Our
Lord calls us to begin by simply sanctifying our lives
in the little things we do every day, in our relationships with
our parents, brothers and sisters, teachers and friends. Our
struggle for holiness requires growth in prayer and love of
the sacraments, to deepen our relationship with him.
There are well defined steps that we take toward holiness.
We have to start out on our spiritual journey slowly with simple
prayers and devotions, step by step. As we become stronger and
more sure of ourselves and confident of God’s loving affection,
we can increase our steps gradually until we can run toward
Him. Just as an architect has a design for his building, we
have to have a design to help us reach God, our final goal.
We could call it our “plan of life.”
A
Plan of Life
Begin
each day by making the Morning Offering:
Here’s the one I use: “O my Jesus, through the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys
and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of Your
Most Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for
the intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular
for the intentions of our most Holy Father, the Pope. Take
my body, Jesus, my eyes, my ears, my tongue. Never let them,
Jesus, help to do You wrong. Take my heart and mind and fill
them with love for You. All I have I give to You. I give my
very self to You. Amen.
Take a couple of minutes around
the middle of the day to stop and talk to God.
Each night before you go to bed
make an examination of conscience, asking the Holy Spirit to
enlighten you as to how you have loved today. Then pray the
Act of Contrition:
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing
to do wrong and failing to do good I have sinned against you
whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with
your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever
leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died
for us. In his name, my God, have mercy.
Find some time during the day
to pray at least one decade of the Rosary (even if it is while
you are driving).
Never miss Sunday Mass and go
to Daily Mass whenever you can.
Make a good confession once a
month.
Try to make a holy hour in front
of the Blessed Sacrament each week.
Set aside 10-15 minutes for Spiritual
or Scriptural reading and meditation doing Lectio Divina.
“Lectio divina” means literally “divine
reading.” It is a monastic designation for the meditative
reading of the Scriptures. The practice could be described
as dwelling on a scriptural text in the divine presence for
the sake of radical change in Christ. We could say that “lectio”
is making one’s own a small selection, phrase, or word
of the Bible, in pursuit of greater faith, hope, and charity.
In any event, “lectio divina” is prayer over the
Scriptures. The monks of the early and medieval church developed
this into a fine art.
Reading. Reading
in the monastic tradition involved placing the divine word
on the lips. It was a focusing and centering device. One would
gently read a selection from the Bible, and when a thought,
line, or word stood out and captured the reader’s attention,
he or she would stop there and dwell on that text, carefully
repeating it over and over. At each distraction one would
simply return to this repetition. He or she would stay with
that same text until it dried up, and would then move on with
the reading until finding another engaging text.
Meditation. Once
the word of God is on the lips and in the mouth, one begins
to bite and chew it; one begins to meditate on it. To meditate
means to ruminate, to chew the word, dwelling at leisure on
a morsel to extract the meaning of the text. Every word of
Scripture was seen as intended for oneself. Every text spoke
of Christ and His relationship to the one praying. One does
not work hard at this prayer, but simply keeps listening to
the words being repeated, letting them suggest their own images,
reflections, intuitive thoughts. One ponders and perceives
the hidden lessons in the word of God in such a way that wisdom
for life is learned. Meditation seeks to acquire the mind
of Christ. One slowly begins to see what the scriptures are
saying.
Prayer. “Oration”
or prayer is the response of the heart to the word of God
we have heard addressing us through the Scriptures. It is
petition, it is affective conversation with sentiments of
love, it is resolution to grow in the virtues of Christ, it
is compunction of heart for one’s sins, it is silent
company-keeping, it is the loving gaze.
Contemplation.
Here God slakes the soul’s thirst and feeds its
hunger. God lifts the one praying above the normal meditative
self into the sphere of experienced transcendence. Here the
Spirit prays in the human spirit. The love of God is no longer
abstract, but concretely poured into the receiving self. One
can see oneself being loved and loving in return. We are speaking
of pure gift at this point.
Practice the Presence of God
The
Practice of the Presence of God
by Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
The holiest and most necessary practice in the spiritual life
is that of the presence of God. It consists in taking delight
in and becoming accustomed to His divine company, speaking humbly
and conversing lovingly with Him all the time, at every moment,
without rule or measure; especially in times of temptation,
suffering, aridity, weariness, even infidelity and sin. We must
continually apply ourselves so that all our actions, without
exception, become a kind of brief conversation with God, not
in a contrived manner but coming from the purity and simplicity
of our hearts.
During our work and other activities, even during our reading
and writing, no matter how spiritual - and, I emphasize, even
during our religious exercises and vocal prayers - we must stop
for a moment, as often as possible, to adore God in the depths
of our hearts, to savor him, even though in passing and stealthily.
Since you are aware that God is present to you during your actions,
that he is in the depths and center of your heart, stop your
activities and even your vocal prayers, at least from time to
time, to adore him within, to praise him, to ask his help, to
offer him your heart, and to thank him. Nothing is more pleasing
to God than to turn away from all creatures many times throughout
the day to withdraw and adore him present within. Moreover,
this turning inward imperceptibly destroys the self-love found
only among creatures. In the end, we can offer God no greater
evidence of our fidelity than by frequently renouncing and scorning
creatures in order to enjoy their Creator for a moment. This
exercise gradually destoys the self-love only found among creatures.
Turning to God frequently rids us of self-love without our even
realizing it.
This presence of God is the soul’s life and nourishment,
which can be acquired by the Lord’s grace. Here are the
means: a great fidelity to the practice of his presence and
to the fostering of this awareness of God within, which must
always be carried out gently, humbly, and lovingly, without
giving in to any disturbance. We must take special care that
this inner awareness precedes our activities somewhat, that
it accompanies them from time to time. We must not get discouraged
when we forget this holy practice, for all that is needed is
to calmly take it up again; once the habit is formed we will
find contentment in everything.
This practice of the presence of God is very helpful for mental
prayer, for it will be easier to remain calm during mental prayer
when the mind, not allowed to take flight during the day, is
kept faithfully in God’s presence.
Since all of life is full of dangers and hazards, it is impossible
to avoid them without God’s constant help. We cannot ask
him for this help if we are not with him. We cannot be with
him unless we think of him often. We cannot think of him often
except by a holy habit of keeping ourseves in his presence,
asking him for the graces we need at every moment.
Nothing can comfort us more in life’s trials and sufferings
than this intimate conversation with God. Practiced faithfully,
all physical illnesses will be easy to bear. God often permits
us to suffer in order to purify our souls and to make us remain
with him. If we are with God, and want him alone, we are incapable
of suffering. We must therefore adore him in our infirmities,
offering him our sufferings from time to time, asking him lovingly,
as a child does his father, to be conformed to his holy will,
and for the help of his grace. These short prayers are very
appropriate for the sick and are an excellent remedy for pain.
We do not always have to be in church to be with God. We can
make of our hearts an oratory where we can withdraw from time
to time to converse with him there. Everyone is capable of these
familiar conversations with God. A brief lifting up of the heart
is enough, a brief remembrance of God, an act of inner adoration,
even though on the run. These prayers, short as they may be,
are very pleasing to God.
Return to top
Click here for more
prayers.
Print-friendly
version
|
