In a certain sense it is possible to say, “Every place is a temple to find God and pray to the Father.” Furthermore, if we believe that every person is a temple where God dwells, we can honor God by the respect we show to each individual person. However, our prayer in these moments is nourished most of all during our adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and in the moments of individual or community prayer that we have.

We need to remember that prayer is not restricted to certain sacred places, but can become present in our daily ordinary routines. Also, there does not exist “first” and “second category” Christians. All laity, priests and religious are children loved by God, called and set-apart through baptism as “priests, prophets and kings.”

Jesus is our only teacher in this regard. Looking at the Gospels we see how sinners, sick people, Gentiles, Pharisees, and prostitutes approached him with total confidence (faith). That is why Jesus told them “your faith has saved you,” when he saw their authentic love for God and others.

Jesus teaches us to be contemplatives in action, to pray in life and to pray with our lives.

This is also summarized in the 8^th step in the Way of the Heart.

“We are invited to make our own the Father’s loving gaze upon humanity and to act with the Heart of Jesus Christ. We are sent out to the margins of human life in different ways, together with his Son. We are sent to the places where men and women are suffering injustice, to help heal and support the brokenhearted.”

To turn the encounter with others into an experience of compassion and prayer we learn from Jesus himself who with his tenderness teaches us to see the presence of God in our neighbor and in all creation.

• Carlos Canillas, SJ
  Continental Coordinator of Latin America and the Caribbean
  Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network