In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity, as reported in Jeremiah 31:31-34, every human being can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.
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Christian Prayer – God’s Sacred History with Me
Prayer is simply visiting with God – the Creator of the Universe – who
is always present. Jesus revealed God to be a Trinity, a Community of Divine
Persons: the Father, the Son – who also became human through Mary and is known
as Jesus – and the Holy Spirit. Here are the simplest steps for visiting with
God in prayer.
PRELIMINARY
NOTES FOR ALL WHO PRAY
1. BUSY PRAYER IN THE DUTY OF THE MOMENT: Our life is complex in many dimensions. We can pray – visit with God – anywhere, anytime. CAUTION: Pay attention in the “front” of your mind to what you are doing to avoid injury… let prayer “happen” on the “back burner” ….
2. PRAYER OF SILENCE: Friends of God find Him in silence, not the absence of noise, but in the silence, we learn to keep within ourselves, quieting our mind, heart, and spirit, like a baby in the parent’s lap.
3. CONTEMPLATIVE NATURE WALK: Taking a leisurely walk in nature, without any errand to run, just for the sheer pleasure, and without rushing - can open us up to a moment of "awe" and "wonder", lift our spirit "into God" or open us to "sense" the "living presence of God" within us. Silence helps us "savor it".
4. PONDERING THE WORD OF GOD: "Listen" to God as you slowly read Sacred Scripture, paying attention to the Lord, and personally "respond" to Him. First, ask the Holy Spirit to help. Later, thank Him.
5. OTHER FORMS OF PRAYER: You can pray with Scripture, the Word of God in the Bible; or with the Mysteries of the Rosary; or at Holy Mass; or TO God WITH the saints to help you pray; or written prayers.
6. PRAYER TIME & PLACE: Choose a time and place to visit with God by setting aside any other activity.
7.
IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO REALLY
DOES THE PRAYING WITHIN US: Let the Holy
Spirit carry you in the praying, especially when you are doing something else.
At all times the Holy Spirit can give us the grace to relax and the Holy Spirit
teaches us how to allow the prayer to “echo” within our spirit.
ACTUALLY PRAYING
8. “BE NOT AFRAID!” God, revealed by Jesus of Nazareth, is a “community” of Divine Persons, the Father, his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; yet a single Divine Being. God will ever remain mysterious.
9. DECIDE: Simply decide to pray, to take some time to personally visit with God.
10. ASK: Ask the Holy Spirit to be with you and help you to pray, to visit with the Holy Trinity.
11. SELECT: Choose the "prayer method" or
"avenue" or occasion you want.
12. ENTER
INTO YOUR PRAYER METHOD: In “silent
prayer” relax and rest in the Lord.
OR Select a Scripture text and
read slowly, “ponder” the words, let them touch your mind, heart, spirit.
OR Pray the Rosary with Mary
while meditating on the Mysteries of Jesus in the Holy Rosary. OR…
13. “WORRY NOT – ENJOY!” You may notice worries, ideas, emotions, resolutions, anxieties, “to do” lists – just let them drop, and turn your attention back to your prayer… you can pick them up again later. Enjoy the presence and the love of God the Father, his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
14. AT
THE END GIVE THANKS: Say “Thank You,
Lord… or Father… or Jesus… or Holy Spirit.”
Spiritual Prayer
Exercise – Letting God Show You His Presence and Care throughout Your Whole
Life
A good, holy, elderly priest – Fr. Walter Lallemand, a war veteran who as
a recovering alcoholic was a man familiar with suffering – in February 1977 gave
us young adults a prayer exercise to see our life like that of the people of Israel
in the Bible. Like theirs, each journey is a sacred history of God’s grace. This
is an invitation to reflect with your memory in God’s presence. Ask God to help
you remember – whether you realized it at the time or not – when God was there
for you and with you. Sharper memories may present themselves first – times
when you were loved and cared for – or moments of pain, illness, discomfort, or
sadness. God can impress his Love on us powerfully in times of trial. As this
relies on our ability to remember, it is an exercise that you can return to and
add onto several times over the years. Each experience we remember becomes a
treasure enriching and enlightening our life and relationship with God and
others. Each box helps organize thoughts / memories and reflect on them. Here
are presented to you a sample schematic but you will probably need more space;
so, feel free to use more paper. May the Holy Trinity reveal to you, bless your
sacred history, and lead you on.
God’s Sacred History with Me
- What happened, or what would you call this experience?
- What was it about, what is the "core" memory?
- How did you feel during this experience? OR How did you feel later?
- What other person might have played a role?
- How did this affect you at the time?
- What lingering effects have remained with you?
- How was God "with you"?
- How do you feel now?
This is a spiritual exercise to which you can return again and again, pondering the ways of the Lord in your life, and letting the Holy Spirit teach you to recognize the many ways in which the Most Holy Trinity is present, acting, and blessing you in your life.
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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity, as reported in Jeremiah 31:31-34, every human being can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.
© 2006-2023 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2006-2023 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
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