In a recent conversation between Mº Aurelio Porfiri and Abbot Philip Anderson, an important question emerged—one that many listeners and subscribers may often ponder: What is the right balance between public prayer, expressed in the liturgy, and private, interior prayer? Abbot Anderson offers a thoughtful reflection that brings clarity to this perennial issue.
He reminds us that the liturgy is not merely a series of external actions, chants, and ceremonies. Rather, these elements form a sacred language through which we express what is most intimate within us—our interior religion, the deep movements of the heart and conscience. Human beings are not disembodied spirits; we live, perceive, and communicate through our bodies. For this reason, we cannot reduce our relationship with God to ideas or silent thoughts. We must sing, kneel, move, and participate through the bodily expressions that the liturgy offers. These gestures do not replace interior prayer; they manifest and support it.
Abbot Anderson also warns against the temptation—found in certain spiritual movements or even in some Protestant approaches—to reject external forms in favor of a purely interior spirituality. Such a view, he says, is a kind of “sin of the angel,” the illusion of being able to transcend our human condition. But when one tries to pray like an angel, he paradoxically risks losing the authenticity of both spirit and flesh. To be human is to unite interior devotion with its exterior expression.
Public prayer, however, is not without challenges. Distractions are inevitable: a crying baby, movements in the pews, unexpected noises. Yet even these moments, the Abbot suggests, can become reminders of our shared humanity. He remarks with simplicity and humor that when he hears a baby cry during Mass, he sometimes feels the same way—but unlike the child, he cannot cry aloud. This insight captures the essence of the balance: prayer is both deeply personal and beautifully communal, rooted in who we are as embodied souls seeking God together.
