Prayer
Opening:
May all that I am, all that I try to do, may all my encounters, reflections, even frustrations and failings, all place my life in your hands. Lord, my life is in your hands. Please let me always give you praise.
Closing:
Each person makes up a prayer.
Some tips to consider regarding prayer:
# Be content to be human.
# You can pray anywhere and anytime.
# Let God find you.
# When life hurts, say so.
# Don’t expect quick results.
# Don’t criticize how other people pray.
Prayer & Spirituality
What is Prayer?
Actually Prayer is Communication with God.
Do you pray? How?
Kinds of Prayer:
Private: Devotional Public (in group): Liturgical
Petition: Asking for something
Intercessory: For others
Penitence: Praying for our enemies.
Thanksgiving.
Praise and Adoration
What does prayer depend on?
Disposition including dryness; Temperament; Environment; Time available
Temperaments: Introvert, Extravert, Sensing, Thinking, Feeling, Intuitive, Judging, Perceiving...
Choice of prayer according to Temperament.
Three Levels of Prayer:
Vocal: Regular prayers like Rosary.
Meditative: Scripture passages; writings of the Saints.
Contemplative: Clear your mind to let God dwell there.
How must we pray?
With: Respect, Faith, Humility, Perseverance.
(Pope J P II said it does not matter HOW you pray but THAT you do so frequently)
PARABLE teaches us how to pray:
The Pharisee and the Publican Luke: 18:9-14.
Aspects of Prayer:
LISTEN to God’s answer
Spiritual reading (Lectio Divina) frequently
Pray spontaneously
Be aware of God’s responses.
Journaling.
Pray the newspaper or the TV!
Offer yourself as prayer (Make list)
Pray your Gratitude (Make list)
Sing your Prayer.
What is Spirituality?
Sum total of an active and prayerful life
Spirituality goes hand in hand with Temperament. The way you pray and act is different from how others do so.
DISCUSSION:
How, when and why do I pray?
Saints’ Spirituality:
St Benedict - Lectio Divina:
Reading you shall seek; Meditating you will find; Praying you shall call; Contemplating the door shall be opened.
St Thomas Aquinas - Discursive Meditation:
Consider Virtue or Fault then ask: How, Who, When, Where? Why? By what means?
St Francis of Assisi - Based on Acts of loving service:
Praise & thank the Lord for everything, Make a list.
St Therese of Lisieux - The little way:
Offer every little chore or inconvenience to God through Christ’s suffering.
St Ignatius of Loyola - Making oneself part of the scene:
Use all your senses. Use the Nativity or Crucifixion scene as a medium.
St Francis of Sales - State in life and prayer:
Think of your state in life, try to relate with a member of the Holy Family or a Saint. Think of their highest Virtue and practice it.
St John of the Cross - Complete Detachment:
Relaxation exercise; Read through St John of the Cross exercise.
HANDOUT
Prayer & Spirituality
Prayer: Communication with God.
Kinds of Prayer:
Private: Devotional;
Public (in group): Liturgical;
Petition: Asking for something for yourself;
Intercessory: For others;
Penitence: 1st part Mass, Praying for our enemies;
Thanksgiving;
Praise and Adoration
Prayer depends on:
Disposition including dryness (moods).
Temperament
Environment
Time available
Three Levels of Prayer:
Vocal: Regular prayers like Rosary.
Meditative: Scripture passages; writings of the Saints.
Contemplative: Clear your mind to let God dwell there.
How we must pray:
With: Respect, Faith, Humility, Perseverance.
PARABLE teaches us how to pray:
The Pharisee and the Tax collector Luke: 18:9-14.
Aspects of Prayer:
LISTEN to God’s answer; Spiritual reading; Spontaneously;
Be aware of God’s responses; Journaling;
Pray the newspaper or TV; Pray your Gratitude (Make list);
Sing your Prayer.
HANDOUT (used as concluding prayer)
Contemplating with St John of the Cross
Start with some relaxing exercise and ask candidates to close their eyes while listening.
* I imagine I have a mountain before me, the peak of which I must achieve to reach God.
* On my back, I carry a very heavy and full vessel.
* At the foot of this formidable mountain, I am tempted to encamp on a beautiful meadow. But it is at the top where I can possess a treasure for ever.
* So I start staggering up with the self imposed weight on my back.
* After a while, I stop to rest and consider my burden and its contents. I look inside and see my desires: to be richer, younger, successful, sought after, superior.
* It is very hard to part with these, but I succeed in tipping the vessel a little and all my misdirected desires flow out to the ground. When I resume my climb with the vessel, it seems somewhat lighter.
* Whenever I feel the weight becoming unbearable, I pause to reflect on attitudes and habits that are preventing me from becoming spiritually mature: Dominating others, seeking revenge, hoarding money or goods, being dishonest, ignoring responsibilities.
* Freely now, I pour these out and gain extra strength for my upward journey.
* Now, the vessel is more manageable and even the steeper climb seems easier. But I am still carrying some weight.
* I recall that Christ challenged me to be perfect in the image of the Father, so I stop to see what’s left at the bottom of my vessel. I now drain off my subtle attitudes: Unwillingness to trust in God, my discontent with the life God gave me, my lack of faithfulness in prayer, the reluctance to root out sinful habits, my reluctance to give God first place in my life.
* My vessel is now empty and I feel as light as a feather climbing nimbly close to the peak. The vessel and myself become one.
* Empty of self, I am about to be filled.
* Only one desire do I have now, ... to be with God.
* As I pass lightly through the clouds to the summit of perfection, I approach a spring and fill my empty self without effort or cost from the water of Eternal Life that Christ had promised.