Prayer Reflection from your Prayer Fraternity

 

(Abbey guest at Bryant Creek)

 

PRAY AS YOU CAN, NOT AS YOU CAN'T !

 

 

"How should I pray?"  is a question often asked.   Jesus' disciples asked him that question in the Gospel of Luke 11:1 "Lord, teach us to pray."    What followed was the Lord's Prayer as we know it.

 

One of the ways to answer the question of 'how to pray' might be to say:   "Pray as you can, not as you can't !"    The Catechism of the Church (art. 2559) tells us that "prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God."    Thus, we might say that prayer is a very personal expression for each individual of how he or she lifts, opens, speaks, brings themselves to God or nurtures one's relationship with God.

 

There's a wonderful quote that speaks to this from the great spiritual director, St. Francis de Sales;   as you read the quote a second time, substitute the word 'prayer' for 'devotion':

 

         "In creation, God commanded the plants to bring forth fruit each according to its kind.   Similarly, God commands Christians to bring forth the fruits of devotion (prayer) according to each one's calling and vocation.   It would not do for a bishop to adopt a Carthusian solitude,  or the father or mother of a family to refuse to save money like a Franciscan,   for a workman to spend his whole time in church like a professional religious,   or for a religious to be always exposed to interruptions on his neighbor's behalf as a bishop must be.   Such devotion (prayer) would be inconsistent and ridiculous.   The practice of devotion (prayer) must be adapted to the capabilities, the engagements and the duties of each individual."

 

An important realization of our own time, helped greatly by some of the current personality indicators like Myers/Briggs, the Enneagram, etc., is that the human community is comprised of many different personalities, temperaments, life stories, needs, etc.   These life experiences we bring to prayer and they do help to determine what kind of personal prayer is effective for us. Communal prayer in church worship or religious community, of course, necessitates something different.

 

Pray as you can, not as you can't!    Learn the method(s) of prayer that genuinely work for you and incorporate them into your life.   As a retreat director said recently about the material he was sharing with the retreatants:  "If it helps, wonderful, use it; if it doesn't, set it aside."

 

There are many varieties of prayer forms in the world; for your personal prayer, find what works for you and utilize it.    Let go, or set aside, for now those that don't work for you.   "Pray as you can, not as you can't !"