How much time and energy is exerted
in obtaining a degree from some prestigious University? How much blood, sweat and tears are expended
to win a trophy from some sporting event? How much time and energy can even be consumed
in preparing for a surprise Birthday party?
If we can expend almost exaggerated resources of time, money, emotional
and physical energy for such natural pursuits, should we not even expend more
of our time and energy in what is the greatest of all arts, “The art of all
arts” and that is learning the Practice of Prayer. St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church,
calls prayer the key to salvation.
Following are five short, clear and
concrete steps we can undertake to improve our personal prayer life, grow in
holiness, be a source of holiness to many others and experience a nearly
constant peace and overflowing joy!
1.
CONVICTION! Must be convinced of the importance of prayer
in our life and for our eternal salvation.
St. Alphonsus expresses it concisely: “He who prays will be saved; he who does not pray will be damned.”
St. John Damascene defines prayer: “Lifting
of the mind and heart to God.” St. Augustine has a catchy way of expressing
the indispensable character of prayer: “He
who prays well lives well; he who lives well dies well; he who dies well, all
is well.” Excellent! A final easy
analogy: as air is to the lungs, so must prayer be to our soul. No air for the lungs, death arrives quickly.
Likewise, the prayer-less person can easily fall prey to temptation and fall
into mortal sin and lose God’s Friendship!
2.
CONFESSION.
If we are not at peace with God, if our conscience is reproaching us, if
we have unforgiven and unconfessed sins then talking face to face with God as
friends simply does not work. If we hurt our friend, we apologize and then
return to amicable relations!
3.
SET TIME AND PLACE TO PRAY. Man is a creature of habit. We do certain
things every day at the same time and place.
Of capital importance should be to form the habit of prayer. This habit
will result in our salvation and possibly the salvation of many others. We can pray at any time and any place and in
any circumstance. However, there are “Prime times” that we should pray. Morning
prayer upon arising from sleep, grace before meals, before going on a trip, the
family Rosary in the evening before dinner, and night prayers--- these are
traditional times for prayer.
4.
MASS AND HOLY COMMUNION. By far the greatest prayer in the world is
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Sunday
Mass is obligatory, under pain of mortal sin. However, if we are truly in love
with God, we should not aim for the minimum but rather the maximum! The greatest action and gesture under the
heavens that will lead us to eternal life in heaven is to assist at Holy Mass
and receive Holy Communion fervently, humbly, and with great confidence. The angels in heaven experience a holy envy
towards us because even the greatest of angels cannot receive Jesus in Holy
Communion. How privileged we really are!
5.
OUR LADY AND THE ROSARY. Our Lady of Fatima appeared in 1917 from May
to October. In every one of the Apparitions she insisted on the praying of the
Rosary. Blessed Pope John Paul II in
one of this literary masterpieces Blessed
Virgin Mary and the Rosary also insisted that we pray the Rosary and for
two specific important intentions: 1) for world peace, 2) for the sake of the
family. The Rosary priest, Father
Patrick Peyton, coined these immortal proverbs: “”The family that prays together, stays together….” And “A
world at prayer is a world at peace.”
The family should find a time and place and pray the Rosary every day.
May the father who is the spiritual head of the family initiate this practice,
bring the family together, and persevere in this prayer for the salvation of
his entire family.
If we can implement
these five concrete practices in our personal prayer life then we will bring
forth fruit and fruit in abundance! May Our Lady of grace inspire us to
undertake a daily growth in our prayer life!
