"Your prayer has been heard..."

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John." ~Luke 1:13

Ave Maria!  When I came to the above verse from today's Gospel (Lk 1:5-25), I recalled the catechesis on prayer that Pope Benedict XVI gave last Wednesday (view here), in which he reflected on the prayer of Jesus in the story of Lazarus, who had died and for whom our Lord grieved and prayed.  This prayer of Jesus, the Holy Father teaches us, "is a prayer that manifests once again His unique relationship of knowledge and communion with the Father."  Pondering  Christ's filial relationship with the Father, the Holy Father continues:

"Dear brothers and sisters, in reading this narrative each one of us is called to understand that in the prayer of petition to the Lord, we must not expect an immediate fulfillment of our requests, of our will; rather, we must entrust ourselves to the Father’s Will, interpreting each event within the perspective of His glory, of His design of love, which is often mysterious to our eyes.

"This is why -- in our prayer -- petition, praise and thanksgiving should coalesce, even when it seems to us that God is not responding to our concrete expectations. Abandonment to God’s love, which precedes and accompanies us always, is one of the attitudes at the heart of our conversation with Him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church comments in this way on Jesus’ prayer in the account of the raising of Lazarus: 'Jesus’ prayer, characterized by thanksgiving, reveals to us how to ask: before the gift is given, Jesus commits Himself to the One who in giving gives Himself. The Giver is more precious than the gift; He is the "treasure"; in Him abides His Son’s heart; the gift is given "as well"' (Matthew 6:21 and 6:33) (2604).

"This seems to me to be very important: before the gift is given, to adhere to Him who gives; the Giver is more precious than the gift. Also for us, then, beyond what God gives us when we call upon Him, the greatest gift He can give us is His friendship, His presence, His love. He is the precious treasure we should ask for and treasure always."

We really don't know much about Zechariah and his own prayer, other than the fact that his prayer was indeed answered -- and magnificently so! -- but that he also doubted for he did not believe the angel's words that his prayer had been heard.  In our "Zechariah moments," it is good to recall the Holy Father's reminder that "Jesus’ example teaches us that in our own prayers we must always trust in the Father’s will and strive to see all things in the light of his mysterious plan of love."

Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, teach me to trust in the Father's will as you did.  Amen.