The power of prayer

At the social gathering with Ministers and other officials after the opening of Parliament on September 29, someone whispered into the ear of Rev Cyril Paul, IRO President and Presbyterian priest that the Prime Minister wasn’t too pleased with the prayer he had delivered. “I didn’t think too much of it,” he told People, until later on “when I got home,” he received a few telephone calls with the similar complaint. He reflected on his prayer. “I had to review it to see if I made a faux pas, if I gave the wrong impression that I was supporting a particular party,” he said. “I think when the Prime Minister reads it now, now that it’s in the newspapers he will see that there’s nothing there.” “Was it a matter of Rev Paul taking sides, or was his prayer directed to any particular individual(s) with some accusatory connotations?” were some of the concerns which arose. Rev Paul did pray for the Prime Minister, the President and parliamentarians, and he did speak in the first person plural saying “we,” and, he did use the phrase “desir(ing) to score points, clout, bluff, or exaggeration to save the day” — seemingly the points of contention.

When asked if any malice was intended, Rev Paul was quick to respond, “definitely not! I wrote the prayer addressing what was in front of me and at the same time I was praying for the whole country... Parliament had degenerated to a level we are not proud of at all, shouting and so on, and I always get angry when I see how they are behaving and that concern comes out in my prayer. And exaggerating and stretching the truth is what they do.” The words to his prayer, he said, were carefully chosen. As a matter of fact, when he delivered the prayer, he had a copy before him and read verbatim. This, he said, is done always “because I wanted to make sure every phrase, clause is what I wanted to use. In an extemporaneous prayer you can slip. Additionally, I walk with copies of my prayers because very often people ask for a copy.” Rev Paul was carded to give the invocation at the Tunapuna constituency thanksgiving service/musical recital last Thursday, where PM Manning was invited as feature speaker. Rev Paul laughed at the possible thought that the Prime Minster would show up after his prayer was given or, not at all. “I don’t think the Prime Minister is a small man, he’s a big man. We get along very well. I meet him like twice a week and we talk about a lot of things,” Rev Paul said.

A regular point of conversation is the fact that they both had open heart surgery. “When I had heart surgery eight, nine years ago the Prime Minister had heard about it and he called me twice that week. Now we talk about that and we tease each other and he would tell me his was more serious than mine. I am sure when we meet each other again we’ll greet each other warmly... I have good, nice thoughts about him. “But it just shows that prayer has power. In my 33 years as an ordained minister I have never been able to reach so many people like this prayer has done and cause this kind of stir through prayer. God used him (Man-ning) in a mysterious way. Now everyone wants copies of the prayer,” said Rev Paul. Though the prayer may have caused some contention, Rev Paul reiterated the need to pray in Parliament and at similar governmental gatherings, though “not in rote, saying the same thing all the time.” Mixing politics and religion, he said, “is life, life itself is politics. You cannot separate the two.” When questioned whether the PM or Speaker of the House (who makes request for the one giving the invocation) should, in the future, review his prayer before it is delivered, he said: “The IRO would be annoyed about that. Nobody ever muzzled us about our prayer and I hope we never reach that point. If that happens we will have to stand up against that. We respect him for that.”

Rev Paul has great respect for the office he holds. “As IRO Head I represent all the major religions... I attended a Hindu gathering recently and though I didn’t understand some of the things that was said, I respect them.” He acknowledged being accountable to “two persons.” “First of all I think I have to answer to myself. At the end of the day I look back and consider who I have hurt, if I did something foolish, I call them and make it right. Above all, I am accountable to my God, my creator...Jesus Christ,” Rev Paul said. These were life principles that his parents instilled in him. “I grew up with sharing, showing respect and kindness. What left an important impression on my mind was at Christmas, we didn’t have malls and stores to buy gifts so my mother would cook dhalpurrie and cuchorrie and share with the neighbours and the neighbours would bake and share with us. “I grew up in a community where we had negro people around us and we didn’t know the difference between Indian and Negro. A Negro woman could come and cut my tail...and I learned that ‘yuh first family is yuh neighbour.’ If something happen at home and you get cut or something, is your neighbours coming first to help and take charge.” Rev Paul grew up in a large family with six sisters and two brothers. Both his parents have died.

He attended Naparima College, where he played football at Intercol level and also ran for the school, being named victor ludorum on two occasions. “Sometimes I want to meet with these fellas I used to play football with and talk to them. I miss that. I think they get uncomfortable and don’t know what to say around me”. He said his siblings “some openly and some silently support me.” His mother, in particular, was first opposed to him becoming a minister — a vocation he picked up when it was brought to his attention that a shortage of ministers existed in his church. As teacher at Invernes Presbyterian/Barrackpore and Union Pres-byterian/Claxton Bay, he confessed, “I wrestled with the idea.” Years later, he resigned and enrolled in various theological schools. He married Barbara Pargassingh. “We went to the same ‘home’ church in Marabella. We used to sing in the choir together.” Reflecting on his career and his actions he said: “You look back and you learn, you are much wiser.”