Prayer on the March

'A little lifting up of the heart suffices; a little remembrance of God, an interior act of adoration, even though made on the march and with sword in hand, are prayers which, short though they may be, are nevertheless very pleasing to God... 

Let him then think of God as much as possible so that he will gradually become accustomed to this little but holy exercise; no one will notice it and nothing is easier than to repeat often during the day these little acts of interior adoration.'

Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

A Continual Conversation

In This Moment, I Can Choose

The 'awakening' I wrote of yesterday has been life changing. Not only has it led to moment-by-moment prayer, it is also nudging me toward greater virtue. I find that yielding to God's will is much more manageable on a moment by moment basis. 

I suppose I'm taking baby steps toward holiness. It's such a lofty goal, and the path to it seems an impossible climb for a little soul like me. 

It is not an impossible climb for God, however; not if I ask for His grace, and if I let Him lead me step by step.

In each moment I can choose to trust.

In each moment I can choose another's needs over my own. I can swallow words of irritation and speak words of caring. I can manage to sacrifice my own wants during this tiny chunk of time. 

In each moment I can thank God for something. My back may be in pain, but thank You, Lord, that I can move. If I'm suffering from flu: thank You, God, for a comfortable bed. When I am in absolute misery, thank God I can offer my sufferings for the salvation of souls. 

And thank God there's a change in my outlook as I look for and try to focus on the good.

I can praise God, I can smile, I can offer a prayer of intercession. I can hang on for just this one moment. I can take one simple step, asking God to show me how to serve and glorify Him in whatever has come my way. I can offer prayer of love, adoration, repentance - right here, right now.

In this moment, I can choose.


'The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness.' (St. Gianna Beretta Molla) 

theCloisteredHeart.org


Painting: Édouard Manet

All for God!

Revisiting Prayer Tracks

Because I don't live in a monastery, I hear no bells calling me to drop everything and take time for prayer in the middle of the day.  I live out here where families need feeding, babies need diapering, and bosses want reports in by twelve o'clock sharp.

Those in monasteries can usually pray at the same times.  But 'out here,' everyone is going in a hundred different directions at once.

So what about me?  If I want a foundation of prayer to be the basis of my life, how do I stay on track?

In his book TheFulfillment of All Desire, Ralph Martin defines prayer as 'at root, simply paying attention to God.'  (p. 121).

Oh, I do love this.  

So:  I begin my day by paying attention to God.  Usually it's uttering a brief spontaneous sentence or two.

Ideally I can then take time, later, to sit down with Scripture and give Our Lord my undivided attention.  I am finding the Liturgy of the Hours to be a great help with this.  I also find that all too often I come to this practice tired, distracted, and having fought (or going in while still fighting) the temptation to 'put it off.'  I wish I didn't have to admit that!  But it's simply the truth, and you know what?  I've also learned that when I forge on past the distractions, when I carry on no matter how tired I may be, I wind up with a sense that God is pleased.  I also have some pleasant surprises at times - inspirations I could never have had otherwise.

Do I pray the entire Liturgy of the Hours every day?  No.  But if I try to pray at least one psalm from it, sometime during the day and with my full attention, usually I wind up praying longer ... and then the next time, longer still.

I also continue to cultivate the habit of making aspirations - the short prayers we can offer to God in our hearts, no matter where we are or what we're doing.  'Jesus, I trust in You.'  'Father, I adore You.'  'Lord, I give You my heart.'

Because I don't live in a physical monastery, I cannot expect to adhere to the regular by-the-bell prayer times of those who do.  God does not expect this.  He expects me to live the vocation He has given me.  In that vocation, however, He does ask that I 'pay attention to Him.'

With His help, I can get past the hurdles and do so.

With His help, I am able to stay on track.

This is a repost from our archives. It is linked to Reconciled to You  and Theology is a Verb for 'It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday.'
   

© N Shuman
thecloisteredheart.org    

Revisiting Aspirations

Aspirations are brief prayers that can be lifted to God inwardly, wherever we are and whatever we may be doing.  They’re an ancient monastic practice, but are particularly practical for those of us striving to keep our hearts fixed on God in the midst of a bustling world. 

"These brief ascents of the soul heavenward, these liftings of the mind and heart to God, briefly but frequently: this is what enables the monk… to live a life of prayer and intimate union with God.  As the monk goes about his daily duties, he… gives himself to this practice of terse but frequent prayer.” (Wilfrid Tunink OSB, Vision of Peace, pp. 277-278) 

“The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always…  This prayer is possible ‘at all times’ because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation:  that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Jesus Christ.”  (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2668) 

“All aspirations are better when they are brief…. As we draw in the fresh air and breathe forth that which is exhausted, so we draw God into the soul and breathe forth self into the arms of His mercy.  Blessed is the soul which does this, for then it lives in God and He in it.”  (St. Francis de Sales) 

With practice, I can learn to remain in active communication with God no matter where I happen to be. As I join throngs of shoppers in the mall, ride the subway, take care of laundry, drive through rush hour traffic - I can keep my heart attentive to God….. 

“My God and my all!”

“Jesus, I trust in You.”

“Lord, have mercy on us.”

"My God, I adore You."

“Jesus… Jesus…. Jesus…..”

This is a repost from our archives. It is linked to Reconciled to You  and Theology is a Verb for 'It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday.'
   

Painting: Mabel Frances Layng, The Omnibus

Pause a Minute and Say

Painting: Jules Breton

How Can Anyone Pray Continually?

'Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

'These brief ascents of the soul heavenward, these liftings of the mind and heart to God, briefly but frequently: this is what enables the monk… to live a life of prayer and intimate union with God.  As (he) goes about his daily duties, he… gives himself to this practice of terse but frequent prayer.' (Wilfrid Tunink OSB, Vision of Peace, pp. 277-278) 

Do I try to remember to pray aspirations (short, inner prayers) throughout the day?

What are my favorite aspirations? Perhaps some of the following are among them...

My God and my all!

Jesus, I trust in You. 

My God, I adore You.

Lord, enclose me in Your Heart.

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

My God, I love You.

Into Your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

From all sin, deliver us, O Lord.

O Jesus, with all my heart I cling to You.

My Jesus, mercy.

My Lord and my God. 

Blessed be God!

All for You, Lord Jesus, all for You.

Painting at top: Winslow Homer, Winding Line 

Revisiting 5 Smooth Stones

Armed with only his little bag of five smooth stones, young David went into battle against the powerful warrior Goliath. David took one of his stones, hurled it with a sling, and struck Goliath.  The stone hit the giant and Goliath fell on the ground. Thus was seen the truth of David's words declaring that 'it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves. For the battle is the Lord's...'

We may feel spiritually 'young,' we may feel powerless, we may feel anything but able to combat forces coming against ourselves, the world, and those we love. The truth, however, is that we have been given the weapon - the 'stone' - of prayer. Even a simple aspiration, prayed from the heart and in effect hurled against the giants, has much more power than we can imagine.

We each have our little pouch of stones. Simple aspirations, the Mass, prayer with Scripture, the Liturgy of the Hours, songs of praise, the rosary, adoration, chaplets, fasting and sacrifice; yes, each of us has our own little bag of stones...

I pray that God will gather together our prayers, blending their fragrance as incense before Him.  There are so many stones in our pouches, possibly more than we realize. 

I pray we will uncover and practice using our 'stones...'

This is a repost from our achives. It is linked to Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb for 'It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday.'

Text not in quotes © 2012 N Shuman
thecloisteredheart.org     
Photo from Pixabay

Cloistered Darts

'It is an old custom with the servants of God always to have some little prayers ready, and to be darting them up to heaven frequently during the day, lifting their minds to God from out of the filth of this world. He who adopts this plan will get great fruit with little pains.'

St. Philip Neri

Prayer That Meets the Road

I can't seem to keep my mind off traffic. Which isn't surprising, I suppose, as many of us spend lots of time in the midst of it. It only follows that if we're 'cloistered' at all, we must be cloistered there.

Right there. Right where the rubber truly does meet the road, where drivers lose patience and horns blare and lines of cars come to standstills and roads get slippery and we must remain alert.  And where, all the while, no one around us suspects that our vehicle is a traveling chapel, a monastery on wheels.

Can we maintain a prayerful attitude throughout our day?  Can we, ourselves, be traveling 'monasteries' - places where God is loved and served in the very midst of the world?

I have a feeling that if we can manage this in our rolling sanctuaries, we have a pretty good start.

'It is written of St. Vincent Ferrer: Whether in the streets or in the choir, or his own cell, or preaching,
or on a journey, or whatever he did, he was always tranquil, because he had made an Oratory in his heart, and there conversed uninterruptedly with God, without any outward thing disturbing him." (from Sheltering the Divine Outcast, compiled by A Religious, The Peter Reilly Co, Philadelphia, 1952, p. 90) 

'We are, each of us, a Living Cathedral. Each is his own chapel. And provided we are in a state of grace, God lives and dwells within us… we must live and act as if we were dwelling in a church in the presence of the Tabernacle.” (The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pellegrini & Co., Australia,  1941)

Painting: Camille Pissarro, The Boulevard Montmartre at Night, 1897

Staying on Track

What about my 'prayer train?' (we may be asking after yesterday's post).  I don't live in a monastery.  No one rings a bell that, in essence, gives me permission to drop everything and take half an hour for prayer in the middle of the day.  I live out here where families need feeding, babies need diapering, and bosses want reports in by twelve o'clock sharp.

Those in monasteries can usually pray at the same times.  But 'out here,' everyone is going in a hundred different directions at once.

So what about me?  If I want a foundation of prayer to be the basis of my life, how do I stay on track?

In his book The Fulfillment of All Desire, Ralph Martin defines prayer as 'at root, simply paying attention to God.'  (p. 121).

Oh, I do love this.  

So:  I begin my day by paying attention to God.  Usually it's uttering a brief spontaneous sentence or two.

Ideally I can then find time, later, to sit down with Scripture and give Our Lord my undivided attention.  I am finding the Liturgy of the Hours to be a great help with this.  I also find that all too often I come to this practice tired, distracted, and having fought (or going in while still fighting) the temptation to 'put it off.'  Oh, I wish I didn't have to admit that!  But it's simply the truth, and you know what?  I've also learned that when I forge on past the distractions, when I carry on no matter how tired I may be, I wind up with a sense that God is pleased.  I also have some pleasant surprises at times - inspirations I could never have had otherwise.

Do I pray the entire Liturgy of the Hours every day?  No.  But if I try to pray at least one psalm from it, sometime during the day and with my full attention, usually I wind up praying longer ... and then the next time, longer still.

I also continue to cultivate the habit of making aspirations - the short prayers we can offer to God in our hearts, no matter where we are or what we're doing.  'Jesus, I trust in You.'  'Father, I adore You.'  'Lord, I give You my heart.'

Because I don't live in a physical monastery, I cannot expect to adhere to the regular by-the-bell prayer times of those who do.  God does not expect this.  He expects me to live the vocation He has given me.  In that vocation, however, He does ask that I 'pay attention to Him.'

With His help, I can get past the hurdles and do so.

With His help, I am able to stay on track.

Painting at top of post: Hans Baluschek Großstadtbahnhof, in US public domain due to age

Photo of tracks in public domain 

© 2014 Nancy Shuman
thecloisteredheart.org    
 


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Maintaining the Fire

'During the day
make frequent offerings of yourself to God...
by saying:  here I am Lord,
do with me what You please.
Tell me what You wish me to do for You,
and I will do it all.

Repeat, as often as you can, acts of love for God.

St. Teresa used to say that acts of love
are like wood maintaining the fire
of divine love kindled in our hearts..

If you fall into some sin,
humble yourself at once
and rise again with a more fervent act of love.


When something you do not want
happens to you, offer it to God immediately
by an act of conformity with His holy will...

Acquire the habit of always
repeating in adverse circumstances the words:
such is God's will and such also is mine.'

St.  Alphonsus de Liguori


 

Painting of St. Catherine: Giovanni Dall'Orto
Painting of laundress: Désiré François Laugée

Aspiration Practice

It is almost Advent.  Time to slow down, settle in for hours of prayer, and wait in hushed anticipation. 

What?  It isn't that way in your world?

It isn't that way in mine, either.

Which makes it an ideal time for aspirations:  those brief prayers that we can lift to God inwardly, wherever we are and whatever we may be doing.  They are an ancient monastic practice, but they can be particularly practical for those of us striving to keep our hearts fixed on God in the midst of a bustling world.  Even as we join crowds of shoppers in the mall, wrap gifts, gather with friends and family, we can lift our hearts to God.  I find the doing of this hard to remember, but it seems the more I practice, the more it becomes habitual.

We are entering the busiest time of the year out here in the world.  If we can remember to offer little prayers even in this kind of hubbub, maybe doing so while we fold laundry on a quiet February morning won't turn out to be so tough. 

Aspiration practice.  I think I'm ready.  Let it begin. 

"These brief ascents of the soul heavenward, these liftings of the mind and heart to God, briefly but frequently: this is what enables the monk… to live a life of prayer and intimate union with God.  As (he) goes about his daily duties, he… gives himself to this practice of terse but frequent prayer.” (Wilfrid Tunink OSB, Vision of Peace, pp. 277-278) 

'My God and my all!'

'Jesus, I trust in You.'

'Lord, have mercy on us.'

'My God, I adore You.' 

'Lord, enclose me in Your Heart.'

Bérard Gloppe painting; in US public domain due to age 

You are invited to share your Advent journey by leaving a comment in the 'Parlor'

My Choir Stall

The bell clangs again, it's time for midafternoon prayer.  Once more, residents of the monastery gather in the choir stalls to sing His praise.

Again the swish of habits, the sliding of soft soles across floors, the quiet rustle of Breviaries being opened and pages being turned.  Sisters move to their places without hesitation; there is no wondering where any one goes today, for it's always the same.  Once choir stalls*  are assigned, they are easily remembered.  After all, a nun prays in the same one numerous times a day, seven days a week.

The swell of the organ, a blending of voices, the singing of praise.  Outside, potatoes for dinner may be half dug from the garden, but Sister Gardener left them behind at the summons of the bell.  Perhaps there's a prospect of rain this afternoon, and Sister Gardener might have disliked dropping her shovel to come indoors for this brief Office.  She may be distracted, listening for a rumble of thunder; but here she is, and here she sings.

My life in the world is not like this.  I say again:  my life in the world is not supposed to be like this.  I might hope for a particular time today for prayer, but I don't drop a pan or the baby to rush away to it. 

There is something I can do, however.  I can bring the prayer to me.  My "choir stall" is both permanent and portable.  My designated prayer place is the choir stall of my heart.  So:  while boiling water, shuffling files in an office, diapering the baby, I can praise God.

With a simple three word aspiration, I can praise Him.  I can do so silently (the recommended prayer-style in the workplace!); while in the solitude of my home or car - and especially while rocking a baby - I might even want to sing a hymn.

Wherever I am and whatever I'm doing, I have a choir stall in my heart. 

"Let my soul live to praise You."  (Psalm 119:175) 

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth."  (Psalm 34:2)
__________________________________________________________________
* a choir stall is a chair in the chapel, where a nun or monk prays

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      


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Jesus, I Trust in You

The rays of His Light have broken through.  Pierced aridity, shattered a hardening heart, put darkness to flight... and all with a single aspiration uttered again and again.  

"Jesus, I trust in You." 

It is, perhaps, my favorite aspiration; its every word is filled with power.  I said I would let you know how my distracted attempts at prayer were going, and I'm happy to report that I have, in some ways, been praying unaware.  This morning I realized how automatically my heart turns to Our Lord in the midst of everyday life, often without a conscious decision on my part.  I don't think it's a coincidence that this awareness broke through on Mercy Sunday.

I used to have a wristwatch with an hourly alarm.  Each time it chimed, I'd pray inwardly: "Jesus, I trust in You."  No matter where I was or what I was doing, this little beep served as a monastery bell.  It was good training.

Is there value in simple, quick prayer that's so "automatic?"  I would say that indeed there is.  I have formed the habit of aspiration(s) by an act of my will, and Jesus (in His mercy) meets me much more than half way.  

Like someone groping along in the darkness of a cavern, I move one step at a time, my way lit by the beams of prayer, my trust placed in the knowledge that there is Light.  I may not always be able to see it, but I believe in the Light.  Once in awhile, the Light breaks through with majestic power, as happened when Jesus appeared to St. Faustina and revealed the rays of Blood and Water flowing from His Heart.

Jesus shatters darkness, deception, sin.  Jesus breaks through walls of unforgiveness, woundedness, distraction, fear.

Jesus is Mercy.  Jesus is Love.

Jesus, I trust in You.

"The Lord gave his blessing, and the rays extended over the whole world....  I heard a Voice: 'This Feast emerged from the very depths of My Mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of My tender mercies.  Every soul believing and trusting in My Mercy will obtain it.'"  (St. Faustina) 

"The Light shines on in darkness, a darkness that did not overcome it."  (John 1:5) 

aspirations

Yesterday I quoted St. Paul of the Cross, who exhorted us to “make aspirations to God.” What does this mean – to make aspirations to God?

Aspirations are brief prayers that can be lifted to God inwardly, wherever we are and whatever we may be doing.  They’re an ancient monastic practice, but are particularly practical for those of us striving to keep our hearts fixed on God in the midst of a bustling world. 

"These brief ascents of the soul heavenward, these liftings of the mind and heart to God, briefly but frequently: this is what enables the monk… to live a life of prayer and intimate union with God.  As the monk goes about his daily duties, he… gives himself to this practice of terse but frequent prayer.” (Wilfrid Tunink OSB, Vision of Peace, pp. 277-278)

“The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always…  This prayer is possible ‘at all times’ because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation:  that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Jesus Christ.”  (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2668)

“All aspirations are better when they are brief…. As we draw in the fresh air and breathe forth that which is exhausted, so we draw God into the soul and breathe forth self into the arms of His mercy.  Blessed is the soul which does this, for then it lives in God and He in it.”  (St. Francis de Sales)

With practice, I can learn to remain in active communication with God no matter where I happen to be.  As I join throngs of shoppers in the mall, ride the subway, take care of laundry, drive through rush hour traffic....  I can keep my heart attentive to God…..

“My God and my all!” 

“Jesus, I trust in You.”

“Lord, have mercy on us.”

"My God, I adore You."

“Jesus… Jesus…. Jesus…..”