A Guide to Prayer
Prayer constitutes an integral part of Catholic daily worship, helping us to communicate with the Lord and spend time in the presence of God. The Catholic Catechism teaches that prayer is the “raising of one’s heart and mind to God”, but with all the distractions and stresses of everyday life, this can often be more challenging for so many of us than we’d like to think.
“During my lifetime, I’ve met some very holy men and women. People who have been really very fine models of everything I believe a Christian to be. But in my conversations with them, I don’t think I’ve ever come across any one of them who has said: “Oh, my prayer life? Wonderful. Everything’s so fulfilling, I know exactly what I’m doing every day.” […] So prayer probably isn’t the easiest thing, is it?”
– Bishop John.
To help us on our journey to a better dialogue with the Lord, Bishop John has some words of comfort and advice to help us improve, strengthen, and nourish our daily prayer life, and our relationship with God.
A Time and a Place to Pray
It is so easy to neglect our prayers because we run out of time. In this video, Bishop John talks to us about how creating a time and place can be important in building that sense of prayer in our lives and strengthening our faith.
Different Types of Prayer
How do you pray? There are many ways for us to pray and many different types of prayer. Our prayer life doesn’t have to involve just one type of prayer either. Whether you use formulaic prayer like the Hail Mary or Our Father, the Examen, or by giving thanks. This week Bishop John shares his reflections on the value of each of these prayers and encourages you to continue to make time for prayer.
Praying for others
In this video, Bishop John reflects on his favourite Gospel, the Gospel of Mark. He shares how we can be ambassadors for Christ in our own lives, through praying for others.
A Prayer of Silence
Bishop John talks about a different kind of prayer – a prayer of silence and of stillness. Our lives are very busy and our minds can sometimes be hectic and in this video, he explains more about how powerful this form of prayer can be.