September 25, Friday Weekday

Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God. -- Psalm 43:5

Mass readings:Haggai 2:1-9 / Luke 9:18-22

Places for Prayer

Today's readings allude to places for prayer. The Old Testament reading shares words of encouragement given by the prophet Haggai to the Jews. In the sixth century B.C., they returned from exile to a homeland in shambles. Rebuilding the second Temple with the splendor Solomon had given the first seemed impossible. But Haggai promises that God would transform this new Temple, filling it with glory. Jesus, however, had been ''praying in solitude.'' Likely, He found His own ''Temple'' behind a rocky outcropping or beneath the canopy of a secluded olive tree.

Today, people need help finding prayer places. The director of Retreats International, an umbrella group for U.S. and Canadian retreat centers, reported that an article on retreats in Southern Living Magazine once generated hundreds of calls. Almost a million people make retreats each year!

Prayer: Jesus, teach us to find places of prayer and peace for our weary spirits.