Month: March 2017

“Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thes 5:16-18

Meditation

Just as we need to feed our bodies, we need to feed our souls. Therefore, every time you feed your body, take the moment to feed your soul. This begins by “saying your prayers at mealtime” – which includes when you eat out. But you can also expand it to include any time that you have something to eat or drink. Before you know it, you’re taking the time to say a brief prayer 10 times a day or more.

From there you can take another step. You can establish explicit prayer triggers to help remind you to prayer. The concept is really simple. Pick something in your life that you do repetitively throughout the day. Use it to trigger a brief, silent, personal prayer to God. Between coffee, bathroom breaks, meetings, and other things, it can happen around 20 times a day.

Believe it or not, it is actually possible to unite yourselves to Christ throughout the entire day. He is waiting for the encounter. Imagine how different your life can be!

Prayer for Lent
O gracious Master, infuse in our hearts the spotless light of Your Divine Wisdom and open the eyes of our mind that we may understand the teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments, so that having curbed all carnal desires, we may lead a spiritual life, both thinking and doing everything to please You. For You, O Christ, our God, are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies; and to You we render glory, together with Your eternal Father, and with Your all holy, life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen.

“You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me.”
–John 5:39

Meditation

The Scriptures put us in touch with Jesus Christ. Now here’s the key. He is alive and the Scriptures are the living word of God. In prayer, we need to prepare for an encounter with a living person.

That’s why an important part of preparation for prayer is “to place yourself in the presence of God.” That simply means turning aside all the other distractions and letting yourself become aware of God’s presence. At first, it can be somewhat challenging. We don’t see with our eyes or hear with our eyes that we are in the presence of Christ. This is why the Church has historically used images of Christ – a crucifix, a Sacred Heart statue or picture – in its prayer.

Do the same thing in your home. Set aside a place in your home. Have an image of Christ or Our Lady or your favorite saint. Something that speaks to you personally. Then still yourself for a moment. Say a brief personal prayer to Christ asking him to send the Holy Spirit to help guide you in prayer and then open yourself to an encounter.

Prayer for Lent
O gracious Master, infuse in our hearts the spotless light of Your Divine Wisdom and open the eyes of our mind that we may understand the teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments, so that having curbed all carnal desires, we may lead a spiritual life, both thinking and doing everything to please You. For You, O Christ, our God, are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies; and to You we render glory, together with Your eternal Father, and with Your all holy, life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
–Hebrews 4:12

Meditation

What do I do with my prayer time each day?

Jesus Christ is the source and he established channels by which he feeds us. The most critical ones are the Sacraments, living a holy life, and “the Word of God” – which would be first and foremost the Scriptures, but also Magisterial documents and the writing of the saints. The one that is perfectly suited to your morning and evening prayer at home is Scripture.

Many Catholics have not spent a lot of time reading Scripture and are somewhat intimidated. Therefore, we suggest this great little guide called, “The Magnificat.” It gives you the daily readings from the Mass. It frequently has writings from the saints or Popes. And it is all nicely organized and you get a new one each month.

We like this so much we established a relationship with Magnificat. You can go to www.magnificat.net/paradisusdei to find out more.

Prayer for Lent
O gracious Master, infuse in our hearts the spotless light of Your Divine Wisdom and open the eyes of our mind that we may understand the teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments, so that having curbed all carnal desires, we may lead a spiritual life, both thinking and doing everything to please You. For You, O Christ, our God, are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies; and to You we render glory, together with Your eternal Father, and with Your all holy, life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen.

“But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the voice of my prayer.”
–Psalm 66:19

Meditation
Last week we saw that we need to pray consistently. We need to pray every day. This week we see that quantity matters.

Michael Jordan didn’t become a great free throw shooter by throwing up a couple a day. He shot so many that he could literally make them with his eyes closed. If we want to become pros at prayer, we need to take our game up a notch. A couple of minutes here and there probably won’t get us where we want to be.

I suggest starting with 10-15 minutes in the morning and the same before bed. I know many of you might be questioning, “What am I going to do?” Don’t worry, we’ll have some tips on that next week.

Prayer for Lent
O gracious Master, infuse in our hearts the spotless light of Your Divine Wisdom and open the eyes of our mind that we may understand the teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments, so that having curbed all carnal desires, we may lead a spiritual life, both thinking and doing everything to please You. For You, O Christ, our God, are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies; and to You we render glory, together with Your eternal Father, and with Your all holy, life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen.