Father Michael's Column

I hope that your Lent is going well, and that you already feel holier! 

The three traditional Lenten practices (prayer, fasting, and almsgiving) are a great way to be sure to have a beautiful Lent, because they are part of God’s plan to make us holier. Each of them can focus you on the Lord, and "getting close to God" is really what "holiness" is all about. Among the three, perhaps prayer is the most essential key for deepening your relationship with the Lord. So, I offer the following suggestions about your prayer time for Lent. (I’ve mentioned these before, but I give them to you again because they’re good.) By the way, don't just read through these quickly, but take enough time to figure out how to make them work in your own circumstances. 

 1.        Choose a TIME. (Best, if it's the same time each day.) Decide also on how much time. A rule of thumb: if consistently "nothing's happening" during prayer, the time's too short; if you're bored, the time's too long.

2.         Choose a PLACE. It should be free from distractions. (It might be best if you silence your cell phone. But if the phone rings and it’s someone you don’t want to ignore, go ahead and answer, but then say, "Can I call you back? I'm with someone.")

3.         Go over the BASIC FACTS in your mind. Do not focus on your problems but on the truths revealed in God's word. (It helps to have a Bible handy.)

4.         PRAISE God. He deserves it.

5.         ASK God questions. Ask him about his kingdom, about what you read in the Bible, and about your personal situation.

6.         LISTEN for an answer. Expect to hear God within yourself, from scripture, through counsel from wise and holy people, and even in your experiences during the day.

7.         RESPOND to God. Pray for others; seek forgiveness; pray for wisdom.

 It’s true that there are “different strokes for different folks.” That certainly applies to the first suggestion, above, that you "choose a time" for prayer. For some people, early in the morning is a great time, free of distractions, and it gets the day off to a good start. Others might find such a time worse than useless. They might need the middle of the day, or even just before bedtime. Do what's best for you. 

In the same way, how you pray is equally varied. There are many different prayer styles, which seem attuned to different personalities. The most effective prayer style might change for an individual person, depending on the different stages of spiritual growth within that person. Don't be discouraged if a particular approach to prayer doesn't seem to work for you just now; try another style for a while. Meditation, singing, reading the Scriptures, just talking (and listening!) to God, using prayerbooks or rosaries, memorized prayers, silence—all these have their place, and some are better than others for a given individual or a given stage in life. Just keep at it, keep trying different styles, and keep desiring a deeper relationship with the Lord. It will happen!

Again, as I did in a previous Lenten column , I’m urging you to spend part of your prayer time in silence. Prayer is supposed to be “conversing” with God, and any conversation is flawed if you are the only one doing the talking. 

Another very effective approach to prayer is praying with others. We’ve been promoting small Faith Sharing Groups in the Parish, and praying together is an important element of those groups. MASS is the supreme prayer of the Catholic Church and of the gathered local community. But don’t just attend Mass every weekend; enter into it as fully as you can! Perhaps adding weekday Mass during Lent—and Morning Prayer on Mondays and Fridays—can help make this Lent the best preparation you’ve ever had for the celebration of Easter! 

Don’t let Lent slip away on you! If it hasn’t been all you hoped for, don’t go to sleep tonight without making a decision on a plan of action. Good intentions and wishing only goes so far. A reasonable and specific plan of action goes a lot farther. God bless you!

In Jesus, 
Fr. Michael

P.S. Since the article today was mostly about prayer, it seems appropriate that I once again mention a formal program of intercessory prayer that we have at our parish. If you have a concern that you would like held in prayer, we have about twenty people who are part of an Intercessory Prayer Ministry, to confidentially hold your concern in prayer for two weeks. (And you can always renew your request.) You can submit your prayer requests by using the special boxes in the Tower Entrances, or by going to our Parish website and clicking the “Prayer Requests” button on the homepage. On the Web you’ll learn about the ministry and be able to send a request by filling out the form—And a big “thank you” to these dedicated people for their prayerful support of our parish. 



Also, if you think intercessory prayer might be your “charism”, i.e., a gift from the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the community, mention it in your email or give us a call (248-624-1421) so that we can put you in touch with a member of this ministry to help you discern if this is the right fit for you!

P.S. I once again urge your daily prayers for the success of our offertory initiative, “Committed to Christ—Giving Gratefully”. Please pray especially for those families who have fallen away from the full practice of their faith, that they will be drawn back to share the Eucharist with us. And THANK GOD ahead of time for how he is going to bless our parish!