On Tuesday, we started the Advent Prayer Retreat series called “Atomic Habits of Prayer.” My point of focus in these sessions is to help you understand prayer both as a discipline and art. The discipline is our task and the art is God’s gift. We need to understand both aspects to become the person of prayer that the Lord has called us to be.
I explained the four stages of prayer according to Fr. Mark Thibodeaux, SJ (author of the book, Armchair Mystic) as 1) talking at God, 2) talking to God, 3) listening to God, and 4) being with God. The first three being methods that are considered mental or meditative prayer and the last (being with God) is contemplative prayer. My hope in this series is to introduce you to new types of prayer and inspire people to pray at the deepest level that God is calling them to at this stage in their lives.
I used an analogy of how a person comes to discover that they can play the piano. They first have to sit and play a little on the piano. They will never know how they might be able to play until they have tried. They might have a natural gift of playing the piano without ever knowing it. Most people will have to practice for hours on the piano to become proficient. It is the same with prayer; to become proficient at it we need to practice it and make a discipline of it.
Then I explained the science behind the formation of new habits. There are four basic stages to the habit loop: 1) cue, 2) craving, 3) response, and 4) reward. Each of these correspond to the four laws of habit formation: 1) make it obvious, 2) make it attractive, 3) make it easy, and 4) make it satisfying. Then I broke open the first law of making prayer obvious in your life by curating a good space and demarcating it for prayer. The other concept I explained was habit-stacking in which we add prayer to an already established good habit in our life. I gave the example of how after I brush my own teeth, I floss my teeth, take my meds and then brush the teeth of my dog. That is called habit-stacking and it is very effective in establishing new good habits. Perhaps, you’d like to add prayer over your morning cup of coffee or tea as a new habit.
I closed the session with an example of how to embrace silence and solitude by demonstrating one easy way to achieve this. It is a prayer exercise of 9 breaths: Sit comfortably and relax, close your eyes and for the first set of three breaths, inhale and exhale 3 times very slowly. Then during the second set, as you inhale, say silently in your head, “Jesus” and as your exhale say silently, “I love you.” Then close the session with breathing in and out 3 more times slowly. It is a simple exercise that will bring into God’s presence already within you. Try it now for yourself.
Next week, I will move into the second law of habit formation “making it attractive” and I will talk more about the prayer stage of talking to God. Again, we will recognize the discipline and art aspects of this level of prayer. In this prayer method we chat extemporaneously with God about our life and learn to talk to God as we would a friend or spouse. Come join us in-person if possible on Tuesday, December 6 at 7-8pm. If not then join us online with the livestream on our YouTube presentations link here. If you would like to view Tuesday’s session, click here
Over the last week, you should have all received a Christmas card from the pastoral staff with the Advent and Christmas schedule. The photo on the front of the card is the new Mosaic placed by the Marian shrine inside the Church. This mosaic was a gift to St. Simon Church from our pilgrims to the Holy Land. We will dedicate and bless the mosaic on Sunday at the 9am Mass. It was made by handicapable women in Bethlehem and we are delighted to support them with this gift. Come and see this beautiful artwork in “Mary’s corner”
You may not be aware that we have started a grief support group and our meeting is this Thursday at 6-7pm in the Holy Family room. There is a wonderful article explaining the difference between support groups and why you might consider joining us for some support especially through the holiday times. More information here
Finally, people have asked me about my book of homilies. Yes, three years ago I compiled a book of my homilies for Cycle A called “Weaving the Divine Thread: Homilies for Year A.” It will be available for a donation of $15 in Spooncer Hall this Donut Sunday and at all my Tuesday retreat session nights. Thank you for your support that goes to support my website http://www.frbrendanmcguire.org where I keep all my homilies and retreats available. If you are not already receiving my weekly homilies online and would like to, then please sign up here. With thanks and gratitude.
God bless,
Fr. Brendan