All through Encounter Grace: Moments of Hope, Pleasure, and Peace, Becky Eldredge contains questions for reflection. To kick-off our Lenten read-along, we invited Loyola Press authors and associates to answer two of these questions:
- How has your recipe for prayer modified over the course of your life?
- What has remained fixed?
Take pleasure in their responses.
Asking for Steerage
“My prayers have grow to be much less formal and extra private. They’re conversations with God, expressing my gratitude for the life He has ready for me. Extra importantly, I ask for His steering and endurance in enabling me to be a greater and extra devoted servant as I traverse by means of the peaks and valleys of life. I additionally ask for His directions on how I can present up for others.
“The Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Act of Contrition proceed to be vital priorities in my prayer rituals since I used to be a toddler. My go-to, so to talk, earlier than my nightly prayers has all the time been, ‘Expensive God, I like You. I do know You’re keen on me too. Please be merciful to me, the sinner.’”
—Anthony P. Carter, writer of This I Know: Ideas for a Lifetime of Religion and Optimism
Dwelling in Thriller
“My first recipes for prayer contained many wordy elements. Now, it’s practices to nurture consideration, consciousness, and presence.”
What has remained fixed? “Merely put, my need to consciously dwell in Thriller.”
—Anne Kertz Kernion, writer of The 4 Connections: Easy methods to Flourish by Aligning Your Beliefs, Physique, Mind, and Bonds
Conversing with God
“My recipe for prayer has developed from simply prayers I used to be taught through the years as a younger Catholic to extra of a dialog with God. Whether or not it was by means of tragedies, like Hurricane Katrina, or triumphs, like births of my numerous godchildren, my prayer recipe has modified to extra ‘seeing God’ in these moments and having extra conversations with Him throughout these moments. This evolution has made me really feel nearer to God and, I consider, made me extra religious in expressing my religion in all areas and locations.
“My favourite prayer over time has been my Rosary. I hold it with me on a regular basis and pray it recurrently. I really feel a way of calmness and peace, particularly in overwhelming circumstances once I can not discover the phrases to hope in my very own phrases.”
—Ansel Augustine, D.Min., writer of Praying with Our Ft: Encountering God within the Margins
Transferring Away from a Santa Claus God
“My prayer has gone from rote to conversational, from a particular time and place to fixed dynamic consciousness, from a God ‘on the market’ to a God inside and between, from bringing my want checklist of issues to be solved and issues I needed (issues I assumed would make me comfortable) to a ‘Santa Claus God’ to discerning how I can convey the God of affection to others.
“What has remained fixed: God by no means stopped in search of me.”
—Lisa Kelly, writer of The Non secular Path: Embarking on the Journey of a Lifetime
Conserving Good Components
“As with my precise cooking, my non secular cooking has modified dramatically since I had youngsters. I used to take time to fastidiously choose elements so I might attempt new inspiring recipes. Now, by the point I get the children to mattress and the canine fed, I discover myself opening cabinets to see what I can scrape along with just a few primary elements.
“Nonetheless, in a lot the identical means as I can keep away from snacking on chips by retaining our fruit rack and vegetable drawer stocked, I discover that the higher I’m about retaining good elements on my non secular cabinets, the simpler it will likely be to maintain myself nourished in prayer. Listed here are just a few primary ideas:
- Attempt to plan non secular meals forward when there might be time to hope and possibly ‘batch prepare dinner’ for just a few days when a fast Our Father is all there might be time for.
- It’s all concerning the sauce. You need to use the identical elements again and again in prayer for those who convey a brand new perspective every day. Lectio Divina is a good way to make use of the identical ‘ready meal’ a number of occasions whereas letting the spice of our every day life convey a unique sauce to every studying.
- Final however not least, attempt to flip down an hour of doomscrolling (non secular junk meals) for an inspiring podcast and a few doodling.”
—John Byrd, Communications Supervisor, American Jesuits Worldwide
How has your recipe for prayer modified over the course of your life? What has remained fixed?
Taking part in our Lenten read-along of Encounter Grace? Introduce your self within the feedback under! And put up your ideas, favourite quotes, or reactions with #lentreadalong on social media.