The Prayer of the Frog Called into Question

Ecumenical Review, The, April, 1999 by T.K. Thomas

   "The man talks nonsense", said a visitor hearing the Master speak.

   Said a disciple, "You would talk nonsense too if you were trying to express
   the Inexpressible."

   When the visitor checked this out with the Master himself, this is the
   reply he got: "No one is exempt from talking nonsense. The great misfortune
   is to do it solemnly."

That is why the Master says to a religious group which comes to ask for a blessing: "May the peace of God disturb you always."(13) And that is why the Master refuses to give an answer to the atheist's question whether there is a God. When his disciples ask him why he refused to answer the question, he says, "Because his question is unanswerable." But is the Master then an atheist?

   "Certainly not. The atheist makes the mistake of denying that of which
   nothing may be said."

   After pausing to let that sink in, he added, "And the theist makes the
   mistake of affirming it."(14)

The two volumes of The Prayer of the Frog were in a sense de Mello's parting gift. They contain the last pieces he wrote. In an introductory note he tells us that

   the stories come from a variety of countries, cultures and religions. They
   belong to the spiritual heritage - and popular humour - of the human race.
   All that the author has done is to string them together with a specific aim
   in mind. His task has been that of the weaver and the dyer. He takes no
   credit at all for the cotton and the thread.(15)

The two volumes together contain nearly 500 "story meditations" around the general themes of prayer, awareness, religion, grace, the saints, the self, love and truth, education, authority, spirituality, human nature, relationships, service and enlightenment.

The very first story, apart from being typical, explains the title. Brother Bruno was at prayer one night. Disturbed by the croaking of a bullfrog and unable to get on with his prayer, he shouted from his window: "Quiet! I'm at my prayers." Since Brother Bruno was a saint, his command was instantly obeyed. All living creatures held their voices, and there was total silence. But an inner voice now intrudes: "Can't it be that God is as pleased with the croaking of the frog as with Bruno's prayers?" The Brother is not convinced. What can possibly please God in the croak of a frog? But the voice persists: Why then did God create the frog and give it the ability to croak? Bruno gives in, however reluctantly. He leans out and gives the order: "Sing!" The bullfrog and all the frogs in the neighbourhood start croaking. And, to Bruno's surprise, it is no longer jarring. When he stops resisting, the voices actually enrich the silence of the night. "With that discovery Bruno's heart became harmonious with the universe and, for the first time in his life, he understood what it means to pray."(16)

One could reproduce, or at least summarize, more such stories here. And there is God's plenty to choose from, though some may wonder, and not without reason, whether all the stories are indeed God's. Let us content ourselves with just one more "study meditation".