Complacency and Prayer

"Our Father does not inspire us to do what cannot be done." -St. Therese of Lisieux

There's a story I was once told. A young Missionary of Charity came to (now Blessed) Mother Teresa saying there were just so many people in need of her help that she simply did not have the time to pray as much as she was supposed to. Mother Teresa instructed her to spend an extra hour before Christ each morning in the Blessed Sacrament. The sister was flabbergasted. But Mother Teresa told her (in a much more beautiful way) that without prayer, without her actions being rooted in that relationship with Christ, she could truly help no one. She needed to rely on God, not herself, to heal, to love, and to spread the Gospel.


It's so easy as we settle into the routines of the school year to find ourselves too busy to pray. It's so easy to simply forget as the homework and clubs and trying to have a life while spending some time with your family so your parents don't get mad pile on top of your already overloaded brain. It's so easy to think "I got this."
Those are often our last words before we fall into a downward spiral of stress and difficulties.

I want to encourage you to choose a type of prayer and schedule it into your day. I know, I know, one more thing to add to the list. But this one thing, unlike everything else you're doing, will make it easier to bear. It takes endurance and perseverance. You may have to fight through sleepy eyes and (maybe intentional) forgetfulness. You might have failed yesterday, but you have today to start again.


Pete shared how as a child, as a punishment for bad behavior, his dad would make him go to his room and say a Rosary. So as an adult, this wasn't a form of prayer he was interested in. But he devoted himself to enduring the difficulties of it because he wanted to deepen his relationship with God and he knew Mary would guide him if he allowed her. It was tough, but he did. He kept praying, and one day he saw the fruits of his prayers. Sarah also had difficulty with the Rosary when she began to pray it, but with time she developed a deep love for Christ's Passion giving her the ability to understand and even embrace suffering.


There are so many different types of prayer. Think them over. Talk with God. Pick one that resonates in your heart, and just go for it!


-Daily Mass
-Adoration
-Rosary (if it's difficult, start with a decade a day)
-Meditation
-Scripture (Lectio Divinia)
-Liturgy of the Hours (there are 7 times for it throughout the day, choose 1...or all 7)
-Pray SMART with your phone (get the Laudate app!)
-Pray the Stations of the Cross every Friday (they're not just for Lent!)
-Daily 3-Minute Retreats http://www.loyolapress.com/3-minute-retreats-daily-online-prayer.htm


This is just a handful of prayer options. Find one what works for you and dive into it. Once you get through the difficult part and make it a habit, you will never regret it.


One final thing, if meditation is something you're interested in, but aren't sure where to start, there are guided meditations available. One summer I used the book Simply Surrender which took the writings of  St. Therese of Lisieux, offered a morning prayer, a night prayer, and a thought for the day. Each thought for the day was a short line. I would take that thought, write it on a small slip of paper, and sit with it for 2-5 minutes each morning after the morning prayer. I'd think about what it meant for her and ask God what it means for me as I try to live my day for Him. I'd then clip the slip of paper into my planner so that every time I'd open it I was forced to examine how I had allowed it to affect the way I'd lived so far that day. If you have trouble sitting still for 20 minutes, this might be a good route to take: turn your entire day into a sort of meditation.


I pray you all take advantage of this challenge as the school year begins. Allow God to root you and be your strength for...
"It is our Father alone who can make us saints" -St. Therese