November 8, 2026
What if God wanted us to be much bolder in prayer than we are? What if He wanted to draw us much deeper into the intimacy of His heart? Haven’t we been too quick to decide that receiving God’s secrets is reserved for the great mystics, for exceptional souls? Why not me…? Saint Augustine asked. Humility does not necessarily mean timidity… Here we must quote some excellent advice given by the great St. Teresa: do not confine your desires within narrow limits. When we look closely at the lives of the saints, we realize that some of them were actually quite bold… which did not displease God—far from it. The intrepid disciple John, whose youthful spirit so moved Christ, made an act of unshakable faith in the love Christ had for him; he resolutely chose the first seat at the Last Supper and did not hesitate to recline on the Master’s chest. Thomas Aquinas, with his head resting against the tabernacle, implored God to enlighten him directly regarding His hidden truths. Catherine of Siena, Bridget of Sweden, and Gertrude the Great, in a boldness burning with love, boldly asked Christ to reveal to them this or that secret of His divine governance. Edith Stein, before entering the Carmelite Order, far from retreating into a so-called “spirituality of the desert”—which would have led her to a kind of sterile resignation—spent her days at the church in Beuron until God spoke to her… As for Céline Martin, as a true disciple of her daring little sister Thérèse, she had been deeply moved by these words from an English Oratorian, Father Faber: “Simplicity […] is found in complete freedom where another kind of holiness would await permission. These simple souls truly come to God with a sort of effrontery of love that fears nothing.”
All of these attitudes are, in fact, deeply rooted in biblical tradition, since Jacob, at the end of his struggle with God, holds Him fast in a sort of arm-wrestling match: “I will not let you go until you have blessed me.” Later in the Old Testament, Queen Esther forces her way into the king’s chamber, to which she no longer had access. Is this not a magnificent image of boldness in prayer? Our sinful condition gives us no right to enter into God’s innermost being, and yet… He expects us to ask Him for this grace.
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal explains to Catherine Labouré that the dark rays emanating from her hands represent the graces we do not receive because we do not ask for them. Why not ask for the grace to know God intimately? Let me, I pray, see your glory… (Ex 33:18)
