Why a Spirit of Sacrifice Isn't Enough - Part 2
(Originally posted September 5, 2013)
We come now to the delightful suggestion Father Lekeux makes about how to pray.
Last time we read Father's words about how love must in a sense "stand behind" our sacrifice - how it gives meaning to our sacrifice. Father taught us how - no matter how long and hard we work every day - we must develop our prayer life. We must take the time to pray and pray well. Prayer is the proper expression of our love of God. There is no room for the attitude that we don't have the time to pray. If you didn't have a chance to read Father Lekeux's words last time, please do now. And - as we suggested then - take your time and read them carefully so that you understand just why making the time to pray is so critical for anyone who considers themselves a serious Catholic.
But you still may wonder how is it possible to develop this serious prayer life when the demands of work and family press on you? Yes, I realize that even when you intellectually grasp what Father teaches us here, you may find yourself left with the dilemma of making the time for prayer. I know because I face this virtually every day. It's not unusual for me to rush through my prayers, or to lose my concentration as I'm praying, because of the desire to get on with my work that day. It seems that no matter how hard I work, how thoroughly and completely I may perform my daily work, there's always something new that pops up a goodly portion of which has to be addressed RIGHT NOW. That sense of urgency then crowds out my time for prayer; it even inserts itself into the prayers I do take the time to say.
What to do now? We seem to be back where we started: not enough time to pray because of work and family demands on our time.
So having taken the time to really understand Father Lekeux's serious explanation of the why prayer is so critical, we come to his utterly delightful suggestion:
But here we have the simplest and I think most delightful way to pray as we work. We just talk to Him, and talk about anything. Can we not bring ourselves to develop the habit of talking to Him like this each day at work?
Well, I for one will take Father's teaching to heart - both the profound explanation of the absolutely critical importance of prayer as well as the simple suggestion of how to pray at work. Sure, I'll continue my regular routine of prayer, study, brief meditation. My daily "norms of piety" can and will continue as before. But wouldn't it be wonderful to develop this simple, down-to-earth way of talking to Our Lord during our time at work? You already do this? Wonderful! But if you're like me, you're not in the habit (the holy habit) of speaking this way to Our Lord. If that's the case, then with God's grace, let's try this. Let's begin today. Okay?
We come now to the delightful suggestion Father Lekeux makes about how to pray.
Last time we read Father's words about how love must in a sense "stand behind" our sacrifice - how it gives meaning to our sacrifice. Father taught us how - no matter how long and hard we work every day - we must develop our prayer life. We must take the time to pray and pray well. Prayer is the proper expression of our love of God. There is no room for the attitude that we don't have the time to pray. If you didn't have a chance to read Father Lekeux's words last time, please do now. And - as we suggested then - take your time and read them carefully so that you understand just why making the time to pray is so critical for anyone who considers themselves a serious Catholic.
But you still may wonder how is it possible to develop this serious prayer life when the demands of work and family press on you? Yes, I realize that even when you intellectually grasp what Father teaches us here, you may find yourself left with the dilemma of making the time for prayer. I know because I face this virtually every day. It's not unusual for me to rush through my prayers, or to lose my concentration as I'm praying, because of the desire to get on with my work that day. It seems that no matter how hard I work, how thoroughly and completely I may perform my daily work, there's always something new that pops up a goodly portion of which has to be addressed RIGHT NOW. That sense of urgency then crowds out my time for prayer; it even inserts itself into the prayers I do take the time to say.
What to do now? We seem to be back where we started: not enough time to pray because of work and family demands on our time.
So having taken the time to really understand Father Lekeux's serious explanation of the why prayer is so critical, we come to his utterly delightful suggestion:
"Speak to Jesus about the work you are doing at the moment. Tell him your joys, your troubles, the little nothings that interest you. Talk about the weather. Sure, why not? Talk about anything. As soon as you start talking to Him, He is happy. You and He are united. You are praying."You do see how simple this is, don't you? Who of us can't do this? Oh, it may not come naturally to you right this moment. You may have to push yourself a bit. And yes, work will wash over you and push this out of your consciousness. You may go through a whole day's never having giving Jesus a thought. I have - far too frequently.
But here we have the simplest and I think most delightful way to pray as we work. We just talk to Him, and talk about anything. Can we not bring ourselves to develop the habit of talking to Him like this each day at work?
Well, I for one will take Father's teaching to heart - both the profound explanation of the absolutely critical importance of prayer as well as the simple suggestion of how to pray at work. Sure, I'll continue my regular routine of prayer, study, brief meditation. My daily "norms of piety" can and will continue as before. But wouldn't it be wonderful to develop this simple, down-to-earth way of talking to Our Lord during our time at work? You already do this? Wonderful! But if you're like me, you're not in the habit (the holy habit) of speaking this way to Our Lord. If that's the case, then with God's grace, let's try this. Let's begin today. Okay?
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