02 Mar Power of Personal Prayer
After 44 years in Teams we still try more to be effective in our time of personal prayer. Going to my quiet place each day at 10.30 when my alarm sounds doesn’t always happen. When I do manage time with the Lord, do I really listen, or do I ask him to comply with my request?
We read a wonderful article today by Dom Laurence Freeman, a Benedictine. He speaks of five essential elements. Firstly to find a inner place, a secret place, a desert to be in the presence of the ever-present Source. Second, not to babble (like the pagans do), as He knows us more than ourselves. Next, to abandon, to forget, our worries. Fourth, to set your mind on his glory, on his Kingdom, on his Kingship and care of us. And fifth, lastly to be simply and only in the present moment. Not looking back or looking forward. We recall a homily a few weeks ago by a local Teams spiritual accompanist….”those who look to the past are already dead” !! We looked up Evagrius; he was a 4th century monk, who taught to pray by “laying aside all thoughts”. These seemed to us to be really helpful pointers for our Personal Prayer endeavour.
The article is in The Tablet of 1st March. If you have a copy perhaps you can share it with friends. Else Fr Laurence has a book Sensing God: Learning to Meditate through Lent. £8 on Amazon. The book is a daily guide for Lent.
Paul and Annette O’Beirne
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