Overview - Worship, Prayer and Spiritual Growth

"We must remember God more often than we draw breath." But we cannot pray "at all times" if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it These are the special times of Christian prayer, both in intensity and duration. 

The tradition of the church proposes to the faithful certain rhythms of praying intended to nourish continual prayer. Some are daily, such as morning and evening prayer, grace before and after meals, or the Liturgy of the Hours. Sundays, centered on the Eucharist, are kept holy primarily by prayer. The cycle of the liturgical year and its great feasts are also basic rhythms of the Christian's life of prayer. 

God leads all persons by paths and in ways pleasing to (God) and each believer responds according to his (her) heart's resolve and the personal expressions of his(her) prayer. However, the Christian tradition has retained three major expressions of prayer: vocal, meditative, and contemplative. They have one basic trait in common: composure of heart. This vigilance in keeping God’s Word and dwelling in the presence of God makes these three expressions intense times in the life of prayer. (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Our worship at Mass is our communal way of paying homage to God, thanking God, offering God the Perfect Gift to make up for our own and our world's sinfulness, and asking God's help for others and for ourselves. See Sunday Worlship Together. 

More information:

• For more information, contact the pastor of your parish or mission or any religious sister.

• Word Among Us  
• Celebrating the Word   
• Creighton University Daily Reflections  
• Daily Mass Readings & Sunday Gospel Resources; Resources on the Sunday Readings.  
• The Liturgical Year for Electronic Calendars 
• Sacred Space Pray here and now at your computer; on-screen guidance; scripture chosen specially every day.  Offered by the Irish Jesuits.  
• Pray as You Go – Daily prayer for your MP3 player from Jesuit Media Initiatives
• Pray as You Go in Spanish, done by a sister of the Holy Child Jesus, Mary Ann Buckley SHCJ 
• Reflections by Ron Rolheiser OMI   Current Column    There are also links to the Archive of English columns and to the columns in Vietnamese and Spanish.
• A six-minute reflection in song on God revealed in the beauty of nature here.

LECTIO DIVINA

“Among the many ways to approach the Sacred Scripture there is a privileged one, to which we are all invited: the Lectio divina, or the exercise of prayer reading of the Sacred Scripture. The prayer reading, if well done, leads to the encounter with Jesus the Teacher, to knowledge of the Mystery of Jesus the Messiah, to communion with Jesus the Son of God and to witness of Jesus the Lord of the universe (SYNOD OF BISHOPS, OCTOBER 2008,  The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church,  Document Aparecida 249).”

 To learn more about the Lectio Divina form of prayer, see:

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_Divina
• The Ancient Art Of Lectio Divina  http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html
• Benedictine Bibliography of Lectio Divina Resources: http://www.osb.org/lectio/
• Lectio Divina Homepage: http://www.lectio-divina.org/
• For further references, google the words "lectio divina".