268 lines
12 KiB
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268 lines
12 KiB
HTML
<p>
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Recently a good friend of mine who is taking an interest in Catholicism has
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asked me if I could write an article on how to pray. Normally this isn't the
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kind of subject I'd want to deal with on my blog, especially since there's
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probably millions of people who are better qualified than myself who have
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written better articles than anything I could come up with. Nonetheless, I felt
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the need to write this article, not only because it was a friend that asked me
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to, but also because he has found that many of the articles that exist on the
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matter are either too vague or too specific. E.g. a vague article may simply be
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several paragraphs of someone essentially saying that praying is having a
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conversation with God and growing in communion with Him, while a specific
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article will just tell you how to pray a specific devotion. Neither of these are
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truly helpful for someone who's just starting out. I remember when I first
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started praying it was hard for me to find anything useful on this matter as
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well. What beginners need is guidance on <em>what prayer is</em>, and to dive
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deeper into <em>how we do it</em>. All this being said, I am still but a layman,
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so take what I say with a grain of salt, and continue to expand your prayer life
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beyond this article. But I hope to give at least a cursory introduction that
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will be useful for beginners.
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</p>
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<p>
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To tackle this subject I'm going to focus on three different sections. The first
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will consist of explaining the different <em>modes of prayer</em>, which consist
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of manners in which one relates to God. The second is the <em>mediums of prayer</em>
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which contemplates the different mediums which we use to engage in the act of
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prayer. Thirdly is a section simply to give a few suggested <em>devotions</em>;
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by no means an extensive list, but at least to give a starting point.
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</p>
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<h2>Modes of Prayer</h2>
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<p>
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When we speak of modes of prayer, we're speaking of distinct and exclusive
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manners in which one can relate to God. They are exclusive because your prayer
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can only truly be in one mode at any given time. Yet, remembering that these
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modes are distinct may help us to keep a balance among all of them in our prayer
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life. These modes can be summarized easily with the acronym ACTS: Adoration,
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Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.
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</p>
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<p>
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The first of these would be <em>Adoration</em>, where we contemplate the glory
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of God. In effect, we <em>adore</em> Him, for He is the only one worth our
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adoration. To be more specific, this is what I've referred to in a previous
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article<sup><a href="#r1" >[1]</a></sup> where I explore the true meaning of
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adoration. But to summarize it is about giving glory to God and praising Him for
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what He is, not for what He does for us.
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</p>
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<p>
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The second, <em>Contrition</em>, consists of recognizing oneself as a sinner,
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and asking for the Lord's forgiveness in sincere repentance. We're broken, and
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it's necessary to recognize that before God, to bring to Him our weaknesses and
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our wounds, that He may heal us. This also will help to inspire humility, for
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after having adored Him, we now turn eyes to ourselves and see just how lost we
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are without Him.
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</p>
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<p>
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<em>Thanksgiving</em> is the act of giving thanks to the Lord for all He has
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done for us, all He is doing, and all He will do. This is necessary, for
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although He does so out of love, and there is nothing we can give Him that
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doesn't come from Him. This also helps us to realize the important role He plays
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in our life and to avoid taking for granted that which He has given us.
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</p>
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<p>
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Finally, the last mode is <em>Supplication</em>, which consists in asking of the
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Lord in our favor or that of another. God is not indifferent to us, but loves
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each and every one of us as His own son/daughter. When we are in need, we should
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go to Him as a child goes to his father for help. A father has no greater joy
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than to help his son. So too does God wish to help us, to make us happy. It is
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for that reason He calls us to live an eternity with Him in His Kingdom! So too
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here on Earth, does He wish for us to be happy - not simply a passing happiness
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that comes from temporal things, but a lasting one that can only come from a
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profound communion with God.
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</p>
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<h2>Mediums of Prayer</h2>
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<p>
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Perhaps <em>medium</em> isn't the correct word to use here, but it's the closest
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term I can find to what I'm trying to express. Essentially, when we pray we pray
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<em>with or through</em> something. We normally think of praying as something we
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say, think, or feel. But ultimately, prayer is about relating to God, which is
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something we not only can, but should do with <em>all of our being</em>. This is
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not simply some catchy phrase, but truly carries with it a profound meaning. As
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human persons we are composed of four things: body, soul, will, and intellect;
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and to more fully engage in prayer it is important to use all of these.
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</p>
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<p>
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Going in order, what it means to engage in prayer with our bodies is to
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appropriately engage with our material being in the modes of prayer discussed
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above. This is commonly understood as using our lips and vocal chords to say
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certain phrases, and maybe using our hands and arms to do the Sign of the Cross.
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But this is truly a minimal part of it. We can often underestimate just how
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important it is to engage with our bodies that which we are trying to express or
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experience with our minds; and truly if we reflect our prayer in our bodies this
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strengthens the experience. It's not the same to receive Communion standing up
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as kneeling, as the latter will put your mind in a state of reception,
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submission, and respect. Equally, it is also important to mind the way we dress,
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not that we should be extravagant, and calling attention to ourselves - which
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would be a lack of humility - but we should give certain places and occasions
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their due reverence. To be well dressed for Mass or to go to Adoration
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communicates the importance of the event, while if you were to go in your
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pajamas then you would likely feel lazy and disconnected. Use your body as a
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means of giving glory to God, not by attracting attention to yourself, but by
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using it to give due respect and reverence to Him.
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</p>
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<p>
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To pray using one's soul is perhaps a trickier topic, since we should first
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agree on what a soul is. I'm not fully qualified to talk about this subject, so
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we'll keep things simple and just say that our soul (or <i>anima</i> in Latin)
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is our <em>liveliness</em>; it is, in effect, that which <em>animates</em> our
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material bodies. This is also a part of us which is particularly damaged with
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our sins, causing imperfections to the otherwise perfect creation of God. We
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praise God with our souls by caring for it and those of others, and this is
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done first and foremost by means of the Sacraments. But this is also done by
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configuring our hearts to be more like that of our Lord. To feel what He feels,
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to be moved by what moves Him. We do this by bringing to Him all things in our
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life and viewing them from God's eyes.
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</p>
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<p>
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To pray with our will is to align our own will to God's. It is an act of trust
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in Him, who is good and who loves us, that we must exercise in order to grow in
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our prayer life, as it allows us to more clearly hear what He is calling us to,
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and be more docile to the Holy Spirit. This is done by accepting that which God
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gives us in our lives, be it directly by His divine intervention, or
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providentially through others.
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</p>
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<p>
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Finally, to pray with one's intellect requires that we learn about God. What
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good is a relationship if we don't know the other person? Can we really say such
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a thing is a real relationship, much less one worthy of God? We get to know God
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by learning about of Faith, familiarizing ourselves with the Scriptures and our
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Tradition, and what the Magisterium has to say about it. By meditating on the
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mysteries of Christ and His ministry. Discover who He is. Without this it will
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be impossible for you to have any profound or meaningful relationship with Him.
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</p>
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<h2>Devotions</h2>
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<p>
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After going over the modes and mediums of prayer we simply lack the
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<em>means</em>, which we typically consider to be <em>devotions</em>. These are
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common forms of prayer used by many Christians to grow in communion with God. It
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is by no means an extensive list, but they are common and very helpful.
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</p>
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<ol>
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<li>
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<b>The Holy Rosary</b>: The most widespread devotion in the Catholic
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Church, given to us by Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, through St.
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Dominic. Today the Rosary consists of meditating upon 20 mysteries (15 from
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Our Lady, 5 from St. John Paul II) from Jesus' life and ministry, while
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praying 10 Hail Marys (what's called a decade). You can easily find guides
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online to praying the Rosary along with complimentary prayers between
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decades.
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</li>
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<li>
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<b>Lectio Divina</b>: An old tradition which consists of reading a passage
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from Scripture and reflecting upon it. It consists of four parts: reading,
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meditation, prayer, and contemplation.
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</li>
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<li>
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<b>Liturgy of the Hours</b>: A form of prayer that follows a liturgical
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rubric, similar to that of the Holy Mass. The Liturgy of the Hours focuses
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primarily on the reading of Psalms, and in the antiphony of its central
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prayer it typically utilizes a verse from the Gospel reading of the day in
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the Mass readings. The most common hours to pray are morning (laudes),
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evening (vespers), and night (complete).
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</li>
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<li>
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<b>Worship Music</b>: Not one I'm too fond of, but one that has helped many
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people in their prayer life. Music is a great gift that God has given us, so
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much so that it forms a central part of not only our Earthly Liturgy, but
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even of the Heavenly Liturgy we shall witness in the Beatific Vision (as
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seen in the Book of Revelation). Many find it helpful to guide their prayer,
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and to strengthen it.
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</li>
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<li>
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<b>Divine Mercy Chaplet</b>: Another one I'm not too fond of, but one that
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has started to pick up some popularity in recent years. It's a prayer
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similar to that of the Rosary, but based upon the vision of St. Faustina
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Kowalska, which focuses on God's infinite mercy, asks for the salvation of
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sinners. It's a lot shorter than the Rosary, so it may be a good starting
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point.
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</li>
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</ol>
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<h2>Some Tips</h2>
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Here are some tips for having a good prayer life:
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<ol>
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<li>
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Don't be afraid if it is difficult to pray for long periods of time at
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first. Work on perseverance by incrementing the time you pray and the
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intensity of it little by little.
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</li>
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<li>
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Aim to ultimately pray a cumulative hour every day.
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</li>
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<li>
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Be consistent with your prayer schedule and the place you pray. This will
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help your body and soul associate that time & place with prayer, and
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make it easier to enter into a prayerful state.
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</li>
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<li>
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Choose a peaceful place for prayer. Perhaps adorn it with religious images
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that help you to concentrate. In the same way that we are supposed to pray
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with our bodies, this also means that our senses can help us to pray by
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means of incense, candles, icons, etc.
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</li>
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<li>
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Remove all distractions while praying, most especially your phone or any
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other electronic device. If you absolutely require it for prayer then put it
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in airplane mode so as not to receive any notifications; but the ideal is no
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electronics.
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</li>
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<li>
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Pay close attention to the words you say in your prayer, let them resonate
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in your heart, so they may also resonate in your actions.
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</li>
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<li>
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Don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Find a few different prayers to
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pray consistently.
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</li>
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<li>
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Always reserve some time to simply talk to the Lord. A sort of <em>free
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form</em> if you will.
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</li>
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<li>
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Our prayer will always revolve fundamentally around Scripture, so read it
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often. If you're going to pray the Rosary, re-read the different passages
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regarding each of the mysteries with some frequency. Remember that God has a
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message there for you, and His Word is alive and working in you at this
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moment: so listen to what He has to say.
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</li>
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<li>
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If you are more inclined to heavily structured prayer, be sure to pray a
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more flexible form daily. If you are more inclined to the more flexible
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prayers, be sure to pray a more structured one.
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</li>
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</ol>
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<p>
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There's probably a lot more to be said, but this is only a beginner's guide.
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Don't get too bogged down by all the text here, just work on it one day at a
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time, little by little. I pray this guide will be helpful. And may God bless
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you.
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</p>
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<h2>References</h2>
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<ol class="refs" >
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<li id="r1" >
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<a href="/blog/2022-06-07-adoration.html" >
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"Adoration" on The Music in Noise
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</a>
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</li>
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</ol>
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