REFERENCE MATERIAL

Gift of Prayer (TIME)

The gift of prayer is the time we spend in prayer with God every day. 

"The real success of stewardship in our parishes is found in the hearts of the people.  Without a conversion of heart, no one is able to give of themselves as Christ has asked us to do." 

-Msgr. Thomas McGread

Assist Parishioners in Developing a Daily Prayer Process
  • Most Catholics have never been taught how to develop a daily routine of prayer.
  • There are many daily prayer processes, three are listed on the following pages:
The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
  • The following is from St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and is entitled the “Awareness Examen.” This short prayer exercise is intended to help increase one’s sensitivity to God working in one’s life.
    1. Thanksgiving 
      1. Begin by looking over the day and see where you need to be thankful. Allow gratitude to take hold of you and express this to the Lord.
    2. Ask for Light 
      1. Ask the Spirit to show you what God wants you to see.
    3. Finding God in All Things 
      1. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where God’s presence has been in your life, either in you or in others, and in the events of public life.
    4. Respond to God in Dialogue 
      1. Is there any one area on which you are being nudged to focus your attention, to pray more seriously, to take action? Discuss this with Jesus.
    5. Help and Guidance for Tomorrow
      1. Ask God for your needs for tomorrow.

The information has been reprinted with permission from The White House Retreat. For more information about the White House Retreat, visit www.whretreat.org.

Prayer Process Suggested by Matthew Kelly
  • The following is from Matthew Kelly’s The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic.
  • Prayer
    • The most dominant quality among Dynamic Catholics is a daily routine of prayer.
    • A daily routine refers to a specific time and place set aside for prayer. Dynamic Catholics make this time a priority each day.
    • Dynamic Catholics tend to begin their time of prayer in very specific ways: by reading the Bible, praying the morning prayers of the Church, reading from a favorite spiritual book, etc.
    • Dynamic Catholics universally begin their day with some type of prayer, even if the main time they set aside for prayer is later in the day.
    • God speaks to us in the silence. Spending time in silence is indispensable in our quest for spiritual growth.
    • Prayerlessness is one of the great torments of modern times.
    • Most Catholics have never been taught how to develop a daily routine of prayer.
  • The Prayer Process
  1. Gratitude: Begin by thanking God in a personal dialogue for whatever you are most grateful for today.
  2. Awareness: Revisit the times in the past twenty-four hours when you were and were not the best version of yourself. Talk with God about these situations and what you learned from them.
  3. Significant Moments: Identify something you experienced today and explore what God might be trying to say to you through that event (or person).
  4. Peace: Ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or Him) and to fill you with a deep and abiding peace.
  5. Freedom: Speak with God about how He is inviting you to change your life, so that you can experience the freedom to be the best version of yourself.
  6. Others: Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless and guide them.
  7. Finish by praying the Our Father.

The information has been reprinted with permission from The Dynamic Catholic Institute. For more information, visit the website at www.dynamiccatholic.com.