple and the Patriarchs in Jewish liturgy bolster a perceived awareness of God. For instance, the imagery of the Temple, the focal point of God’s presence in the world, immerses the praying person in its memory. In the face of the reality that the Temple has been destroyed, the discussed texts reveal that the Sages took great care in providing guidelines to orchestrate a Temple memory through postures and liturgical attributes. Prayer, considered as service of the heart, and thus referring to the Temple cult, becomes a vessel for the memory of the same. This palpable notion of God’s presence adds to the perception of our presence before God, enhancing one’s focus. This concept of intentionality or focus, kavvanah, in part facilitated by the memory of the Temple and the Patriarchs, applies to a broader range of issues and speaks to what Metz has been calling for to realize prayer in daily life. It allows for us Christians across the denominational spectrum to reconsider the value of intentionality and prayerful engagement, not just in the moment of prayer but in life. Judaism helps facilitate a pragmatic, practice-oriented view to the often rather concept-oriented Christian thinking.