Question:
Answer:
The greatest prayer in salvation history is a good work, the Self-Offering of Jesus on our behalf, which we sacramentally re-present and receive anew at every Mass (Luke 22:19-20; see 1 Cor. 5:7; 10:14-22; 11:23-34).
Consequently, our self-offerings or good works can also be offered as efficacious prayers in the Lord Jesus to the Father, whether on our behalf or for others. And in the Old Testament, God says good works are superior to the Old Covenant sacrifices offered regularly:
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6).
To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice (Proverbs 21:3).
Similarly, Jesus speaks about how our daily actions can serve as sacrifices of praise to the Father that draw others to God:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
St. Paul also speaks about how offering up our sufferings can serve as efficacious prayerful sacrifices for others:
If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer (2 Corinthians 1:6).
In addition, the Letter to the Hebrews affirms that our good works can serve as sacrificial offerings to God.
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God (Hebrews 13:15-16).
And St. James notes that good works are indispensable to our lives as Christ’s disciples, conveying, in effect, that we accept or reject God’s gift of salvation through our choices, including our good works (Jas. 2:14-26).