Affective Prayer † Awareness Exercise † Exercise of the Three Powers † Imaginative Prayer † Lectio Divina † Mantra † Particular Examen † Praying over Prayers † Praying over the Ten Commandments † Preamble † Review of Meditation † Rhythmical Prayer † Rosary
Rinky-Dink
Prayer
Use
this one without a Preamble.
This
is a prayer form which consists essentially in asking
Jesus to do all those little things for you that you
would only ask a close friend to do -- all day, every
day. It is a way to treat Jesus as "Emmanuel --
God-with-us."
A "rinky-dink prayer" is a request for something
too unimportant to bother the Almighty about: "Lord,
help me find the dime I just dropped." "Lord,
let the light stay green." "Lord, help me
remember that phone number." "Lord, let me
smile at this idiot." "Lord, help me find
a parking place."
The characteristics of "rinky-dink prayer"
are:
1. the request is normally for something unimportant
(this is how you experience Jesus as your friend: for
important things you can go to God as God);
2. it is not a request you get desperate about. As soon
as you say, "Lord, please ! I've got to get this
car started!" it is not a rinky-dink prayer anymore;
3. you never give Jesus a reason for answering your
prayer. Don't say, "Lord, please get this person
off the phone; I know you want me to get to church on
time." Just ask Him. Let Him do it because He is
your friend, and because friends like to do favors for
friends. Take His friendship for granted.
Try to remember to thank Him afterwards.
Preamble
In
all the prayer forms which we use, it will help to follow
these general instructions. They are a way to prepare
yourself for entering into prayer and to conclude it.
If followed, they will make your prayer both easier and
more profitable. We begin with the "three r's"
which ease us into any form of prayer:
First of all, relax. Take a break from whatever you are
doing. Either walking around or sitting, or in any other
position which relaxes you, put aside all other thoughts,
worries and feelings, all unfinished business, anything
and everything you are working on.
Then remember: be conscious that you are in the presence
of God, that He is watching and listening, ready to hear
you and help you pray. Recall what you are about to pray
over, and what you are seeking in this prayer. Then...
Make a physical gesture of reverence (bow your head, or
put your hand on your heart, or kneel -- just use body
language to acknowledge that you are in the presence of
God) and then ask God to help you pray. Ask Him to give
light to your mind, love to your heart, and courage to
your will to hear and respond to all He says to you in
prayer. And be specific about asking Him for any particular
grace you are seeking in this period of prayer: for example,
to comprehend and conform your heart more to the words
of the Our Father; to understand and embrace the spirit
of the Commandments, etc.
Then enter into your prayer according to whatever method
you are using. Take any body position which helps you.
Finally, at the end of any period of prayer, close by
speaking to God for a few moments in your own words. Call
Him by name (Father, Son of David, Savior, etc.) and ask
Him to be for you what you have seen in your prayer and
to let you be and do for Him what you desire.
Awareness Exercise
Give
about ten minutes a day to this. You can do it in your
shower!
God interacts with us in countless ways all day long,
and especially when we pray. He inspires, invites, guides
and cautions us. But he doesn’t shout or shove;
he nudges and whispers. God respects our freedom too
much to identify himself openly as God speaking until
he knows we want to hear what he says. All we have to
do to ignore him is just not listen very hard. The Awareness
Exercise is a way to listen, to identify God’s
action in our hearts and our response to it.
To begin, pause for a moment, clear your mind, recall
the presence of God and ask God to help you.
The first step is to get in touch with your feelings.
Feelings are never good or bad, because they are not
free acts. But they can be useful to tell us which way
the wind is blowing in our hearts, and the wind may
be the Holy Spirit. So look for any change you have
experienced in your feelings during the day or during
the prayer you have just made. "How did I feel
when I began this day or meditation? How do I feel now?
Did my mood change at any moment? Was it because of
some thought I had? Did I make a choice I feel good
about? Or do not feel at peace with? Has any thought
been bugging me? Is there something I need to reconsider,
look at more deeply?"
Next, make a judgment about the source of these feelings.
Is there some obvious natural explanation? Or is God
perhaps assuring you that you are on course by giving
you peace, or disturbing your peace to warn you that
you are getting off course? Have the courage to take
a stance toward the decisions and choices of the day,
to decide they were right, wrong or doubtful. You don’t
have to be absolutely certain, but come to a decision
and see if you feel at peace with it.
Then speak to God about what you are going to do now.
Look to the future. Change any choice God is asking
you to change. Take a deliberate stance of faith, encouragement,
love. Ask Jesus to be your Way. Surrender to him.
A
Method for Praying over Scriptures also
called The
Exercise of the Three Powers
This
is the traditional Christian method for meditating on
Scripture or on anything else. Simply, the method is
to confront something and ask questions about it until
we come to a decision that affects our life. It is that
simple. Anyone who is willing to make decisions can
do it. Only people who dodge decisions fail.
These steps activate the basic human powers of memory,
intellect and will. But prayer is not just a human exercise.
So first we pause for a moment, clear our minds, recall
the presence of God and ask God to help us. Then we
begin.
Memory serves up the material. This step may
begin with reading, since writings are just recorded
memory. The key is to actually confront some line
or thought that strikes us. Stop; notice what it says.
Focus on it to mine it for meaning.
Intellect works by asking questions and trying to answer them.
We ask what is said; why; what it challenges us to
do; how we can respond; why we want to respond or
why not. The questions should be questions that lead
to action: "What action would express belief
in what I have seen? Hope that God will help me? Love
for the God who asks?" As we ask questions, God
helps and inspires us.
Will is the power of free choice. Choices are
the goal of our prayer. By choices we give shape to
our souls. To believe, hope and love are choices.
So are concrete decisions to do things that express
faith, hope or love. To be sure you are being real,
make at least one decision to do something so concrete
you can close your eyes and see yourself doing it.
We conclude our reflection by talking to God in our
own words about what we have seen and what we desire
to do about it. We ask God to help us. We can end with
an Our Father, Hail Mary, or some other prayer.
Praying over Scripture simply means reflecting on the
Word of God until we reach decisions that change our life.
Lectio
Divina
Lectio
Divina is a Latin term that means "divine reading."
It is a method for gradually letting go of our own agenda
and opening ourselves to what God wants to say to us.
In the 12th century, a Carthusian monk named Guigo described
the stages that he saw as essential to the practice
of Lectio Divina.
The first stage is lectio (reading). Read the
Word of God slowly and reflectively so that it sinks
in. Any passage of Scripture can be used for this way
of prayer but the passage should be short.
The second stage is meditatio (reflection). Think
about the text you have chosen and dwell on it so that
you take from it what God wants to give you.
The third stage is oratio (response). Leave your
thinking aside and simply let your heart speak to God.
Your reflection on the Word of God will inspire this
response.
The final stage is contemplatio (rest). Let go
of your own ideas, plans, and meditations and don’t
feel compelled to have words and thoughts. Simply rest
in the Word of God. Listen at the deepest level of your
being to God who speaks within you through stillness
and silence. As you listen, you are gradually transformed
from within. This transformation will have a profound
effect on the way you actually live, and the way you
live is the test of the authenticity of your prayer.
You must take what you read in the Word of God out into
your daily life.
These stages are not fixed rules of procedure but simply
guidelines to help you understand the way this kind
of prayer normally develops. Its natural movement is
towards greater simplicity, with less and less talking
and more listening. Gradually the words of Scripture
begin to dissolve and the Word is revealed before the
eyes of our heart.
(Adapted from What is the Lectio Divina? in www.ocarm.org)
Imaginative Prayer or Ignation Contemplation
This
is another kind of meditation that uses the power of imagination.
In some ways it is like daydreaming. The key is to get
started in an imaginary encounter with Jesus and let things
develop spontaneously.
The process here is simply to enter imaginatively into
some scene from Scripture and then "do what comes
naturally." Look at who is there. Hear what they
say. Observe what they do. Enter into the action. Be yourself.
Respond to Jesus, or to anyone else, as you feel moved.
Say and do whatever comes spontaneously. This form of
prayer has something in common with daydreaming, role-playing
and psycho-drama: it consists in getting involved imaginatively
in a situation with Jesus, then seeing what spontaneously
develops. Reflect on what you see and do. See what significance
it has for you.
Preamble:
a) Pause for a moment; clear your mind; recall that you
are in the presence of God. Make a physical act of reverence
(for example: bow, touch your heart).
b) Ask God to direct all your thoughts, desires and choices.
c) Read the passage you are going to meditate on.
d) In your imagination put yourself on the scene. You
can take the role of one of the people involved, be a
bystander, or just be yourself. For example, in the story
of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12) you can be one of the wise
men and go through the experience of responding to the
star with them. Or in the story of the wedding feast of
Cana (John 2:1 - 12) you can be the host who didn't have
enough wine. In the story of the Call of Simon (Luke 5:
1 - 11) you can be one of the fishermen on a different
boat that didn't catch anything that night. In the story
of the Healing of a Deaf Man (Mark 7: 31 - 37) you can
be someone in the crowd who is too afraid to ask Jesus
for healing.
e) Ask Jesus to give you the specific grace you are asking
for in this meditation
Steps: (You will probably do this naturally. We only separate
the steps to help you get back on track if you become
distracted or stalled).
1. Look at the persons on the scene. For example, see
the Magi, the expressions on their faces, where they are,
what is around them. Look at the star with them.
2. Listen to what they are saying (and thinking!). For
example, imagine the discussion the Magi are having about
the star. Listen to them explaining to their wives the
trip they are about to make.
3. See what they do. For example, imagine the Magi making
their decision, praying, packing the camels. Try to sense
their feelings.
Conclusion. Talk to God in your own words about what you
have seen and want to do. Ask help. End with an Our Father,
Hail Mary, or some other prayer. Then make the Review
of Meditation.
Review
of Meditation
Whenever
we have a deep conversation with a friend, the first
thing we do when we separate is look back and ask
ourselves, "What went on there? What happened
in that conversation?"
Times
spent in prayer are like deep conversations with God.
When we finish, we should take a few minutes to look
back and ask, "What went on between myself and
God? How do I feel about it? What moved me? What
‘turned me on’ or ‘turned me off’?
What did I see, understand better or appreciate more?
What will be different in my life now?
This
is a good time to write your reflections in a journal.
Affective Prayer
Use
the Preamble.
This
prayer is closer to the traditional meaning of "contemplation"
than any other method we have seen. It is a more passive,
less active form of prayer. It consists essentially in
just being consciously aware of something before God --
like a cat sitting motionless before a door, waiting for
it to open. We might just rest in awareness of God's love
for us, of His power, or of His presence. We might just
be in His presence aching with desire. We are not going
through a reasoning process; we are not speaking words
(unless perhaps occasionally a single word or short phrase,
like "Lord, help me!" or "Who am I? --
Who are you?"). We are not trying to find any answers
or come to any decisions.
We are just in the presence of God, absorbing truth, goodness,
love, and projecting our need and desire.
To help us enter into this prayer, we should follow the
instructions given for the Preamble:
But for affective prayer to be what it should be body
position is of particular importance. When we are not
expressing ourselves through words, and not occupied in
a process of thinking or choosing, it helps very much
if the body itself is expressing the attitude or desire
which we wish to sustain in our prayer. A couple in love,
for example, can remain silent together comfortably for
long periods if they are sitting with their arms around
each other, whereas without the body contact they might
feel a need to "say something." When our prayer
is just a conscious being with God, an expressive body
position relieves us of the necessity to speak.
Mantra
This
form of prayer consists in saying a short phrase --
perhaps even one word -- over and over. The purpose
is that, through repetition, the content of the phrase
should pass from the lips to the head to the heart,
and thus become an abiding attitude in one's stance
toward life and God. There are three ways this can
be practiced:
1. The phrase can be repeated over and over in one
session of prayer. When this is done, the words are
coordinated with breathing in order to establish a
rhythm. For example, half the phrase can be recited
(mentally) while breathing in, the other half while
breathing out. Or one word (or unit that goes together:
e.g. "the grace... of Our Lord... Jesus Christ")
can be said with each breath. As the words are recited,
the mind dwells on their meaning and the heart savors
them appreciatively.
2. The phrase can be recited frequently throughout
the day, in order to remain conscious of the theme
of the day. This form of prayer, called in Christian
tradition "the Jesus prayer" or sometimes
"ejaculatory prayer," is useful for countering
temptation or acquiring some habitual attitude of
heart. For example, to say frequently throughout the
day, "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust
in you" is a way to fight off anxiety and grow
in trust in God. Said frequently enough, the phrase
can become a refrain in one's head and an abiding
orientation of one's heart.
3. The two ways can be combined: one can recite the
phrase prayerfully over and over during a period of
prayer, then try to keep reciting it prayerfully throughout
the day.
Rhythmical Prayer
St. Ignatius of Loyola teaches a method similar to the mantra which he calls "rhythmical prayer" (see The
Spiritual Exercises, "Third Method of Prayer").
The difference is that he recommends using the rhythmical
method described under #1 of the mantra on each word or sense-unit of some common prayer --
for example, saying one word of the Our Father with
each breath, and in the time between each breath concentrating
on the meaning of the word, or on the person being addressed,
or on one's own lowliness and need, etc. In this way
one can go through a whole prayer or several prayers
during the time set aside for this exercise.
Particular
Examen
Use
the Preamble.
This method of prayer is best used together within the
"Awareness Exercise"
. Essentially it consists in focusing the Awareness
Exercise on a particular point for a period of time
in order to work systematically at achieving some particular
goal in our spiritual growth. We might be trying to
transform some habitual attitude which we have identified
in ourselves, or to change our typical way of reacting
to a given set of circumstances. Deep changes in our
long-standing attitudes, values, emotional reactions
or patterns of thought and behavior take time. That
is why we single out some particular goal and work at
it for whatever period of time is required to achieve
it.
This is not just an exercise in psychological self-help,
although it includes human efforts according to sound
psychological principles. It is essentially a prayer
and an effort to dispose ourselves to receive the grace
of God and to cooperate with it. For this reason the
Particular Examen is best made within and as a part
of that method of prayer we have called "The
Awareness Exercise" .
To use the Particular Examen, we make these additions
to the Awareness Exercise:
1. Each morning, when we rise, we remind ourselves what
it is we want to work on and ask God's help to do it
well this day.
2. When we make the Awareness
Exercise, we specifically and explicitly include
the particular point we are working on when we review
the day to ask what has been happening, and when we
take our stance toward what has been and what will be.
For example, we try to identify the times we have fallen
into a pattern of thought or behavior which we are trying
to change, or how many times we have succeeded in adopting
a stance we are trying to make habitual. Then we declare
to God our gratitude or our regret with regard to these
occasions, and we recommit ourselves to the goal we
are focusing on.
3. Before going to sleep, we recall again what it is
we are working to acquire, and we rededicate ourselves
to it.
Praying
Over Prayers
This
method consists in going through some common prayer, reflecting
on the meaning of each word. It is not a rhythmical prayer,
because the reflection is not coordinated with breathing.
The idea is to spend as much time as is profitable trying
to understand more clearly, appreciate more deeply, embrace
more fully, the meaning of each word or phrase of a prayer
like the Our Father, the Creed (Profession of Faith),
the prayers of the Eucharistic liturgy or of some other
ceremony (like marriage or baptism), etc.
The purpose of this is double: first, it helps us to appreciate
better the meaning of these prayers and experience more
devotion in them when we recite them, whether alone or
during worship services with others. Secondly, it deepens
our understanding and appreciation of the fundamental
Christian beliefs and attitudes expressed in these prayers
which are held in such high regard by the believing community.
This helps us to grow in union of mind and heart, both
with Jesus and with the community. (See St. Ignatius,
The Spiritual Exercises, "Second Method of Prayer").
Praying
Over the Ten Commandments
This
is a very easy and profitable form of prayer which helps
us to purification of heart -- which is the foundation
on which all prayer or growth in the spiritual life
is built.
It consists in spending about a minute on each of the
Ten Commandments (you will find them in Exodus, chapter
20:1-17 and Deuteronomy, chapter 5: 6-21), reflecting
on their meaning and goal, and on your own observance
of them.
This is not just an examination of conscience or inventory
of sins committed. It can be that also, of course, but
the goal is to come to a deeper appreciation of the
spirit behind each commandment: what desire in God's
heart is expressed in this commandment? To what state
of mind and heart is the observance of this commandment
meant to lead us? How could you sin against the spirit
of the commandment, even though you kept the letter
of the law?
For example, the First Commandment says, "I am
the Lord, your God. You shall not have other gods besides
me." Granted that you have never worshipped an
idol, what competes with God in your life? What keeps
God from being All to you? Is Jesus the "Alpha
and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning
and the End" in your desires, your planning, your
priorities? (See Revelation 22:13)
Or, "You shall not take the name of the Lord, your
God, in vain": Aside from cursing (worth looking
into, nonetheless!), how have you shown disrespect for
anything or anyone that bears God's name, reflects His
beauty, is created in His image? What about reverence
in church and outside of church for all persons and
things? Does your language, your dress, your behavior,
your body language express this reverence?
In this prayer you can dwell on any one Commandment
as long as you are getting thoughts about it or feeling
devotion. But if you begin to get distracted, or no
thoughts come within a minute or so, move to the next
one. (If you see that you have fallen short in your
observance of any Commandment, you might say an Our
Father before moving to the next, just to ask pardon
and help for the future. (See The Spiritual Exercises,
"First Method of Prayer." This method can
be used on the Commandments, on the seven Capital Sins,
on the on the way you use your five senses or your powers
of memory, imagination, intellect and will, etc. It
can also be used to pray over the gifts and fruits of
the Holy Spirit: see Isaiah 11:2-3 and Galatians 5:22-23).
Rosary
Use
the Preamble.
This way or prayng the rosary is a combination of two
prayer forms: vocal (or recited) prayer and mental prayer
(meditation). It consists in meditating on a passage
of Scripture (one of the fifteen "mysteries"
assigned to the rosary) for the length of one decade
(ten beads) of the rosary while saying the words of
the Our Father 's and Hail Mary 's as "background
music." The particular moment in the life of Our
Lord assigned to each decade for meditation gives a
special meaning or tone to the words that we say during
that decade. For example "Blesed are you among
women" has one tone when we speak of Mary with
her baby in Bethlehem, and another when we speak to
her standing under the cross while her son is dying.
And vice-versa: the words that we say help focus our
minds on the event we are contemplating.
The fifteen mysteries of the rosary are:
The Joyful Mysteries (Mondays, Thursdays, Sundays in
Advent & Christmastime):
1.
The Annunciation (see Luke 1:26-38)
2. The Visitation (see Luke 1:39-56)
3. The Birth of Jesus (see Luke 2:1-20)
4. The Presentation in the Temple (see Luke 22-40)
5. The Finding in the Temple (see Luke 41-52)
The Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesdays, Fridays, Sundays
in Lent & Holy Week):
1. The Agony in the Garden (see Matthew 26:36-46)
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (see Matthew 27:11-26)
3. The Crowning with Thorns (see Matthew 27:27-31)
4. Jesus Carries His Cross (see Matthew 27:32-34)
5. The Crucifixion (see Matthew 27:35-61)
The Glorious Mysteries (Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays
in Easter & Ordinary Time):
1. The Resurrection (see John 20:1-31)
2. The Ascension (see Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-12)
3. The Sending of the Holy Spirit (see Acts: 2:1-47)
4. The Assumption (not recorded in Scripture)
5. The Crowning of Mary in Heaven (not recorded in Scripture)
