1. In seminary, we begin the discipline of praying the Liturgy of the Hours—sometimes also called “The Divine Office” or more plainly, “The Breviary”. This book of Christian prayer is prayed by all priests, religious men and women, seminarians, and many other consecrated and lay people all over the world.

    One of the most beautiful parts of this habit of prayer is its universality. Each priest, deacon, sister, brother, seminarian and any others who pray it will be praying the same prayers with the same Scriptures and asking the same petitions whether they live in quiet mountain villages in China or are on vacation at Daytona Beach, Florida, and whether they are sitting in an empty confessional before Saturday evening Mass in southern Germany or nestled in their tents serving the armed forces in deserts of the Middle East. Five times a day we all pray for the Church and the whole world.

    On Ash Wednesday morning, the Scripture for the Office of Readings contained a beautiful passage from Isaiah. On the first day of Lent, a day of intentional fasting and abstinence, a few verses stuck out even more than others: “This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own” (58:6-7).

    We often seem to focus on ourselves in Lent. “How can I become more holy or less angry?” “What could I give up?” These are not bad things to consider. But what if we heeded the Prophet Isaiah’s instruction more closely? “Who do I hold a grudge against, and how can I set that person free?” “Who suffers because I live luxuriously? How can I share with them?” “Where can I forgo my own want to spend time with my family this Lent?” Imagine how Lent might lead us closer to the Lord by asking these questions. Just imagine!

    The Christian life is finally lived when the Christian gives his or her life away. And if Lent is about living our faith more deeply and coming closer to Christ, what better way than to pray with these second types of questions?

    Focus on others this Lent by giving your life to Christ.


    *To learn more about the Breviary, visit divineoffice.org.

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  2. “Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.” We will hear it this Wednesday, this “Ash Wednesday”—a day of penance and fasting. Seemingly a gloomy day. A day where we find out which TV personalities are Catholic, or at least which news anchors or sports commentators decided not to wash their foreheads before going on camera. We may also see family and friends and coworkers donning their mark of having been to Mass, just the same.

    “You are dust.”

    It’s not the most positive or cheery phrase, if you think about it. Actually, most of us spend lots of time and money and energy trying to prove we are much more than dust—the very opposite of dust—trying to prove that we are worthy of love. But it doesn’t stop there.

    “…unto dust you shall return.”

    We are destined for death. “We are food for worms,” as John Keating puts it to the Dead Poets Society. All life comes to death. Not only are we dust, but unto dust we shall return.

    I often approach Ash Wednesday with some fear—or at the very least unease. In a sense, I don’t want it to come. Ashes on my head? Fasting? And the reminder that I am dirt?

    So why not do away with Ash Wednesday? Why not remove the words, and instead, say, “You are complete, and complete you shall remain”? Why not throw out the fasting and forget Lenten promises and bury the ashes and sing and dance for joy?

    Because we are so incomplete.

    So very incomplete—so very tired, weak, alone, fallen, afraid, and so desperately longing for wholeness. We acknowledge the many blessings we have been given. We celebrate the love of family, the warmth of friends, and the beauty of nature and music and love. But we simultaneously pine for the utterly satisfying, everlasting peace—and this simply will not come if we believe anything besides the truth: that we are dust without the grace of Christ. Indeed, we will return to dust until the day of the return of the Son of God.


    In claiming our own inability to obtain fullness, we invite the One who can make us from dust into saints, from dirty clay to children of God. There is no need to throw out the ashes or Lenten promises, for all they strengthen our faith in the One who offers us fullness of life in Him.

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  3. Many of us would love to learn these two things better: how to pray and “how to use” the Bible better. Most just don't know where to start.

    There are many forms and practices of prayer. Some have found “imagining” oneself in Scripture stories to be powerful. Some prefer to “listen” to what words or phrases seem to stand out as they read Bible passages. Some prefer to sit alone in a chapel, some out in nature, and some like praying Scripture in groups.

    What is common? Actually doing it.

    So, whether you are a beginner or an expert, here are five simple steps you can use as a guide for praying with the Bible that you can begin to do now.

    First, find a quiet place. Get away from your phone, work, and any other potential distraction. Some find it helpful to stop in at church and others to simply close their bedroom door.

    Second, set a time. Consider 10 or 15 minutes to start with. No matter what, try to remain there the entire period you set for yourself. Sometimes the most powerful moments in my own prayer happen in the last minute after I had almost given up.

    Third, read and be aware.  Pick a passage from one of the Gospels, and note what the Holy Spirit is holding up before you. Consider using the past Sunday’s Gospel found in the missalette, or check the back or front of your Bible for a list of passages with short descriptions.

    Fourth, just talk with Christ—or the Father or the Holy Spirit or Mary. This is the most important part. What are you thinking about? What are you feeling? Show and tell that to the Lord. Maybe he has some suggestion for you about it.

    Fifth and final step: end with a prayer. Here, thank God for specific things in your life, and ask him to assist you in whatever action or movement he stirs within you. Bonus: if that passage was fruitful, consider using it again within a day or two.

    Here are three suggestions of passages to pray with this week. Encouragement to those who feel lost or stuck (Jer 29: 11-14), Jesus calming fear (Mt 14:22-33), or Jesus’ words of comfort at the Last Supper (Jn 14:1-6; 15-21; 25-27).


    If we do anything for Lent, I hope it leads us closer to Christ. Then what better practice is there than prayer?

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  4. If there is anything that people want either more of or to be better at, it’s prayer.

    Who doesn't want a more ‘devout life’, a more meaningful life, a closer relationship with God?

    And yet prayer is something we spend so little time talking about. I wonder if it is because some people don’t think their lives are suitable to being “prayerful”.

    The Introduction to the Devout Life, a book on the spiritual life by Saint Francis de Sales, is nearing its 400th anniversary (first published in 1619). In this book, Saint Francis writes, “No matter where we are, we can and we should seek a life of perfection.” Whether a working mother of five children or a monk in a cloister, all are called to come closer to God.

    He writes, “God commanded the plants, at the creation, to bear fruit each according to its kind (Gen 1:11). Similarly, he commands Christians, the living plants of his Church, to produce the fruits of devotion, according to each one's ability and occupation.” So, “Devotion is to be practiced differently by the nobleman, the workman, the servant, the prince, the widow, the young girl, the wife. Even more than this, the practice of devotion has to be adapted to the strength, life-situation and duties of each individual.”

    His words are still true today. 

    If a priest never allowed himself time with Christ in solitary prayer and silent retreats, how would he bring the peace of Christ to others? At the same time, if a father neglected his infant child or even teenagers who still need to be fed and cheered on at sports and plays, wouldn't we think there was something tragically wrong? Saint Francis de Sales says that such an attempt at devotion would be “ridiculous.”

    “When it conflicts with any person’s legitimate occupation,” writes Saint Francis, “it is without doubt false…Not only does [true devotion] not spoil any sort of life-situation or occupation, but on the contrary enriches it and makes it attractive.”

    And who doesn't want an enriched life?

    With Lent only a few weeks away it is worth considering how your life could become more ‘devout’. What could you do--that is in line with your calling--to come closer to God?


    These excerpts were taken from Part 1, Chapter 3 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis de Sales. To read more from this text, visit the source: http://www.philothea.de/devout-english.html

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