Tag Archives: Holy Mass

Prayer in Lent

Prayer is one of the three principal focuses of our Lenten discipline, along with fasting and almsgiving. In this meditation we consider how:

  • Christ himself gives us an example of fervent and assiduous prayer
  • Prayer unites us with Christ and helps us become true friends with him
  • Prayer can take four forms
  • Prayer requires effort
  • We can improve our prayer life in Lent in a number of ways

Holy Mass, centre and root of the interior life

Pope St John Paul II saying mass

 

 

 

The Second Vatican Council, using some words of St Josemaria Escriva, called the Mass the centre and root of the interior life. If we make the Mass our centre and root, we will attend it better and we will unite all our acitivities with it. In this meditation we consider how:

  • The Mass is the sacrifice of Calvary made present on the altar
  • It is the Church’s most powerful prayer and we can unite our own intentions with those of the Mass
  • The Mass is the centre of all the sacraments and we can strive to make it the centre of our day and the focal point of  all our activities
  • As the root of the interior life the Mass strengthens our faith by anchoring us firmly in Jesus Christ
  • Through the root of the Mass we receive nourishment for our soul through the prayers, readings and especially Holy Communion
  • We should strive to be truly Eucharistic souls

A daily plan of spiritual life

vocal prayer and mental prayer

 

Anyone who wants to achieve an important goal has a  plan of daily activities to reach it: the athlete, the student, the business person. Our goal is the most important of all: eternal salvation, heaven. Our happiness here and hereafter depends on it.  In this meditation we consider how:

  • We are called to love God with our whole heart and in order to achieve that we must spend some time with him each day
  • We are called to eternal life with God in heaven, the goal of our whole life
  • Like the student, the athlete, the business person, we need a daily plan of activities to achieve our goal
  • We can dedicate some time each day to such activities as mental prayer, Holy Mass, the Rosary, spiritual reading, reading of the New Testament, the Angelus, morning prayers, the examination of conscience, etc.
  • We can achieve this by having regular times for prayer spread out throughout the day

Meditation on a spiritual plan of life

We all have a daily plan for looking after our body, including regular times for eating, sleeping, exercise, entertainment, etc. But we should also have a daily plan to look after our soul. In this meditation we consider the importance of having such a plan and how we might go about making it and living it.