PRAYER OR INTENTION. WHAT distinguished the two? Weren’t they both ways of using the mind to manifest a desire or cause things to happen? Or was intention only meant to be used for things that lay within our power to control; and prayer, as Granny Max had suggested, reserved for what lay beyond our power to control? If prayer was a way to address God, then whom were we addressing through intention? Our own source of power? Should intention, then, be limited to the mundane, like influencing the growth of seeds and plants and affecting the pH of water; and prayer be reserved for the imperative, like curing Granny Max and Angelina of cancer? Either way, weren’t we projecting our own energy into the Universe for a particular outcome? Such thoughts plagued me all night and during my drive back to school on Tuesday.
Today we would send out our intentions for Granny Max’s good health in the form of prayer. But who would lead us? Science-minded Luke? Jason, dealer in magic? Codi or Shawn, readers of minds? Tessa, our reluctant healer?
Angelina would have been my choice, since she regularly attended Mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in San Jose and claimed to feel a special connection to God. But she hadn’t attended class since our field trip to the James Lick Observatory.
That left Ethan, twister of words, mis-interpreter of messages.
Stumped, I decided to leave it up to Granny Max to choose. She’d know who would be the right choice.
***
After her students had left for the day, Granny Max arrived at our classroom to take part in the “prayer” experiment. When I asked her who should lead us, she immediately chose Ethan.
Jason ducked his head. “Sheesh, that’s a relief. The only prayer I know by heart is the Serenity Prayer. Great for funeral cards and cremation urns, but not for what we’re about to do.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Granny Max said softly.
Ethan rose from his chair with the confidence of someone accustomed to talking to God. He motioned for us to form a circle then placed a chair in the center for Granny Max. “I’m probably no better at this than Jason, but I’ll lead the prayer because you asked me to, Granny Max.” He moved to a spot on the rim of the circle between Shawn and Luke. “If anyone has a problem with the words I use, go ahead and pray on your own. The thing to remember is we’re asking for God’s help in making Granny Max better and we need to believe, really, really believe, He’ll answer our prayer. Now, close your eyes and clear your minds the way we did during Luke’s intention experiment. Then hook up, not like smooching or anything, but mentally, like we’ve been practicing. Then connect with Granny Max, and, together, we’ll reach out to God.”
I opened my eyes—yes, I cheated, my prerogative as a teacher—and saw Ethan bend his knees and upper body and take a deep breath as if he’d done this hundreds of times before. “May the Blessed Holy One be filled with compassion for Granny Max’s health. May He send complete renewal of her body, mind, and spirit. Amen.”
Repeating Ethan’s prayer with all the belief I could muster, I wondered how Granny Max had known to choose Ethan to lead us. Ace of Spaces, source of illumination for others, key to the profound secrets of life. The perfect emissary between us and God.
Apparently, I didn’t know my students as well as I’d thought. One thing for certain, though, I had seven arguments to prove it possible for thirteen-year-olds to be perceptive and wise beyond what was conceivable for their age.