The 5 P's of Prayer



Dear Theophilus, 

Like most people, I like having routine in my life. In fact, the older I get, the more I cling to routine to get through the day. As a Catholic school teacher, I see on a daily basis how necessary routine is for children to get through theirs. That’s why a short while ago I wrote about how we all need to have a prayer plan in place if we want our prayer life to be fruitful. If we don’t have a plan for our prayer life, a prayer routine, the wheels quickly fall off and we begin to see prayer as useless. 

In an attempt to deepen my contemplative prayer life, I came across one of my favourite prayer routines last summer reading Fr. Mitch Pacwa’s How to Listen When God is Speaking. Since reading Fr. Pacwa’s book and trying to incorporate many of his ideas into my own prayer life, I’ve done some research into the Ignatian Spirituality concept of the 5 P’sof Prayer. Although you will find a few variations that differ slightly, in a nutshell the 5 P’s are: 

Ø  Prepare

Ø  Place

Ø  Posture

Ø  Passage

Ø  Presence 

We need to prepare to pray. Although some prayer happens spontaneously; deep, spiritual contemplative prayer requires effort and preparation. This can seem daunting at first, but once you get into a prayer habit, preparing to pray will come as naturally as your spontaneous prayers. Begin by having a prayer purpose: thanksgiving for the simply things in your life, a special petition, for someone you love, in worship of God’s greatness … the list is infinite. Think of a passage in scripture that speaks to your purpose: a moment in Christ’s life (think of the Rosary Mysteries), a parable, something from the prophets; find that specific moment in scripture (our memory isn’t always true to the Word of God). Finally, have a time and place planned out for your prayer. Contemplative prayer is very different from spontaneous prayer, and where and when you prayer will have a direct effect on the fruitfulness of your prayer. 

Your place of prayer can be just as important as your prayer itself. God speaks to us in the silence, and if you find you are distracted from your prayer by your surroundings, then your entire contemplative prayer effort will be in vain. I’ve written before about finding the ideal place for prayer, but I think these ideas could bear repeating. Pick a quiet place, away from worldly distractions (television, computer, smartphone). Find a place that will elevate your thoughts towards God – in RediscoverCatholicism, Matthew Kelly writes about how church is the most ideal place to pray; they were designed and built for prayer. If you can’t make it to your church, however, I’m sure most of us can find a corner in our home or garden that is conducive to prayer. 

Although the Catholic Church teaches that there is no one ideal posture for prayer, it is important to find the proper position for your prayer. Most people relate kneeling with prayer, and although kneeling can help focus your mind on your prayer, it may not be the most suitable for longer periods of contemplative prayer. You want your posture (kneeling, sitting or prostrate) to be comfortable; yet not so comfortable that you begin to dose off (another distraction that can lead us away from prayer). I find that my posture needs to suit my prayer purpose to allow my prayers to be most effective: kneeling when in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, sitting comfortably when contemplating God’s will for my life and prostrate in those rare moments of extreme humility before the greatness of the Lord. 

Reading and meditation on a passage of scripture will help you to understand God’s will for you at this particular moment of your prayer life. If you are seeking specific guidance on a particular issue, find a verse from the Bible that speaks to that issue – use the Catechism to find the Church’s teaching on this issue, along with related Scripture verses, or simply google your prayer purpose and Bible verse. If you want to meditate more deeply on God’s will, I would suggest the daily Gospel reading – there is a reason why God has called the Universal Church to meditate on that particular reading today, leading you to unexpected and joyful revelations about His will in your life.

Finally, put yourself fully and completely into the presence of God. Prayer is the means by which we develop our personal relationship with Him. If we cannot be fully and completely present to God in prayer, when can we? Listen to what God is saying to you – it won’t be with a shout, but rather in a whisper of silence. Once you listen to what God is saying to you, you will wonder how you didn’t hear Him in the first place. This fifth P of presence flows naturally out of the other four, but is essential to bringing fruit to our prayer life.

Daily Examination of Conscience

Dear Theophilus, 

During the summer months I like to catch-up on my reading list (and blog posts), getting to the books that have been piling up on my bedside table since Christmas. Having more time in the morning to devote to reading helps, but I also like to choose one or two lighter titles to help move things along. One thing I try not to do is sacrifice quality for quantity. That’s why I was happy to come across The Bad Catholic’s Guide to Wine, Whisky and Song. 

As the title suggests, this book takes the reader on a journey through the relationship Catholicism has had throughout history with alcohol, weaving in the odd recipe and drinking song for good measure. What I wasn’t expecting when I picked up John Zmirak and Denise Matychowiak’s book was how true it stayed to the orthodoxy of Catholic teaching. Subtitled From Apocalypse to Zinfandel, there’s a whole lot that The Bad Catholic’s Guide covers, way more than just one blog post (perhaps that’s why it’s a book). As my post title suggests, I want to delve a little more deeply into one of the ideas I found there. 

A few times scattered throughout The Bad Castholic’s Guide Zmirak refers to the Dominican monastic order. He talks about their devotion to prayer, their work ethic and the marvelous wines and liquors these devout monks have gifted to us. The one aspect of Dominican life that intrigued me, however, was the daily examination of conscience. At the end of each day, Dominicans are called to reflect on their daily experience, how they glorified God and how they sinned against Him. 

The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize what a wonderful idea a daily examination of conscience is. Since reading Matthew Kelly’s Rediscover Catholicism and returning to a more frequent practice of the sacrament of Reconciliation (though never as frequent as I should), I’ve discovered how much more in tune I am with my own shortcomings, with my tendencies to sin, and I try to make a much more concerted effort to avoid what brings me to sin (you can read about my ongoing struggle here). If examining my conscience and getting to Confession every couple of months helps me to sin less, I figure that examining my conscience daily will help me even more in my quest to be perfect as my Holy Father is perfect. (cf Mt 5:48) 

When approaching the Sacrament of Confession, a thorough examination of conscience is needed (Youcat 232, CCC 1450-1460). To be done properly, the examination should be done in prayerful silence since we need to reflect on our thoughts and actions over a longer period of time. Your examination of conscience can never be exhaustive, but you must approach the confessions of your sins with a contrite heart and the resolve to sin no more. 

Although a daily examination of conscience looks at a shorter period of time, it needs to be just as thorough as though we were preparing to celebrate the sacrament. Each night, as I end my day I try to honestly answer these questions, asking God’s forgiveness for where I’ve fallen short: 

• What have I done to glorify God?
• What have I done to attack the glory of God?
• What have I done that I know is a sin?
• Did I have any thoughts that could have lead me to sin?
• Have I done or said anything that is hurtful to others?
• Have I seen someone in need and not stopped to help?
• What have I done to witness to God’s will?
• How have I helped others grow closer to Christ? 

The list is not exhaustive, and the order and answers change from day to day. What I do find, is that by going through this daily examination of conscience, I resolve to be a better person tomorrow; and when I wake in the morning, I pray to God for the grace and strength to be that better person.

Making a Plan for Prayer



Dear Theophilus, 

Prayer takes work. 

It’s true that even the youngest child can prattle off a prayer learned by heart, and many adults will mumble through the prayers at Mass while mentally going over their grocery list or thinking about what they’re going to order at Sunday brunch. But real prayer, truthful prayer, the kind of prayer that enriches your soul; that kind of prayer takes effort. 

In many ways, that’s the problem with prayer. It’s hard work, and to get anything out of it takes consistent effort on the part of the person praying.

Too often we’ll hear people say, “I don’t pray anymore because I got nothing out of it. It was just a bunch of words learned by rote, and I don’t know if God ever heard me, because He never answered.” For these people, prayer outside of the memorized Mass responses involves complaining: “God, why is this happening to me?” or asking: “God, please let me win the lottery.” For many people prayer is a one off event, when it’s convenient for them. They aren’t willing to enter into a dialogue with God, they would rather tell God what’s up and expect Him to jump. Then they act surprised when God remains silent, much the way they do when family and friends are demanding in the same way with them. 

And when God is silent, they refuse to keep the conversation going. 

The funny thing is, I’ve found that the deepest, most meaningful conversations I’ve had have been with people I’ve known for a long time. Our best conversations were never the first ones we had, but rather after numerous conversations where we learned to trust one another in both words and silence. Gaining that mutual trust took work, it took an effort to get to know one another intimately. The relationship took time, growing in baby steps. 

Prayer is like that; it takes time and effort, growing in baby steps. 

Once you have decided to enrich your prayer life and deepen your relationship with God, you will need a plan. Recognize that it will take time and effort, that you won’t hit the contemplative jackpot overnight. Here are a few points that can help you create a plan for you how you’re going to take those prayerful baby steps. 

Like any change you make in your life, if you want to change your prayer life, you will need to set goals for improving your prayer life. However, make sure the prayer goals you set are attainable. There is nothing more discouraging than wanting change, making the effort then falling short. Trying to add hours of contemplative prayer on obscure scripture passages is a sure fire to ensure you give up on prayer.

Instead, start by adding an amount of prayer that is feasible in your life; Matthew Kelly suggests 15 minutes a day, while Peter Kreeft would say to start out with 10 minutes of prayer a day. If you don’t already do it, adding prayer to your day could be as simple as saying grace before every meal. Once this new habit takes root, you’ll be surprised that you’re spending more time in prayer each day than you originally intended. Remember, even the greatest saints didn’t become a super contemplative overnight.

 

Make sure you have a routine to your prayer. If you set out to spend 10 minutes in prayer every day, but only do it when it’s convenient on any particular day, you’ll find yourself lying in bed, exhausted and upset that you didn’t get your prayer time in that day. Once you’ve skipped a day or two, it will conveniently grow to a week between prayers, then months. 

Pray at the same time and place each and every day, especially when you’re starting out. Look for opportunities to incorporate time for prayer into your current daily routine. I find the best time for me is first thing in the morning, saying the Rosary while I walk the dog. You may even find that you need to wake up 15 minutes earlier to add prayer to your daily routine. It’ll be tempting to his the snooze button the first few days, but once you’re in the habit, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t gotten into the habit sooner. 

Share your prayer plan with other who are also striving to deepen their relationship with God. You’d be surprised by how the challenges you face are the same challenges they find in their own prayer lives. Think of it as a prayer support group. Seek encouragement from others who have gone down the path before you. Everyone’s relationship with God is unique, but when you’re not sure where to start your prayer life, listening to what has worked for others will give you some ideas of where to begin. It’s also comforting to hear that those who we think have a deep spiritual life also struggle from time to time. Knowing you are not alone will give you the courage to continue praying. 

Once you’ve established a prayer routine and you are comfortable with your new prayer life, challenge yourself to deepen your relationship with God. Be careful, however, that a little bit of success doesn’t breed overconfidence. Jumping from saying the Rosary daily to praying the Liturgy of the Hours is only asking to stumble and you will find yourself right back where you started from, or even further away from a rewarding prayer life because of disillusionment.  

Add slowly to your prayer life. Pick and choose how you want your prayer life to grow. Start going to Mass once a week during the work week; read and reflect on the daily Gospel; spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament – the options are endless, and only you and God know how your prayer relationship is intended to grow.

 

Once you have a prayer plan, stick to it, and you will be amazed by the blessings it bears.

Keeping the Commandments in Order



Dear Theophilus, 

The more I read and the more I sit back and watch the world go by, the more I come to realize that we’ve got our priorities backwards. By we I mean a generalization of those of us blessed enough to live in western society (Europe and North America); and by priorities I am referring to our Christian commandments. 

I know it’s never a wise thing to make sweeping generalizations, especially of such a large population base. There will always be exceptions to the rule. I also acknowledge the large gamut of experiences, opinions and actions of such a large group of people makes it impossible to shade them all with one colour, particularly when you get out to the fringes. Still, I think a little bit of self-reflection (myself included) would help bring things into greater focus when it comes to following the commandments in their proper order. 

When we think of God’s commandments, our minds usually jump to the image of Charleton Heston holding two stone tablets etched by the finger of God. As well, most of us can also recite from memory (in some form or another) the list from Exodus 20:1-17 

1.      You shall have no other gods before Me.

2.      You shall not worship idols.

3.      You shall not use the Lord’s name in vain.

4.      Keep the Sabbath holy.

5.      Honour your father and mother.

6.      You shall not murder.

7.      You shall not commit adultery.

8.      You shall not steal.

9.      You shall not bear false witness.

10.  You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife or goods.

As Christians, however, when we think of the commandments, we need to think of the commandments that Christ gave us. And for those who are like myself and have troubles with memorizing such a long list as was given to Moses, we’re all pretty happy that Jesus was able to summarize the Ten Commandments quite nicely in just two: 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Mt 22:37-40) 

Here is where my generalizing of western society starts to kick in. 

It’s been my experience that when we look at the Old Testament commandments, we have numbers 5 to 10 down pat; and when we come to the New Testament commandments, we seem to skip over the first and overuse the second. We seem to have forgotten numbers 1 to 4, or, according to Christ, the greatest commandment: You shall love the Lord your God. 

Love your neighbour as yourself or Treat others as you would want to be treated. It’s a common refrain that helps keep us from falling into complete anarchy. As a parent I try to drill this into my son’s psyche. As a teacher, I try to guide my students to live by this principle. As a society we use this mantra to keep everyone on the right track. But without the first commandment, it’s an empty philosophy without foundation. 

Don’t get me wrong, a lot of good gets done in the world because of this commandment. As Christian’s, however, we need to follow this second commandment out of commitment to the first. As numerous Catholic authors (such as Matthew Kelly, Peter Kreeft and George Weigel) have pointed out: if we love our neighbour without loving God first, then we become nothing more than an NGO, a charitable organization, or a branch of the government dedicated to helping others. 

As Christians, it’s only logical that Christ’s first commandment will flow into the second. If we truly love God, then of course we will love our neighbour whom He made in His own image.

The challenge is this, dear Theophilus, not to simply do good because it is good (most of us do this already), but to find ways of deepening our love for the Lord so that goodness can flow from that love. By right-ordering God’s commandments, by putting God first, our strength and commitment to do good as a witness to God in the world will grow exponentially.

Re-sensitizing Ourselves to Sin



Dear Theophilus,

I was listening to a talk by Matthew Kelly published by Lighthouse Catholic Media the other day and I was struck by the imagery he used to describe how our souls can become desensitized to sin.

We treat our souls, it seems, much like we treat our cars.

When we wash our cars and clean out the backseat, for the first few days we’ll do whatever it takes to keep it clean. We’ll swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid puddles and forbid any kind of food in both the front and back seats. Each spring, once I’ve vacuumed a winter’s worth of grunge and dog fur out of my Volkswagen, my son is forced to endure a whole new set of stringent car rules with the promise that this year is going to be different and they will be enforced henceforth.

The problem is, Matthew Kelly points out, is that once the freshness of clean has worn off, we tend to let things slide a little. The dog will jump in the back seat, leaving behind fur and muddy paw prints that I promise myself I’ll clean on the weekend, but I never get to it. The empty water bottle used to refresh myself on a long car ride gets tossed into the back seat with the notion to dispose of it at my destination, but is forgotten once I get there. A coffee cup can languish for days in the cup holder. After awhile it’s no longer small bits of garbage, but sheets of paper, books, gym bags with even my hockey bag having spent a night or two in the back.

Each item, no matter how small, stands out like a sore thumb in a newly cleaned car, but becomes hidden, no matter how large, amongst all the other junk cluttering up my car. I’ve become desensitized to the mess that surrounds me.

Our souls are the same. A small venial sin will stand out on its own, but will soon seem inconsequential when it’s hidden among a host of other – seemingly inconsequential sins. What happens, though, is that all of these inconsequential sins will help make larger sins also seem inconsequential. We become desensitized to the mess that fills our soul.

The best way to remain sensitive to the clutter in our car is to keep it clean – heading to the car wash on a regular basis.

We can re-sensitize our souls to our sin in much the same way – keeping them clean by going to confession.

The Catholic Church stipulates that we go to confession at least once a year, but most of us will wash our car more often than that. On average, we go through a car once every 5 to 10 years, but our souls are for eternity – which should we keep better care of?

I’ve found that making a good and regular confession has re-sensitized me to my sin and I’m now much more aware of even the small, venial sins that I never considered to be sins before. If you haven’t been to confession in a while, I urge you to return to this grace-filled sacrament, using this examination of conscience as a guide. If it’s been so long that you feel intimidated by the experience, be not afraid, be up front with the priest and he will gently guide you through the process to help you refresh the cleanliness of your soul.

Rediscover Catholicism Revisited



Dear Theophilus,

Just before Christmas I posted a list of my marginalia from Matthew Kelly’s book, Rediscover Catholicism. A number of people let me know that they enjoyed this peek into the wonderful insights Kelly has to offer, but that it left them wanting a more indepth treatment of Kelly’s ideas. I’ve been meditating on this for a while, and I hope these few thoughts will help. At the end of the day, however, what ever I have to say is no replacement for reading Rediscover Catholicism yourself to glean your own profound faith enrichment.

Rediscover Catholicism opens with a short story that really hits home with regards to the importance of the Mass. I don’t want to spoil the story for you, as it would ruin the impact that it has on how one approaches the Mass. Only the hardest of hearts wouldn’t be touched by Matthew Kelly’s storytelling expertise, and it will leave you with a deeper appreciation and reverence for the sacrifice of the Mass, as well as an increased conviction to not only make your dominical obligation, but also to get to Mass more often.

Matthew Kelly then goes on to aptly describe what ills society today and then expound on how Catholicism offers the only valid response to this with its very counter-cultural way of life.

Kelly sees society’s problem as being three-fold: individualism, hedonism and minimalism; with the three being interrelated. As these ideas are developed in Rediscover Catholicism it’s amazing at how evident these exist subtly in society without our really even noticing. Quite correctly, Kelly remarks that we have become a society of individuals instead of a community. From the time we are born in the western world, we are told that we can become whatever we want to be; that we are entitled to success. This individualistic tendency in society then slips quite neatly into Kelly’s second ill of society – hedonism. In today’s secular driven society, everything we do seems to be geared towards our own personal pleasure. If it doesn’t bring us pleasure, especially physical, then it isn’t worth our time. It’s this question of what is worth our time that brings us to Kelly’s third and final societal ill of western secularism: minimalism. With technology racing to make our lives easier, we look to put in the least amount of effort to get the greatest amount of pleasure. It’s funny how all three – individualism, hedonism and minimalism – fit so well together in the society we have created for ourselves.

So, the question then is, how does Matthew Kelly propose that our Catholic faith can help us counter this secular movement of individualism, hedonism and minimalism? In parts 2 and 3 of Rediscover Catholicism he invites, even challenges, us to lean an Authentic Life as the Best-Version of ourselves, supported by the Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality.

According to Kelly, the Authentic Life that we are called by God to lead is our very own. In a world where we are bombarded with messages that we are less than the ideal; in a consumerist society where success is equated with certain styles and behaviours; in a world where personal joy is dictated to us by the mass-media; taking joy from simply being yourself is a revolutionary notion. Although many of us aspire to be like the images we see on our screens (phone, computer, television and film), Kelly points out, however, that it’s the people most comfortable in their own skin, most authentic to themselves, being the best-version of themselves that they can possibly be, that are changing the world for the better. And it ain’t easy. Throughout Rediscover Catholicism Kelly singles out examples from a variety of walks of life of people making a difference through perseverance and determination.

Are we up to the challenge?

Before we build ourselves up; before we can start becoming an authentic, best-version of ourselves; we need to strip away our secular tendencies of individualism, hedonism and minimalism. This seems a daunting task, running against society’s accepted current of thought, so this is exactly when we need to lean most upon the Seven Pillars of our Catholic faith for support.

Matthew Kelly lists these Seven Pillars of Catholic spirituality as: Confession, Daily Prayer, The Mass, The Bible, Fasting, Spiritual Reading and the Rosary. From my own experience I c an attest that they provide a valid path to meet the secular world head on, but that they also need to be incorporated into our spiritual life gradually, otherwise we risk overwhelming ourselves and being tempted to once again fall into the world’s minimalist trap.

Reworking the ideas Kelly puts forward would involve more time and space than this blog permits. However, to give you, dear Theophilus, some idea of how our Catholic spirituality can help us be counter-cultural in today’s world, I’ll relate some of my own experiences in searching to be an authentic best-version of myself since reading Rediscover Catholicism (just remember that I’m taking this journey gradually, that I may be at a different stage of the journey than you, and that what works for me, may not be what’s right for you to become the best-version of yourself).

Confession

Admittedly, participating in the sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) is one of the hardest things to do. That said, once you get into the practice of making a good and regular confession, there is nothing more liberating. The trick is getting yourself back in the confessional (yes, you have to go, it’s not something that can be done personally on your sofa – more on that as the subject of another blog post). Once you find the spiritual rejuvenation of making confession, the next challenge is making a good confession. To do this I’m continually looking for and redeveloping my examination of conscience – those questions I ask myself before going to confession, making an honest evaluation of how I’m doing as a sinner. I find 5 minutes isn’t enough for this, and spend most of the day reflecting on what I need to confess before entering the confessional. What I’ve found happening over the months that I’ve been doing this is that I automatically make a small examination of conscience before making a decision on how to act in many different circumstances – and there are times I find I catch the sin long before it happens, helping me to be a much better version of myself and a better witness to Christ in the world.

Daily Prayer

I’ve written before about how I’ve started spending 10 minutes of silence every morning in front of the Blessed Sacrament as a way to start my day, laying all of my fears and challenges at the feet of Christ. I’m lucky that I have this opportunity. In the 2 months that I’ve been doing this, I find I can meet the problems of the day with a certain serenity, knowing that God, through the Holy Spirit, will guide my heart and mind. What I’ve been finding recently is that my daily conversation with God is lasting longer than the prescribed 10 minutes without me realizing that the time is passing.

The Mass

Matthew Kelly ponders rhetorically on the fanatical devotion that orthodox Muslims would show if they believed that they could touch and receive Allah in the Eucharist. When you think about it that way, you begin to wonder why Catholics seem take the Mass for granted. Heightening your knowledge and understanding of the Eucharist is one way to deepen your love for the Mass, but there is so much more to the Mass that simply receiving the Eucharist (otherwise the Mass would resemble more of a drive-thru as the faithful line up to receive their weekly offering). The liturgy of the word is just as deep as the liturgy of the Eucharist, and calls for a similar kind of approach and reverence. Preparing my mind for the readings ahead of time (reading the scripture selections before Mass) and searching for a personal meaning in scripture also helps me to ‘Go forth and proclaim the Good News’ once the Mass is over. Between preparing for and going forth from the Mass, the Mass has become a week-long event instead of just a Sunday’s hour-long obligation.

Spiritual Reading

I have a confession to make. Outside of the readings at Mass, I’m not in the habit of reading scripture on a regular basis. This said, I do come into contact with scripture through my other readings. To deepen our knowledge and understanding of our Catholic faith we need to feed it with books on the faith. This isn’t a call to dig deep into theological tomes, again, you will want to start gradually (Rediscover Catholicism would be a great place to start). There are many books on diverse themes in a variety of styles that there is something for everyone (I would suggest perusing what’s on offer at Catholic Chapter House). If reading isn’t your style, ask your cable television provider about subscribing to Salt & Light or EWTN, or the surf the web to sites like CatholicMinistryTV.

The Rosary

When I needed help getting my prayer life started, I found the Rosary to be a great tool. It’s portable, so you can pray it anywhere (for me, it’s while I’m walking the dog), but it also gives you a strong catechism based framework from which to meditate on the beauty of God’s love. I find the repetitive nature of the Rosary allows me to focus on the mysteries presented each day, as well as to focus on any petitions I might have for friends, family or the world. Keeping these petitions in mind, along with my knowledge of God’s love, I find I interact with the world in a much more loving way than I did before.

The insights Kelly shares in Rediscover Catholicism are profound. His perception as to how Catholicism in its sheer simplicity can play a vital role in righting society shakes our current secular belief system to its core. By identifying how Catholicism can help us become an authentic best-version of ourselves, not only can we rejuvenate our faith in Catholic spirituality, we will also strengthen our resolve to help society become the best-version of itself.

Engaging Fully in Mass





Dear Theophilus, 

I recently wrote about how the call of Vatican II to for the faithful to participate fully andactively in the liturgy has been misunderstood as a call for the laity to take over the role of ordained clergy during the Mass. The misguided perception is that to be fully engaged in the Mass, on must be physically involved in every action that takes place during the liturgy – especially the focal point of the consecration. As many have rightfully pointed out to me, it is possible to be fully engaged and participate actively in the Mass without being the ordained minister leading, even when attending the pre-consular Latin Mass.

This got me to thinking of some ways that I use to get the most out of Mass every Sunday. These are practices that I do to help prepare my heart, mind and soul to receive the Lord in the Eucharist, and I would hope that they are helpful to you. That said, they might not be for everybody, and others may have other suggestions – I’d love to hear them in the hopes that they will help my own on-going journey with the Eucharist. 

Engaging in the Mass begins happening long before we slip into the pew. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I have a bit of a neurosis regarding punctuality and get a little worked up if things aren’t flowing like a Swiss train schedule. The Sunday’s where we’re running late and peel into the church parking lot on 2 wheels, I find it takes me until the sign of peace before I’m even remotely ready to participate properly in the Mass. By starting my day in a prayerful state and maintaining it until the opening hymn, I’m much more disposed to being open to the Word of God and the saving grace of the Eucharist. 

I never know if I’ll be reading at Mass on Sundays (I generally check the schedule on the fly) so I read through the Mass readings – including the psalm and gospel, while eating breakfast. I find this helps me understand the scripture while it’s read at Mass, whether I’m the scheduled lector or not. Even if you don’t have the time to go over the readings ahead of time, listen attentively, read along in your missalette or close your eyes to limit distractions. I always try to take one thing away from each reading – a phrase or an idea to meditate on. Regardless if the priest focusses on this idea during the homily, I find this helps me to focus on the readings and gives me a reason to dwell  on sacred scripture before, during and after Mass. 

The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian Life.” (Lumen gentium 11) As such, receiving Christ in the Eucharist should not only be the highlight of our Mass, but of our lives. As Matthew Kelly so rightly puts it in Rediscover Catholicism –if Muslims believed that they could receive Allah in the Eucharist, just imagine what they would endure to receive the Eucharist each week. As Catholics, we too should have that passion. What can you do to heighten your experience in the reception of the Eucharist? Get to know Christ through this sacrament. It was only in deepening my own knowledge and understanding of the Eucharist (read about it here) that I found my heart begin to burn when receiving the Body and blood of Christ; my chest physically drawn towards the Tabernacle. 

Like I said before, these are my simple and humble ways to approach the Mass to get the most out of this beautiful spiritual experience. Yours might be different, and as a unique creation of God it should be. I would be grateful to hear of how others approach the Mass, as I’m continually evolving on my journey home to God.

Rediscover Catholicism - Marginalia



Dear Theophilus,

I’ve recently finished reading Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly, and was completely floored by what I read between its covers. I bought the book from my parish who had ordered the book in bulk through the Dynamic Catholic Book Program. Essentially, Dynamic Catholic aims to get Catholic books into the hands of Catholics to help bolster their knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith. If your parish isn’t already involved in the program, I strongly encourage you to approach your pastor about becoming involved in this program.

Usually, once I’ve read a book I’ve particularly enjoyed, I write about it here in the hopes of sharing what I’ve learned with you. What I’ve found with Rediscover Catholicism is that there is so much presented so well, I could never dream of doing it justice. Instead, I would like to share with you my marginalia of Matthew Kelly’s book.

I have the bad habit of marking up books as I read them; underlining what I find to be strikingly profound and jotting my own notes in the margins – marginalia. This is even easier when using my e-reader – though I find it also slows me down a bit. Although I didn’t have a pen handy every time I picked up Rediscover Catholicism (hence the big jump between quotes), below are a few of the ideas I highlighted or jotted down as I made my way through Kelly’s Spiritual Guide to Living with Passion & Purpose:

Matthew Kelly’s words are in bold type.

My own thoughts are in italics.

There is a genius in Catholicism, if we will just take the time and make the effort to humbly explore it. (p. 18)

…we confuse pleasure with happiness. (p. 37)

            And what is true happiness but resting in God – returning to the idea of St. Augustine that our hearts are restless until they rest in God.

           Discipline is the key to discipleship. (p. 40)

Freedom is the strength of character and the self-possession to do what is good, true, noble, and right. (p. 40)

One of the greatest tragedies of modern Catholicism is that as Catholics we are no longer considered a spiritual people. (p. 141)

“As a result many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” (John 6:66) (p. 188)

            I just found it interesting that turning away from Christ was accompanied by the number 666.

God rested on the seventh day because he foresaw our need for rest. (p. 222)

It (the Mass) isn’t designed to help him (God); it’s designed to help us. (p. 222)

(With regards to the Saints) Many are surprised, even scandalized, that God would use people with such monumental vices and shortcomings to reach out to humanity and give us hope for the future. (pp. 234-235)

If these people could do the will of God – then He can work through me as well – so long as I let Him.

The ultimate temptation is to read the Bible and see ourselves only in Jesus. (p. 235)

Uncertainty is a spiritual gift designed to help us grow. (p. 237)

God asks questions to educate. (p. 238)

The only diet most of us need is discipline. But we don’t want discipline. … We want someone to tell us, “You can be healthy and happy without discipline.” (p. 242)

In the extremes of the modern world, many see a call to discipline/discipleship as a call to asceticism – however, it is not so. As Michael Coren says – people would rather have a grandfatherly figure in God as opposed to God the Father.

The Church’s message stands so counter to that of the present culture because the Church is driven by this incredible vision for the human person. (p. 243)

Imagine a culture in which law-makers were less concerned with special interests and more concerned with creating a society that encourage and actively helped people to become the-best-version-of-themselves. (p. 243)

The notion of freedom proclaimed by the modern world is anti-discipline, But true freedom cannot be separated from discipline. (p. 245)

The demons of our modern age are in some cases subtler that the demons of Jesus’ time. (p. 249)

Our faith seeks to integrate the relationship between body and soul. (p. 253)

Fasting is radically countercultural, but so is Christianity. (p. 255)

Prayer doesn’t change God; prayer changes us. (p. 274)

One of the most incredible things about our Catholic faith is the vastness of our spiritual universe. (p. 276)

The primary concern of a Catholic leader must be a dedication to the spiritual life. (p. 307)

Jesus’ whole method of leadership focused on turning the hierarchy upside down. (p. 308)

Christ put the needs of the community before the rights of the individual. His was a leadership of servitude.

As I write these thoughts, dear Theophilus, I can’t help but see them as a bit disjointed out of context of the book’s whole. The alternative, however, would be to write out the entire book here, along with my thoughts. However, I hope this list of marginalia whets your appetite to read Rediscover Catholicism.

Similarly, I will often tweet as I read in the hopes that others will also meditate on these catch phrases as I do throughout the day. If you’re so inclined you can follow my thoughts as @fishermansshoes.

Listening in Silence



Dear Theophilus,

The Advent season calls us to stop and take the time to reflect on the Saviour’s coming at Christmas. Finding a moment or two of silence in December to contemplate on this great mystery seems to be almost mission impossible. With the constant bombardment of holiday music (not always Christmas music) over store sound systems, the continual shill of television commercials telling us what we need to find under the tree on Christmas morning, along with the incessant chatter of children hyped up on Christmas treats and the promise of all their little dreams being fulfilled – it really is a wonder that we are able to keep our thoughts straight – let alone our sanity intact. On top of all the seasonal noise is the constant hum that the modern world gives us via our smart phones, iPods, the internet, cable TV, satellite radio … the list of distractions seems endless. But to truly appreciate the Advent season and our relationship with God, we need to seek out silence, because it is only in silence that we can truly listen to the word of God speaking in our hearts.

So often we say that we can’t hear God in our lives, but do we know where to listen for Him? Are we allowing God to speak to us in the way He wants to be heard? How do we know how God wants to speak to us? When we turn to the Bible, we can easily see that God speaks to us in the simplicity of silence.

When God spoke to Abram (and later as Abraham), calling him to leave his home for the Promised Land or to sacrifice his son, Abraham was usually alone or with only his son (cf.: Gen 12 and Gen 22). Whenever God wanted to speak with Moses, Moses would leave the Israelite camp to climb, alone and in silence, up Mount Sinai (cf.: Ex 19). When the Lord called to Samuel, he was lying quietly in the Temple (cf.:1 Sam 3).

The same kind of examples can also be found throughout the New Testament as well. When the angel of the Lord told Zechariah that Elizabeth was expecting a son, it was in the silence of the Holy of Holies, and when Zechariah wouldn’t believe the angel, he was struck mute until John the Baptist was born. (cf.: Lk 1:5-20). Whenever Jesus wanted to talk to his heavenly Father, he always sought him out in silence solitude, whether it was the 40 days in the desert to start his ministry (cf.: Mt 4); when the crowds followed him after his miracles, he would withdraw to deserted places to pray. (Lk 5:16); and on his final earthly evening, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus left his disciples to go a few paces further to pray in silence. (cf.: Mt. 26:36-46, Lk 22:39-46). Even the final book of the Bible, the Revelation to St. John, was revealed when the evangelist found himself secluded on the Island of Patmos. (Rev 1:9)

How can we find silence amongst all of the distractions that our busy world throws at us? Silence isn’t to be found in today’s world, rather we need to create it. It should come as no coincidence then, that discipline and disciple are derived from the same root word. We need to discipline ourselves to be able to create more silence in our lives.

In his book Rediscover Catholicism, Matthew Kelly challenges us to spend at least 10 minutes a day in silent conversation with God. Ideally, he tells us, we should try to do this in a church – preferably our own parish. As churches are designed for contemplative prayer and Eucharistic adoration, they will provide the optimal surroundings for a silent 10 minutes with the Lord. Personally, I started following Kelly’s advice this week, spending 10 silent minutes in the school chapel before the start of the day. Although I find it hard to settle my mind, I find it reassuring to put my troubles before God, asking his guidance in how to best make my way through the coming day.

Matthew Kelly realizes that spending 10 minutes in a silent church every day isn’t always possible. We need to carve this silence out at other times and in other places. Some suggestions might be to try waking up 10 minutes earlier to sit quietly in your favourite chair, leaving your mp3 at home when you go for your daily run or take 10 minutes of silent contemplation at your desk before heading to the staff room for lunch.

Like I said, I’ve been finding it hard to get my mind to settle these first few days, but I’m also finding that my focus is getting better. It’s funny, but it’s the concerns that my mind wanders to that I find I need to place before the Lord, and by the end of the 10 minutes, I find I’ve got a plan on how to deal with them that not only solves my trivial problems, but also allows me to live God’s will. When you find you mind wandering, offer these distractions to God, allowing Him to guide your actions to do His will.

If you stick with it, I think that, like me, you will be pleasantly surprised to find how 10 minutes a day of listening to God in the silence, what H whispers to you can bring hours of peace to your life.