Spiritual Formation with Liturgical Prayer

During this semester my daily prayer time ritual came from the book Give Us This Day:Daily Prayer for Today’s Catholics.  It is a monthly periodical that provides morning and evening prayers that include scripture and intercessions, information on the saint of the day, readings for the mass, and a reflection piece.  I began and ended my days under the guidance of these prayers.  I found inspiration in reading about the saints and the lives they led, discovering their great courage, compassion, and conviction of faith in face of adversity.  This left me wondering what their prayer life was like when they lived and discerning God’s will for their life.  In reading the intercessions for the marginalized, suffering, and servants of the Lord I experienced a sense of solidarity in knowing that others around the country were praying these same words.  The readings from scripture always seemed to resonate with my experiences in daily life by offering consolation, hope, or challenge to put my faith in Christ. 

The small change of routine in my daily life proved to make big difference in my overall spiritual life.  These moments served as intentional, quiet, and reflective bookends to my day.  In some ways, I feel this time in solitude and prayer actually became the most productive parts of my day.  It might seem counterproductive to some because I was “wasting” time with God instead of doing countless of other things.  However, I found this time to be truly sacred and restorative, making this carved out part of my day all the more I important to face the busyness of long to do lists.  I found that the more I allowed myself to enter into the prayers, the less I noticed time passing.  Perhaps this felt so refreshing for my soul because it is what true presence feels like.  Thus, this daily ritual stands in great contrast to the over-generalized experience of an average American.  It challenges the demands of making every second count in terms of productivity and profit as if our human state of being could be compared to the business of industry.  These prayerful times mattered most in my days, my reward in the form of a deepening in my relationship with God and self.   

I will end by sharing one of my favorite hymns with you, Lord of All Hopefulness, which acknowledges the passing of time in a day and a prayer for the virtues that accompany waking, working, returning home, and sleeping.