As Catholics, we have PhD’s in sin. We talk about it a lot. If you were to invite a non-Catholic to Holy Mass, they would likely be surprised by how often we talk about sin.
And for good reason. It is obviously a factor in our human condition.
But, and here’s the nuance, it’s not the only problem we face. At times, we have aspects of our humanity that are outside the realm, specifically, of sins. These might include our psychology, the dynamics of our family or even our dispositions.
These “parts” of us take up a lot of our energy. That person it the parish bothers me. That relative disappoints me. The event unsettled me.
These aren’t sin-components but they are often seen as problems or disturbances in our otherwise fruitful lives.
But what if one of those problem areas is your prayer life itself?
Our family has been participating in Hallow’s Pray 25 Advent program. I’m not usually a fan of initiatives like this but decided (thanks to my good wife) to give it a try this year. So far, so good. It’s well written, extremely well produced and stretches us to experience Advent more deeply.
One invitation this week was to invite God to show you an aspect of your life where the Lord needs to enter more fully. I instantly thought of my time of morning prayer.
You might think that God is already there (as He surely is) so why would I need to invite him there again. Fair question except that I’ve been struggling lately.
Not struggling to show up. My habits are sound in that regard. Rather, struggling to find joy in prayer and struggling to listen to the Lord’s quiet voice.
As a result, I’ve been slightly discouraged.
Putting one foot in front of the other, I intend to ask God to lighten my morning prayer struggle. I will ask Him to meet me there once again and give me the grace to meet Him there once again.
And, I’m hoping that my struggle will decrease just enough to appreciate the sunrise outside my back window and the Scriptures in my hands.
And for good reason. It is obviously a factor in our human condition.
But, and here’s the nuance, it’s not the only problem we face. At times, we have aspects of our humanity that are outside the realm, specifically, of sins. These might include our psychology, the dynamics of our family or even our dispositions.
These “parts” of us take up a lot of our energy. That person it the parish bothers me. That relative disappoints me. The event unsettled me.
These aren’t sin-components but they are often seen as problems or disturbances in our otherwise fruitful lives.
But what if one of those problem areas is your prayer life itself?
Our family has been participating in Hallow’s Pray 25 Advent program. I’m not usually a fan of initiatives like this but decided (thanks to my good wife) to give it a try this year. So far, so good. It’s well written, extremely well produced and stretches us to experience Advent more deeply.
One invitation this week was to invite God to show you an aspect of your life where the Lord needs to enter more fully. I instantly thought of my time of morning prayer.
You might think that God is already there (as He surely is) so why would I need to invite him there again. Fair question except that I’ve been struggling lately.
Not struggling to show up. My habits are sound in that regard. Rather, struggling to find joy in prayer and struggling to listen to the Lord’s quiet voice.
As a result, I’ve been slightly discouraged.
Putting one foot in front of the other, I intend to ask God to lighten my morning prayer struggle. I will ask Him to meet me there once again and give me the grace to meet Him there once again.
And, I’m hoping that my struggle will decrease just enough to appreciate the sunrise outside my back window and the Scriptures in my hands.