For the past couple of years I have been meeting with a small group from my Quincy church, Blessed Sacrament. We have been working through the Why Catholic? study books for a Fall and Spring session each year. Last night was our first night of this year's Fall session.
I love talking about faith, religion, God, and the Church, but more than that, I love having the safe place outside of work/friends/family where I can interract with other Christians. Our group is diverse and everyone has an interesting "story" of how they came to be where they are today. It's so fun for me to get to know these people more and more every session.
This six week session is dedicated to Christian Prayer. I have a lot of experience in the Protestant religion where praying is spontaneous, natural, and is an open dialogue with the Lord. In the Catholic religion, there are many structured prayers and I was actually pretty resistant to learning these prayers, as I felt conversation directly with God was more natural. However, the more I read these written prayers that have been said for so many generations, I began to realize how meaningful they truly are. Even though the majority of my prayer life is still speaking to God like a friend, there are definitely times when I have to turn to a memorized prayer to help me focus on Him, during times when my brain seems to only want to focus on Me.
This week for "Living the Good News" (suggetions our book makes for a personal connection between faith and action) I am committing to keep a prayer journal for the next six weeks. I think if I write down the things I am thankful for/struggling with/needing that I will be more aware of answered prayers. I know that I am constantly missing the little things that God provides, so I think to see them on paper will bring me closer to the prayer life I aspire to have.
"Give us ears to always hear your voice, a heart to listen to the message, and a will to live it out."
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