Prayer: a 'Gift of Grace' and a 'Battle

Prayer

Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. The ‘spiritual battle’ of the Christian's new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer.

-Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2725 �reetings of Peace, and Lenten Blessings!

One of the three great spiritual disciplines of the Lenten season is prayer (along with fasting and almsgiving). Many of us long for a deeper and richer spiritual life, and prayer is essential to any spiritual growth we might experience in our walk of faith. Lent is often a good time for us to recommit ourselves to a consistent and committed practice of prayer.

But, prayer is, as the Catechism describes, both “a gift of grace” and “a battle.” So, how to wage the “battle?" I would like to share some wisdom and insights on prayer, drawing both on our Church’s tradition and teaching, and on some contemporary wisdom and guidance that I’ve come across recently. What Is Prayer? We have several sources within our Church tradition to help us understand the nature of prayer.

First, many of the saints have given us excellent descriptions of prayer. • St. John Damascene provided a classic definition of prayer, describing it as “the raising of one’s mind and heart to God.” • St. Augustine taught that prayer “is nothing but love,” and that it should arise from the heart. • St. John Vianney spoke of prayer in a similar way, as “the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges.” • St. Therese of Lisieux also saw prayer in relation to the heart, describing it as “a surge of the heart.” For her, prayer is also “a simple look turned toward heaven” and “a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” • More recently, St. Teresa of Calcutta shared this beautiful reflection on prayer: “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our heart.” • Finally, St. Francis de Sales offers some practical advice regarding prayer, teaching us that, “Everyone needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy – then we need an hour.” A second source of guidance on the nature of prayer comes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which defines prayer as a “vital and personal relationship with the living and true God” (CCC, #2558). And, our prayer is Christian prayer “insofar as it is communion with Christ” (CCC, #2565), and a “covenant relationship between God and man in Christ” (CCC, #2564). A final perspective on the nature of prayer comes from Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who was well known for his practice of a daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament. He wrote beautifully of the importance of prayer in our spiritual lives:

Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are preceded by a personal encounter with him. I have found that it takes some time to catch fire in prayer. This has been one of the advantages of the Holy Hour. Sitting before the Presence is like a body exposing itself to the sun to absorb its rays. In those moments one does not so much pour out written prayers, but listening takes place. The Holy Hour became a teacher for me. Although before we love anyone we must have knowledge of that person, nevertheless, after we know, it is love that intensifies knowledge (Treasure in Clay, pp. 190-191. Ignatius Press).

Sustaining Prayer I recently read a brief and insightful book by Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, entitled, Domestic Monastery (Paraclete Press). In it, Fr. Rolheiser “explores how monastery life can apply to those who don't live in a cloister,” and touches on topics such as family life, friendship, parenting, and our understanding of time. I found his spiritual reflections to be most valuable. In the book, there is a chapter on, “Ritual for Sustaining Prayer,” and I would like to share some of its wisdom.

In the beginning of the chapter, he compares prayer to a marriage and comments that, “Love and prayer work the same.” That is, they cannot be maintained “simply through good feelings and good intentions,” but require “ritual, routine, and rhythm” (p. 41).

He then draws on the lessons offered by monastic prayer, which is “simple, often rote,” consistent in structure and duration, and which allows each monk “the freedom to invest himself or hold back, in terms of energy and heart, depending upon his disposition on a given day” (p. 43).

Then moving on to another analogy, he compares prayer to eating where there “needs to be a good rhythm between big banquets … and the everyday family supper.” If we were to try and make every meal a banquet, this couldn’t be sustained because no one has the energy and time for this. Rather, our everyday prayer can be “short, routine, and predictable,” with occasions for greater formality, higher “celebration [and] aesthetics,” and a longer investment of time and energy (p. 43).

He brings these images together by stating that: Prayer is a relationship, a long-term one, and lives by those rules. Relating to anyone long-term has its ups and downs. Nobody can be interesting all the time, sustain high energy all the time, or fully invest himself or herself all the time. Never travel with anyone who expects you to be interesting, lively, and emotionally invested all the time. Real life doesn’t work that way. Neither does prayer.

What sustains a relationship long-term is ritual, routine, a regular rhythm that incarnates the commitment (p. 44). He ends the chapter with a reference which reflects back to the earlier part of my article – i.e., the wisdom of “the saints and the great spiritual writers” on prayer. He affirms that they have taught us that, “there is only one non-negotiable rule for prayer: ‘Show up! Show up regularly!’” Deo Gratias! Prayer is, as it were, being alone with God. A soul prays only when it is turned toward God, and for so long as it remains so. As soon as it turns away, it stops praying. The preparation for prayer is thus the movement of turning to God and away from all that is not God. That is why we are so right when we define prayer as this movement. Prayer is essentially a ‘raising up’, an elevation. We begin to pray when we detach ourselves from created objects and raise ourselves up to the Creator. -Dom Augustin Guillerand The Prayer of the Presence of God, p. 91 Todd Graff Director of Lay Formation & RCIA tgraff@dowr.org Lay Formation & RCIA A 'Gift of Grace' and a 'Battle'