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Introduction
As we continue our journey through the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life, a quick reminder of where we’ve been so far:
- The goal of your life is holiness—a fiery love for God according to the way He made you: your vocation, you fully alive.
- The best purification is obedience to a spiritual guide.
Today, we will take one more step on the journey: prayer.
Why Pray?
Grace comes first; transformation comes second.
Holiness will not happen without God’s grace. Even having the best guide in the world will do us no good if we don’t open ourselves to God. This opening of our mind and heart to God—that’s prayer. It’s essential for our holiness because God is essential for our holiness, and prayer is communion with God. This is why we pray.
The Art of Prayer
Prayer is an art. There are some principles—but no “one right way” to pray, just as there is no single way to cook a meal. De Sales acknowledges three truths that can help you relax and develop your own approach to prayer:
- Prayer can and should be different for each one of us. It’s personal and therefore adapted to our personalities, our responsibilities, our gifts.
- Even the same person’s prayer will change over time. What was fruitful at one time may cease to be so later as God guides the soul deeper into the mystery of prayer. Likewise, methods of prayer that at one time seemed to bear no fruit may suddenly provide the soul with a banquet of grace.
- Even at a particular stage of life, a person’s prayer is meant to be variegated rather than monotonous.
Some spiritual masters teach “a method” of prayer. De Sales does not teach one way. Rather, he teaches us many different ways to connect with God, a rich tapestry. He gets that the mystery of prayer is not “one size fits all.”
There are as many paths to prayer as there are persons who pray.—CCC 2672
The Battle of Prayer
If prayer has ever felt dry, distracted, or disappointing, that does not mean you are failing. It means you’re human. Prayer is a part of life, and life is sometimes dry, distracted, and disappointing. Mary assumed 12-year-old Jesus was in the caravan. She anxiously searched for him with Joseph. She was disappointed it took 3 days to find Him. She didn’t beat herself up or quit being a mother to Him. She started over, bringing Jesus back to Nazareth, “holding all these things in her heart.”
What pathways of prayer might already be in your heart?
A Rich Tapestry of Prayer
Let’s gather the 4 ways prayer enters your day.
- Momentary prayers: These prayers take no extra time. They are not scheduled because their brevity allows them to be practiced in the midst of daily activities: school pickup, driving to soccer practice, nursing a baby, etc. They can be a glance of the heart or a few brief words spoken like “My God, I love you.”
- Liturgical/group prayer: Uniting ourselves with our brothers and sisters in prayer can aid us in increasing our love for God and our desire to be more conformed to His will for us. For example, Mass or family rosary.
- Scheduled or stacked prayers: scheduling a daily prayer time may seem impossible for moms with small children. An alternative is to “stack” prayer next to meal times, nap times or bed times. One suggestion is to keep something with you to read during times of waiting: Scripture, saints, spiritual masters, etc.
- Divine inspirations: We cannot cause this form of communion with God but we can open ourselves to it. Once we have received an inspiration and discerned that it is good, we may welcome it, say “yes” to it, and follow it, and so follow where He is leading us.
When it comes to prayer, try everything—Teresa of Avila
You are free to discover what works for you… and keep coming back to it.
Conclusion
No matter your past, you were made to pray because you were made for Him. You have His permission to discover your own way to pray. If one way grows dry, try another. Keep showing up. Deep calls unto deep—and He is already calling you deeper.
For Reflection questions and a place to journal, try this worksheet: Deep Calls Upon Deep: Growing in Prayer
