PRAYER

+J.M.J.
A very distraught Momma of three little ones under the age of five (5) asked me the other day,

“Do you pray while doing other things?”

My answer was a resounding, ” Yes, absolutely!”

I shared how a very inspiring Missionary priest shared a prayer he said every morning before rising from bed and before he closed his eyes at night…
“Everything I think, do or say, and everything I do not think, do or say I offer up to You My God!”
This pray takes every movement, thought, word we utter or everything we refrain from doing is all a gift for the Greater Glory of God!
This was an amazing revelation to hear at 25 years of age and two babies a only 14.5 months apart to care for.

From then on it changed my whole outlook on how I approached my day. I focused on every diaper change, temper tantrum, nursing moment, crying jag, which became more of an offering instead of a chore.
My grandmother and mother-in-law, both, would  say they were knitting their prayers into the prayer blankets with every stitch. I always thought that was such a beautiful way to serve the Lord. In such quiet contemplation as one day another would be literally covered in prayer.
In regards to praying a novena or a rosary and doing another task or action: a wonderful priest shared with a class I was taking, about how to pray with;
Intent,
Reflection and
Contemplation.
He went on sharing,
“If we are honest, our first introduction to prayer was before meals and before bedtime, and if we had some catechesis, perhaps we began saying Morning offering prayers.”
While these are an introduction to prayer, many of us do not move past it.
He pointed out what is waiting for us on the other side of this introduction to prayer moments were :
Food
Sleep
both of which,
we are grateful for,
but much of the time,
we are hungry and exhausted, so we are not in a moment of intending to open ourselves up to giving an honest moment to God, nor in any frame of mind to reflect and truly contemplate and appreciate and share how thankful we really are.
He further went on to telling us how when we delve into meditation on just one (1) verse of the Bible called Divina Scriptura, where one reads a chosen verse and meditates on each word, allowing God time to reveal in your heart the message He knows one needs.
He shared how doing the same with a favorite prayer like the Our Father or St Michael the Archangel Prayer can bring the prayer to life, helping us really understand what we are praying.
So to he explained praying a rosary or novena with intent: intending to be present heart, mind,  body and soul,
opening oneself to slowing down, and taking a pause, so we can honestly reflect for a moment on each mystery of the rosary or on the Life of the Saint the Novena is attributed, contemplating the impact the Lord’s Life or those the Saint has on our life and this world.
When we approach the formal prayers like the rosary or novena, also remembering to invite all the Holy Saint, Angels, and our dear loved ones to join us in prayer for “where to or three are gathered…”
When we move to pray with Intent, Reflection and Contemplation, including this invitation to all in Heaven and Purgatory, it makes it harder to busy ourselves with mundane actions, though no prayer goes unheard ever, and no way do I encourage anyone to stop praying while walking, driving or doing dishes, but what the dear priest shared with the class was, though there is no wrong way to pray as even the most selfish of prayers are heard, we, also are called have the ability to learn to enrich our prayer life and create a deeper meaningful way to pray by allowing ourselves to be focused on the one who cried out so long ago to his beloved friends, ” Can’t you but stay awake with me but an hour?”
My Mom always said,

“Doesn’t matter how or when you pray, just pray, for your life depends on it!”
Bottom-line:
There is never a wrong way to pray.

Written by Deanna DeBondt

May 4, 2021

3:38pm

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