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'Prayer', we were told in the old Catholic catechism,
'is the raising of the mind and the heart to God'. Both
mind and heart. Prayer allows us to deepen our relationship
with God, to go to the heart of our ourselves and experience
God's loving, healing, touch.
There are many different methods or styles of prayer.
Though many like to create a hierarchy of prayer with
wordless mystical prayer at the top of the tree and 'saying
prayers' somewhere nearer the bottom, in fact what is
best is whatever type of prayer helps us come closer to
God.
If you come on retreat you will have plenty of time
to spend on prayer. You may well like to try different
ways of praying to see which work for you.
The examen (examination of conscience), and two ways
of praying with scripture, Lectio
Divina and Imaginative
Contemplation are on separate pages. But whatever
method of prayer, when entering into a formal period of
prayer a period of quietening down and centring on God
are usually most helpful.
Quietening down can often be done by stillness
exercises:
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Spend five minutes listening to the sounds around
me, not concentrating on any, but just being aware
of noises both great and delicate.
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Become aware of the sensations of my body, from
head to toe, can also be a good stilling exercise.
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A mantra, where I repeat a word or phrase might
also be helpful. It might be my own personal motto.
It might be one of the short sayings from Scripture
such as “I am the way the truth and the life”,
“I believe, help thou my unbelief”. The
aim of the mantra is to quieten and move into a still
space within.
When you become quieter, you might want to move on an
use Scripture, a prayer, or a poem to focus your mind
and heart on God.
Try:
Lectio Divina
Imaginative
Contemplation
Prayer from the Ignatian Exercises on: 10 Commandments,
7 deadly sins, 5 Senses, 3 Powers of the Soul
Beuno's 2007-8
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