April 2, 2020 - Pray Always

Our time here on earth is sacred and a great blessing. The breviary throught the Liturgy of the Hours helps us to consecrate the time of our day to God in thanksgiving. 

You may have heard that God asks us through scripture to pray always, which seems to be impossible for most of us. Many people are puzzled by this command of God from scripture because how can anyone pray always? We may be able to think of really holy people or cloistered religious nuns and monks, for instance the Carthusian monks. Carthusians live this command fully, faithfully, and extremely. So we might think well that command is really only for people like Carthusians or other nuns and monks. Yet it is for each and everone of us!

So how can we possibly pray always? We can if we better understand what prayer is, and if we look at time as sacred or consecrated to God. First, you may recall the famous saying about evangelization: "Preach always and when necessary use words". The point of this saying is that we preach more by what we do than by what we say! We all know how true this really is, especially parents! So we can easily apply this to a more effective understanding of prayer. We can understand God's command to pray always, by thinking of it like this, "Pray always, and when you have time use words". Our lives are meant to be a prayer to God - the way we work, play, and speak in our interactions with people all can be prayer, and indeed is meant to be. 

Now, I agree that this can seem like a nice pious thought, but it is also an achievable reality for each of us. As a priest I am reminded to pray at least 5 times a day to help remind me that my day, including all my interactions and works, are meant to be a prayer. For anyone of us our entire day, each and every day is meant to be a prayer. To help make this a reality for us we need to make sure God is present in my thoughts, words and actions throughout my day.

Now, there is a simple and practical way for each of us to do this, regardless of the busyness of our lives. All it will require is about 15 minutes total per day! Here is the formula: spend 5 minutes in prayer each morning before work or school, spend 5 minutes in prayer at lunch time, and spend 5 minutes in prayer in the evening after work or school. Remember prayer is simply communication with God from our heart. Suggestions for prayer are as follows: in the morning thank God for the new day, at noontime ask God for the strength to finish the day well or for help with something specific, and in the evening reflect and praise God for his goodness to you through your day. If you are struggling to get started then simply pray three Our Fathers through out the day - on in the moringing, one at noontime, and one in the evening. You will be amazed at how this changes your life when you make prayer from your heart, at these different times of your day.

The breviary is a reminder to the priest to pray always and gives me the specific way to help me consecrate my day to God and in prayer for all of you, the people God calls me to serve. However, all of us have been blessed with the gift of time throughout our days and are called to consecrate this time to God and the people who we are called to serve. Let us make a more sincere effort to fulfill God's command pray always by taking at least 15 minutes each day in prayer from the heart. 

For more information about the breviary see the following article: "A Beginner's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours"