Interior Life
theophilus October 11th, 2007
Imagine you can have someone on your speed dial who you can always call, who will always answer, and who will always tell you exactly what you need to know.
Through Jesus, we do . . . but we need to call on him through our prayers.
I’ve realized that I am a lot happier, more peaceful and more confident when I am praying throughout the day. I used to save it for the morning and as I was falling asleep but that wasn’t good enough. I realized it needed to be throughout the day.
But do we have enough hours in the day? Who has the time? Trust me, you can lead a fulfilling life of prayer in less time than you spend on your fantasy football league or looking up where you are going to go fishing this weekend.
Where to start? Here are some options:
- Start immediately upon waking up . . . as soon as you hand hits the snooze for the last time and your feet hit the floor. Say a simple, “Jesus, please bless us this day, keep us safe, and let us serve you well today.”
- At some point during the morning, you may want to say a “Morning Prayer” . . . think about your day, your wife’s day and your kids’ day. Think about what everyone is going to face and say a prayer that Jesus will help us through our days and that we will do his will and act according to his plan. Let’s offer our days up to him and pray for his help that everything we will do will be pleasing to him.
- Before you leave for work, remember to kiss your wife and hug your children . . . and bless your children . . . make the sign of the cross on their foreheads and bless them. You are sending them out into the world without you . . . you need to remind yourself and them that God is in charge.
- At lunch, remember to say the “Angelus”.
- Read the mass readings for the day and find a short commentary on them.
- Before you get home, say an “Evening Prayer”, even if it’s as simple as thanking God for your day, asking help to leave any problems behind, and asking for a pleasant evening with your wife and kids.
- Remember to say grace before every meal . . . even if it’s a silent “thank you.”
- Before bed, say a “Night Prayer”, even if it’s just a review of what you did right and did wrong during the course of the day, apologize for anything you did wrong or didn’t do, ask Jesus for forgiveness, and promise to try to do better the next day. Thank him and ask for a good and safe night’s sleep for you and your family.
- If you read, hear about or see someone in distress, say a quick prayer for them. If you see an ambulance or fire truck, say a quick prayer. If you are struggling with something at work, say a quick prayer. If someone is giving you a hard time or is in your way, say a quick prayer.
- Go to confession every month or so. A lot of people I know don’t think they need to tell their sins to anyone else because it’s between them and God. What a cop-out. In order to truly be sorry and, more importantly, pledge to do better, we need to tell someone else and make the pledge to someone else. Remember, the priest can’t tell anyone. If you’re concerned about confessing to your parish priest, then go to another parish or the cathedral. Trust me, you will feel better and will more likely to change whatever behavior you want to change.
- Go to your church every day at least for 10-15 minutes. Sit in front of the tabernacle . . . feel the presence of Christ . . . let God guide you in prayer . . . relish the silence.
- Say the rosary . . . find a good guide that will help you prayfully and meaningfully say the rosary . . . offer the rosary up for someone . . . try to say each of the set of mysteries in a week.
- Go to a weekday Mass, at least once a week. Notice how different it is than Sunday Mass. I always feel like when I am at Sunday Mass, I am the father (trying to make sure my kids are behaving etc.). When I go to weekday Mass, I get to be the son and it makes a huge difference.
- Go to Mass on First Friday (Devotion to the Sacred Heart) and First Saturday (Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary).
- Sit and contemplate about the worldwide Church – your parish . . . your community . . . your diocese . . . your nation . . . the Church throughout the world. Christ is the same . . . . Mary is the same . . . the standard prayers are the same . . . the saints are the same . . . the Mass is the same. Think about the fact that, on any given day, the same Mass is said throughout the world. The readings and prayers we hear and say are the same as those of our brethren going to Mass in Rome, Nairobi and Seoul.
- When you walk into church, don’t just splash the holy water on you . . . say a quick prayer like “O my Jesus, by this holy water and your precious blood, wash away my sins, O Lord.” or “O my Jesus, only son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
- When you walk by the statue of Mary, say a quick “Hail Mary” or something like this traditional prayer, ”We fly to your patronage, O Holy Mother of God. Please listen to our prayers, help us with our needs and protect us from all dangers. O glorious and blessed virgin.”
- When you walk by the statue of St. Joseph, say a quick prayer to ask him to help you be a good father, husband and worker (he is the patron saint of all three roles we play).
- Before Mass, say a quick prayer to get you in the right frame of mind . . . St. Thomas Aquinas’ prayer is perfect – “O Sacred Banquet, where the body of Christ is received, the memory of his passion is renewed, the soul is filled with grace and the pledge of future glory is given to us.”
- When the consecrated body and blood of Christ is held up during the Eucharistic Prayer, tell Jesus that you love him, ask him to have mercy on you, or just simply thank him.
- After communion, say a meaningful prayer in contemplation of having just received Christ’s presence. The “Anima Cristi” is both beautiful and to the point.
- Pray for your family, your parish, your priests, your community, your political leaders, those in public service, troops overseas, victims of the misery and tragedy we hear about on a minute by minute basis, our teenagers and young adults, the unemployed, our children, teachers, our co-workers, our bosses . . . the list goes on and on.
- The Catechism teaches us that there are five types of prayer: adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving and praise. Pick a time during the day to pray and pick one of the five types. Then spend 10-20 minutes just having a conversation with God.
- Buy a prayer book and learn some of the traditional prayers that my generation were never really taught. Buy a prayer book for your children so they learn them.
- Page through the Catechism of the Catholic Church and really get to know our rich faith. Notice the comprehensive breakdown of the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed – the main prayers of our faith.
- Read about the saints and take inspiration from these normal men and women. Recognize that anyone can be called to be a saint.
- Say a prayer to your guardian angels, your named patron saint, your professional patron saint, the patron saint of whatever applies to you, your family’s patron saints, your parish’s patron saint – ask for their help and intercessions.
- Read selections from modern Catholic writers (e.g. Matthew Kelly) and the classics (e.g. St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Thomas Kempis, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine).
- Try praying the Liturgy of the Hours - also known as the Prayer of the Church. It is a series of prayers throughout the day (mainly Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Night Prayer, and Office of Readings) said by clergy and laity throughout the world. It’s history dates back to the Middle Ages. It is rich and will help you frame your prayer for the day. There are three versions. Clergy use a four-volume set. Laity typically use a one-volume text, either Christian Prayer or Shorter Christian Prayer. Also, get a guide to understanding how to prayer the Hours. As an alternative, you may want to consider getting Magnificat, which is an abbreviated variation of the Hours but would still greatly help your prayer life.
No matter how much or little you do, above all, just keep the lines of communication open throughout the day. In time, you will be having a meaningful conversation throughout the day and your life will be better and you will have more direction, peace and comfort.
