Newspaper Page Text
£ Thursday, March 8, 2001
Faltlh AliwI
The Southern Cross, Page 9
The obstacles to your prayer life
By Dolores R. Leckey
Catholic News Service
tr
' ne Lent decades ago I decided
to go to daily Mass. But with four
preschool children at home and a
spouse who headed to work at an early
hour, that Mass would have to be at
6:30 a.m.
I still recall the strange sensation
CNS photo by Bill Wittman
of waking early in the darkness, faced
with the decision to switch on the
bedside lamp. For a minute or two a
f ibate raged inside me: I needed sleep;
needed the early morning prayer.
What to do?
But I knew with utter surety the
first morning that if I didn’t switch on
the light, the Lenten practice I’d cho
sen would slip away in the darkness.
That light switch symbolized the first
step of a proverbial “1,000-mile
march.”
The light switch remained a chal
lenge for some time. But something
*lse was happening. Not only was the
"me at church precious — a sane
start of the day — hut the other com
municants became silent support for
my practice. The social dimension of
the Mass helped me to stand fast and
eventually to incorporate the practice
throughout the year.
A recent survey of 2,500 Americans
reported that 76 percent are looking
for ways to simplify their lives.
Wrangely, however, according to a
New York Times article, many at
tempt this by acquiring consumer
goods that are both spare and expen
sive (a very special fountain pen or a
cashmere sweater, for example). This
is consumerism’s “simplicity.”
Prayer is touching the Spirit of God
who dwells within, warmer than
cashmere, more elegant than the fin
est fountain pen.
So, if that longing for simplicity
Vis been welling up, one might try a
10- or 15-minute early morning pe
riod of silent prayer. Or if the morn
ing rush is overwhelming, a noon
time break might be in order. If you
miss a couple of days, the key is to
return to the practice at the next
opportunity.
Holding fast does not mean never
failing. It means never giving up.
£ After an enthusiastic Lenten start
one might experience fatigue either
before or during prayer. Catherine de
Hueck Doherty, one of the 20th
century’s most respected commenta
tors on prayer, often urged people,
should they fall asleep during prayer,
to remember the psalmist’s insight: “I
give sleep to my beloved.”
The fatigue could well come from
sleep deprivation (we’re told that large
numbers of us are so afflicted), and
this could be a case of God ministering
to one’s concrete needs. Upon awak
ing, a prayer of gratitude may be in
order!
A friend suggested that people may
give up praying because they do not
like to think of themselves as depen
dent. Actually, St. Therese of Lisieux
developed her theology of prayer
around experiencing herself as “held
and carried by God,” much as a child
is cared for by a parent.
Her “little way” is one of simplicity
and surrender. It resembles the spiri
tuality of Alcoholics Anonymous. For
the beginning of recovering from the
ravages of alcohol is to acknowledge
dependence on a higher power.
AA members will tell you that
sometimes true acknowledgment of
this dependence takes a long time be
cause pride and defiance are rooted so
deeply.
But once it happens, and humility
—
1 rayer is touching the Spirit
of God who dwells within, warmer
than cashmere, more elegant
than the finest fountain pen.”
is cultivated, members are able to deal
with their limitations and the limita
tions of others. Of course, humility
and dependence do not mean passiv
ity. In AA, as in Christianity (and
other religions too), faith without ac
tion is not sufficient. Faith leads to
charity, and humility does not bind
our creativity, it frees it.
(Leckey is a senior fellow at
Woodstock Theological Center,
Georgetown University.)
FAITH IN THE MARKETPLACE
What problem have you
experienced with praying?
“I conduct a lot of retreats for
people, and I think one of the
challenges to prayer is the
hecticness of the world. People
have a hard time finding quiet
time to pray.” — Chrissy Weston,
Sublimity, Ore.
“My problem is prioritizing.
Sometimes when I’m in the middle
of prayer, I think to myself: “Wait a
minute. I should be praying about
something of greater importance.’”
— Rosa Martin, Arabi, La.
“For me personally it can
become repetitive — almost
nagging — and there can be a
feeling of, ‘Is anybody listening?’
Also, I can get the feeling, ‘Why
don’t I deserve to have my prayers
answered?”’ — Mary Ciofani,
Amherst, N.Y.
“The distractions around me:
societal, family, job.... Praying
early in the day is best for me,
before these things crowd in on my
thoughts.” — Carolyn Ruggles,
Yarmouth, Maine
An upcoming edition asks: Share an
insight — found in a book, heard
during a seminar, told in a homily —
that helped make prayer more
meaningful for you. If you would like
to respond for possible publication,
please write: Faith Alive! 3211 Fourth
St. N.E., Washington, D.C.
20017-1100.
Biblical hints on praying
By Father Lawrence E. Mick
Catholic News Service
T
.t’s everywhere! If you page
through the Bible, you can find
more than 400 occasions when the
text uses the word “pray” or one of
its derivatives (“prayer,” “praying,”
etc.).
In the Bible people pray when in
trouble, when peaceful, when in
need, when grateful, when de
pressed and when happy. For the
most part they seem to pray as a
natural response to whatever hap
pens in life.
In our own lives, many of us have
experienced times when it seemed
hard to pray. Didn’t people in bibli
cal times have similar problems?
We must assume they did, for they
were as human as we are.
It would be helpful, perhaps, if
Jesus had given us a set of guide
lines for overcoming obstacles to
prayer. We look in vain, though,
for such a guidebook in the Gos
pels.
Jesus’ example suggests that
prayer should be an integral part of
our lives as it was for him. But the
closest Jesus comes to spelling out
ways to overcome difficulties with
prayer is his response when the dis
ciples ask to be taught how to pray.
That they even asked him this ques
tion suggests they were having
some difficulties figuring out how to
pray.
Before teaching them the Lord’s
Prayer, Jesus cautions them not to
multiply words as the pagans do
(Matthew 6:7), thinking that they
will be heard because of their many
words. Some Christians have fallen
into similar errors.
What Jesus urges is trust in the
goodness of the Father, a Father
who already knows what we need.
The simplicity of the Lord’s Prayer
is the guide he gives.
In ° Nutshell
1
Lack of time, not knowing how to pray, too many distractions.
These three factors rank high among the obstacles to prayer.
People say they need to learn to pray. Mentors are helpful;
practice is required.
Does prayer make people dependent — dependent on God?
Dependence on God is not passivity. It frees people for
fulfilling lives — lives able to put faith into action.
Another time the disciples had
difficulty praying was in the Garden
of Gethsemane (see Mark 14:37-41).
While Jesus was praying in agony,
the disciples kept falling asleep.
Though Jesus was disappointed, his
reproach was rather gentle, for he
understood human weakness.
Perhaps that should be a guide
for us if we nod off during prayer or
find our minds wandering. We can
just gently call ourselves back to
prayer and try again.
St. Paul also speaks of difficulty
in knowing how to pray. “In the
same way, the Spirit too comes to
the aid of our weakness; for we do
not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit intercedes with in
expressible groanings” (Romans
8:26).
This might comfort us when we
feel unsure of what we should ask
from God. The Spirit knows us and
also knows the will of God. If we
simply entrust ourselves to the
Spirit of God, that will be enough.
In fact, it may be the best praying
any of us can ever do!
(Father Mick, a priest of the
Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio, is
a free-lance writer.)
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