How to Pray: Be Aware
It is important that we have the proper focus when we pray. Christian prayer is not about introspection; Christian prayer is Christ-centered. And so our awareness as we begin to pray is crucial.
When we quiet our minds and hearts by relaxing and focusing on our breath, we are not preparing to naval-gaze; we are preparing to enter into a prayerful awareness of God’s loving presence in and around us.
A Common Mistake
Many people mistakenly focus on themselves at the beginning of prayer. I still fall into this trap at times. It’s easy to do, because when we pray we want to pour our hearts out to God. But authentic prayer is meant to lead us to deeper communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Yes, we should still pour out our hearts to God in prayer, but first our awareness ought to be on the Lord’s love for us. Read more »
The Essence of Prayer
I love you with my heart. I seek you with my heart.
After Christmas, I spent a couple of days on quiet retreat. One evening, as I sat in silence before the Eucharist, I found myself praying these words to Jesus: (Breathing in) I love you with my heart; (breathing out) I seek you with my heart. (Breathing in) I love you with my heart; (breathing out) I seek you with my heart.
As time passed, my prayer and my awareness changed. No longer were these words coming from my heart to the Lord’s; I was aware that they were coming from His heart to mine. I began my prayer by seeking to love Jesus more deeply, but the grace He gave me in prayer was the knowledge of how deeply He loves me.
That hour reminded me about the essence of prayer: it’s about relationship. That hour also refocused me on the importance of keeping my prayer simple. So often, when I go to pray, I have this inner urge to share as much as I can with the Lord. But all I really need to do is be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). He already knows what’s in my heart. My prayer is most fruitful when I simply allow myself to be loved by Him. I don’t need to say a lot; I just need to be present to Him.
Last year, I challenged the readers of this blog to commit to daily silence. I’d like to issue that challenge once again. Every day, take time to be silent with the Lord. Start with ten minutes, and then gradually increase your prayer time. Let Him love you. Resist the compulsion to be too wordy in your prayer. He knows what’s in your heart. When you pray today, simply sit in silence and pray: I love you with my heart; I seek you with my heart. Then, realize that it’s not so much about you saying these words to the Lord; it’s more about Him saying them to you.
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Jesus and a Two-Dollar Bill
A couple of days before Christmas I went to my favorite breakfast spot, Cal’s. It’s one of those great local restaurants where everybody knows your name. The owners, Rich and Gina, are a wonderful married couple who always greet you with a smile and a joyful “good morning.”
I sat down at the breakfast bar and Doreen, the friendly waitress, took my order: two pumpkin pancakes, one egg over easy…and coffee of course. Gina approached and began to tell me about a touching encounter that she’d just had with an elderly man. As she spoke, she welled up with tears. She recounted how the man had approached her at a store and asked if she had any children. She said no, but stated that she had a young niece. The man then gave her an envelope. Inside was a two dollar bill and a message about the importance of keeping Christmas alive in your heart.
During this Christmas season we celebrate the coming of Christ into the world. But Christ’s coming into the world was not just an historical event that is frozen in time. Jesus still comes to us today–every day. For Catholics, we encounter Christ in a very special way in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. But there are other everyday moments when Jesus comes to us: in the kind gesture of another; in the soft smile of a stranger; in the giggle of a baby; in the gently falling snow; in the glowing sunset; in the spectacular nightsky.
What’s important is that we have a life of prayer so that we can develop the spiritual awareness to see Him in everyday situations. Once we have the spiritual awareness to see Him in our daily life, then we are able to welcome Him more deeply into our hearts. And as we welcome Him throughout the day, our gratitude increases because we see how much He loves us and constantly reaches out to us.
I was touched by Gina’s story. God spoke to her through that man. The Lord made His love present to her through that man’s small, but kind, gesture. How many ways does God show up during the day but we are too busy to see? How many times does the Lord try to reach out to us, to show us His love, but we are too immersed in ourselves to be aware?
This Christmas season, let’s try to be more aware that the Lord comes to us in the seemingly insignificant moments of the day, even in a two dollar bill.
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How has the Lord reached out to you during this Christmas season? How has he revealed His love to you through others?
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A Prayerful Dialogue
“God is love” (1 John 4:8) A troubled Soul: Lord, sometimes I have a hard time believing that you love me unconditionally. Jesus: Why? Soul: Because I have so many imperfections. I feel weighed down by weaknesses. I commit the same sins over and over. Jesus: Your saying “I” a lot. Sounds like you’re focused [...]
I Took the “What If” Challenge
“God loves every one of us with a depth and intensity that we can hardly begin to imagine” (Pope Benedict XVI). Last week, fellow blogger Bonnie Gray challenged us to take the “What if” challenge. Her challenge was to brainstorm five “what if” questions and then to live one of them and blog about [...]
How to Begin Your Prayer
“For me prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look towards Heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy” – St. Therese of Lisieux My first assignment was at St. Philip’s parish in Greenville, RI. St. Philip’s is a vibrant parish comprised of about [...]
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