Jul/090
Dealing with a dry spell
I found this article on 9 Tips for Spiritual Dry Spells by Jennifer Fulwiler. As you would expect, it contains advice for prayer, the sacraments, and reading inspiring books. It also has some not-so-common and insightful advice like finding a spiritual director and taking the time to recharge.
Interestingly enough, I read this at a time I have a bookshelf full of unread books on various religious topics from Amazon.com. I have reminders in my calendar to go to confession and daily mass (which I still don't attend, even with the reminders). And despite my best intentions, I have absolutely no ability to pray. For whatever reason I can't remember to do it, and when I am in a position to remember to do it, I do it poorly. Perhaps awkward is a better description than poor, but either way it doesn't feel right.
I like the idea of a spiritual director. I use to have one of those. I was very close to a priest. We were friends first, which made it easy to take advice when it was given. It also gave the relationship a deeper level of sincerity when he counseled me on questions of faith. I have a couple of people in my life currently who I would possibly view as "spiritual directors." But it's nothing formal, and I'm likely not brave enough to ask for that kind of help.
I have been trying to take some time to recharge. I've let my commitments tail off, so I now have more free time than I've had since high-school. But I don't feel recharged by it. I just feel... I don't know, lazy or unfocused. I suspect I'm not doing it right. I know what recharges me, and I'm doing a lot of that (reading, writing, working out again, etc...), but it doesn't work like it use to.
We'll... perhaps I'll work up the courage to ask for a director. It can't hurt, and it's good advice. If I take that step, perhaps the other steps will be easier.
Jun/091
Prayer
Another interesting graphic on Prayer in America from the Pew Forum:
Prayer in America
I don't pray every day. I'd like to, but I don't think I know how. Either I don't think about it, or if I do I'm not sure what to say. I don't have a habit of prayer, and I'm not sure how to start one. So I guess that fits me nicely into the statistics - looking at those percentages for my sex, age, and income I wouldn't guess I'd pray daily.
Dec/080
Christmas Prayer
While looking for text for a Christmas card this year, I found this fantastic prayer (really part of the text for a general audience on Christ's birth) by Pope Benedict XVI :
May the kind and loving good wishes that we exchange in these days reach all the contexts of our daily lives. May peace be in our hearts so that they are open to the action of God's grace. May peace dwell in families and may they spend Christmas united in front of the crib and the tree decorated with lights. May the message of solidarity and good will that comes from Christmas contribute to creating a deeper sensitivity to the old and new forms of poverty, to the common good, in which we are all called to participate. May all members of the family community, especially children, the elderly, the weakest, feel the warmth of this feast and may it extend subsequently to all the days in the year.
Dec/080
The simplicity of prayer
In a recent post, Dave Hrbacek wrote what I found to be a very profound statement on the simplicity of prayer:
Sometimes, we make prayer too complicated. All God wants, I think, is for us to come to him simply and ask for his help and his healing. Then, when the prayer is finished, just trust in him.
I often find that I'm intimidated by prayer. I know it's because I don't do it enough. But that just supports the positive feedback loop in the wrong direction. (I don't pray very often, so I'm uncomfortable praying. I'm uncomfortable praying, so I don't pray very often.)
It's good to be reminded that prayer doesn't have to be elaborate and full of flowery speech.
Oct/080
Prayer for a friend
A friend of mine, the person who inspired me to start this blog, has come upon troubled times. Without having any words to comfort him, I thought I would look for a prayer to offer that might help.
May we discover through pain and torment, the strength to live with grace and humor. May we discover through doubt and anguish, the strength to live with dignity and holiness. May we discover through suffering and fear, the strength to move toward healing. May it come to pass that we be restored to health and to vigor. May Life grant us wellness of body, spirit, and mind. And if this cannot be so, may we find in this transformation and passage moments of meaning, opportunities for love and the deep and gracious calm that comes when we allow ourselves to move on.
- Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro
Oct/080
St Teresa of Avila
Last night I stumbled on another good quote for life's little frustrations (road-rage, kids yelling in restaurants, that guy who keeps making silly mistakes at the office):
Though we do not have our Lord with us in bodily presence, we have out neighbour, who, for the ends of love and loving service, is as good as our Lord himself.
That one comes from St. Teresa of Avila whose autobiography included her thoughts on prayer:
Teresa depicts different stages of the life of prayer in metaphorical terms taken from the manner of securing water to irrigate a garden. The "first water" is laboriously obtained from a well and carried in a bucket to the garden; this is in reference to beginners who, liberated from the more flagrant mortal sins, apply themselves to discursive prayer of meditation, although they experience fatigue and aridity from time to time. After speaking at length of meditation in its stricter meaning, Teresa made a brief reference to "acquired" contemplation before beginning her discussion of the "second water." In this second stage, the gardener secures water through use of a windlass and bucket; here Teresa refers to the "prayer of quiet," a gift of God through which the individual begins to have a passive experience of prayer. The third method of irrigation is the employment of water from a stream or river; the application made by Teresa is to the "sleep of the faculties." Although Teresa considered this an important stage in the evolution of prayer when she wrote her autobiography, she later relegated it to a simple intensification of the "prayer of quiet" in the Interior Castle. The fourth method of irrigation is God given: the rain; Teresa employs this metaphor to describe a state of union in prayer in which the soul is apparently passive.
Me...? I'm still at the "first water" phase it would seem.
Sep/080
In rememberance of September 11, 2001
Last night my wife reminded me that today is September 11th. I'm generally oblivious to my calendar, but I of course clearly remember the day. The following is a prayer from John Paul II's Hora Tertia for the one month memorial of the terrorist attack on September 11th 2001:
O God, Almighty and Merciful,
he who sows discord cannot understand you,
he who loves violence cannot welcome you:
watch over us in our painful human condition
tried by the brutal acts of terrorism and death;
Comfort your children and open our hearts to hope,
that our time may again know days of serenity and peace.Through Christ our Lord.
Our painful human condition indeed... A beautiful prayer for such a tragic time.
Sep/080
Dead Theologians Society
I use to help co-lead a chapter of the Dead Theologians Society.
The Dead Theologians Society is a Catholic apostolate for high school age teens and college age young adults. Through the Saints of yesterday, the Dead Theologians Society inspires the youth of today to become the saints of tomorrow. A special charism of the Dead Theologians Society is to pray for the release of the Souls in Purgatory. Its motto is, “Dead to the World, alive in Christ!” This is inspired by Romans 6:11 where St. Paul tells us to be dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus.
It was a lot of fun. I only stopped because I relocated to another city. I should look into trying to get involved again, but I'm not sure where to start. I also don't have the close relationships like I had before. That was part of the motivation for getting involved. It's amazing how the personal relationships we have with others can drive our involvement in our church and community.
When we ran the group, we would meet in the catacombs of the Church (dirt floors, candles, the works...). We read the writings of saints and the fathers of the Church and then talked about what it meant and what meaning those writings might have for our lives today.
I don't know if they still do this or not (I assume so), but when we ran the group a requirement was that you agreed to pray the St. Gertrude Prayer for the Holy Souls every day:
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those within my home, and within my family. Amen
I've fallen out of the practice of saying that prayer daily. (I've fallen out of the practice of praying in general....) Perhaps that would be a good way to get back into the habit. It's also a commitment I made that I've not kept up with. Another reason I should pick it back up.
Sep/080
Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.Amen.
I like this prayer. My wife uses it in the car to help her with road-rage. An interesting use, but very pragmatic in my mind.
Sep/080
Prayer for the graveside
Today I visited the gravesite of Virginia Satir. Her work has been very influential to me and my work. With my wife and two others I pulled weeds, sat quietly, and took in the beautiful view. It was a profound moment.
While I was there, I realized I would like to say a prayer and nothing came to mind. I suspect that prayer is an art that one develops skill at over time. I know there are prayers already out there, but I don't know of any of them.
When I got back to my laptop I did a quick search which turned up many many prayers for the departed. I tend to favor the simple over the extravagant and I found this prayer for the graveside:
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Now all I have to do is memorize it.