Stewardship of Prayer

We all have 24 hours a day. Nobody has any more (or less)! For the disciple of Jesus, the first threshold of following Him is to give Him our time. At bare minimum, we go to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day. Then as we deepen in relationship with Jesus, consistent daily prayer is nearly automatic (and yet not entirely as we won’t always ‘feel’ like praying and yet need to anyway!). But it becomes our lifeline.

Daily Prayer

If not part of our routine, we start small, perhaps ten minutes per day. In a place that is conducive to prayer (ideally, the church, in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, but also perhaps a particular chair, which we only sit in to pray, at home with some sacred art nearby). We can pray the Rosary and meditate on the mysteries as they relate to our own lives. We can practice Lectio Divina, a prayerful reading of Scripture, especially the Sunday readings for Mass. We can pray the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayer of the Church closely connected to the celebration of the Mass. We can do many things. In essence, we place ourselves in God’s presence and we allow Him to cultivate a real relationship with us.

We are sustained especially through the Sacraments – and particularly the Eucharist and Penance (Confession). Our daily prayer, especially if it’s consistent and involves a sacrifice of time, will lead us to a more fruitful praying of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It will also help us to make more fruitful use of Confession and more deeply seek the healing that Jesus desires to bring us.