Lent

Praying attention to God wherever we are

Dcn. Rick Miech

	A Compass Lenten series

Prayer. Everybody understands it. Everybody has an opinion of how it should be done. There are many self-proclaimed experts. But ask any two people how to pray and you'll get different answers.

What is prayer? The Catechism says it is a raising of our hearts and minds to God. Prayer comes from faith and it is part of a relationship, started by God, between the person praying and God! That is also a fairly accurate description of covenant.

While I prefer structured prayer, like various types of liturgical prayer, I realized long ago that in order to pray I don't have to be structured and formal. I can pray in my own words and somewhere other than church, and my prayer is no less reverent and no less effective than when I pray the Hours or pray in church, or celebrate Eucharist. Prayer outside of church actually helps make my prayer inside church more effective.

	L e n t
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	• Other Lent articles

I try to pay attention to what God is asking of me through the Scripture readings at Mass, the homily, and the Mass prayers. When I'm doing my thing at work, at home, or anywhere else, I should be looking for ways to do what is being asked of me. Doing that brings me back to the prayers I said in church. And it gives me a chance to take the liturgy, God's Word, out into the world. If I do this reverently, mindful of God's presence in my life, it is an act of prayer. I live my relationship with God as a covenant. God has a part and so do I.

I could be driving to work dealing with rude drivers. Will I act as they do? Or will I pray for the safety of the person who is in such a hurry? In a homily I once suggested saying a subversive prayer at such times: "May you be happy. May you be at peace!" It's subversive because it undercuts our natural tendency to escalate a situation.

I believe you can identify prayerful people by the way they act toward others and generally live. They are compassionate and calm, rarely getting overexcited about anything. If they are serious about their covenant relationship with God, they will treat each person with love and respect.

Finally, a prayerful person spends time with God's Word, the Scriptures. Along with the Eucharist, God's Word nourishes all who hear it. Reading and meditating on Scripture is a powerful way to pray because the Word works within the reader, who then becomes that Word for others through example.

That's another thing about prayer: While I may pray as an individual, my prayer reaches beyond me and is much more than just God and me! Prayer connects me to others since I find God in my relationships with others. Sprinkle a little prayer into your day this Lent!

(Dcn. Miech serves at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Newton.)