By Madeline Dorobiala
Staff Writer
Franciscan University introduced its four-part series, School of Prayer, on Monday, Feb. 19 in Christ the King Chapel.
Bob Lesnefsky, director of the Office of Evangelization, started the talk explaining the purpose of School of Prayer.
“We are going back to the basics of how do we pray,” said Lesnefsky. “The point of the School of Prayer is to learn and grow.”
Lesnefsky said that not knowing how to pray is something Jesus’ disciples did not know how to do and eventually learned, so it should not be something to be embarrassed of.
Christ the King Chapel was at full capacity. Some households attended the talk instead of having their commitments that night.
Lesnefsky invited the audience to join him in prayer before handing it over the speaker, Monica Richard. Richard, director of Staff Care at Damascus Mission, was welcomed by the audience with a round of applause.
Richard engaged with the audience and asked questions, allowing them to reflect on their relationship with God throughout the talk.
“The conversation is different if you don’t know who you’re talking with,” said Richard. “What you think is God might not be God.”
She explained how God’s tone is different than what we think it is.
“God does not make fun of us,” said Richard.
Richard encouraged the audience to look at the Catechism or the Bible if they are struggling to remember what the image of God is.
“God knows us, and we know Him, and it is easy to believe the lies that God doesn’t want to talk to us,” explained Richard. “We know God because we recognize Him and surround ourselves around him, but it’s not easy.”
“There’s so many other voices, and when there’s so many voices, it’s really hard to know who the shepherd (God) is,” said Richard.
The lost sheep parable was mentioned throughout the talk, emphasizing Richard’s topic of the audience’s relationship with God.
“Allow Him to be God and allow you to be the sheep,” said Richard.
The audience left Christ the King Chapel encouraged by Lesnefsky to stay for a bonfire and donuts.
“It’s really hard to find time to talk to Him (God) even though we have all these resources, so making time for Him will help me hear His voice better,” commented junior Leia Kadalak.