Home Forums All Things Catholic How do you pray?

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #914

    How do you like to pray?

    Often times I like it when there is total silence and I am alone. It allows me to focus completely on God because I get easily distracted when there is other noise or people nearby.

    #3454
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:3sdjpupy]Often times I like it when there is total silence and I am alone. It allows me to focus completely on God because I get easily distracted when there is other noise or people nearby.[/quote:3sdjpupy]

    Peace be with you Jon,

    I pray in the same way for the same reasons. It allows me to saying my Rosary and Chaplet in peace and meditates on the them more effectively. When I’m done I feel great!
    Fred,

    #3457
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    The sort of prayer that you both have answered almost requires quiet alone time. But…………let me explain;

    A number of years ago a teen girl asked me a question at a retreat I was helping to lead. She asked if I had ever considered being a nun. I responded that I really did not come to know my faith well until I was over 30yrs. old. By then I was married and had two children—-it was too late for being a nun, I joked however that I often pray for the quiet cloistered life. Take me away to a nice cloister anywhere please!!!!

    I shared this with an older nun one day–I had the beautiful opportunity to drive nuns from a nearby cloistered order to their doctor appointments—simple drives to the doctor clinics and hospitals


    I learned so much and felt so blessed. One day I expressed that I thought it would be so much easier to pray if one were part of the clergy or cloistered life. She responded that my heart is where my cloister was and I could visit it absolutely anytime of the day! What a beautiful answer—-offhand she was quoting who, Saint Therese? I can’t remember-but I did take to heart what she said about praying.

    So now I don’t wait until I can get to that quiet spot (although I still pray that way too) I pray at any opportunity I can think of; a flight of stairs, a sink full of dishes, a stoplight, a headline in the paper, or even meditating on a single sentence said by someone.

    I am sorry for such a long answer but I am also reminding myself that I miss many opportunities to listen and converse with my Heavenly Father. At this moment my mind puts a scripture verse in reverse—-If earthly children never stop talking and asking questions of their earthly father(or mother) how much more so should they never stop talking with their Father who is in heaven?

    #3476
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Although I admit that I pray alone most of the time, except at Church and the dinner table, I believe both are needed. I think of three great examples from Holy Scripture. One is when Jesus got up early in the morning, before the people would come to visit him, and went off to a quite place to pray. Another is when the disciples/apostles and the Virgin Mary were gathered together praying right before Pentecost and the Lord answered by sending the Holy Spirit. The last one is when the faithful were praying together for the release of St Peter from prison and the Lord answered by sending an angel to free him.

    From these examples, I believe both are very important in a Christian’s life. True in private devotions and prayers, we are united to our brothers and sisters in the Church in Purgatory and in Heaven, but I think there is also great power in praying with others here on this earth as well. I used to dislike holding hands when we pray together, but I think it really makes you aware of the others around you and that God has called together a family and not a bunch of individuals separate from each other. Was it not our Lord Jesus who said ‘when two or three are gathered in my name, I will be there in the midst of them’?

    The only problem is that I get shy to start something like a prayer group. :oops: Also, some people don’t understand the power in it and tend to make fun of people who try as fanatics for just plain ‘weird’. <img decoding=” title=”Confused” /> Any suggestions?

    #3483

    What motivated me to start this thread was an experience I had just after confession that day. I went to pray and noticed how much deeper I was able to meditate on my words and connect with God when it was completely silent. It takes immense concentration for me to be able to experience that.

    [quote:2yam46wy]The only problem is that I get shy to start something like a prayer group. Also, some people don’t understand the power in it and tend to make fun of people who try as fanatics for just plain ‘weird’. Any suggestions?[/quote:2yam46wy]
    Of course you will be perceived as a fanatic, but is it such a bad thing to have a lot of zeal for your faith? Jesus said people will hate you because of his name and all the more power to you for it. I think you should use those opportunities to invite people into your prayer group if you are worried about them thinking you are a fanatic. <img decoding=” title=”Smile” />

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.