VINCENTIAN PRAYERS   GUIDES FOR CELEBRATIONS

PART THREE: PRAYER THEMES

Practical recommendations on developing a life of prayer:  

I. Jesus, teach us to pray 

"In the morning, long before dawn, Jesus got up and left the house and went off to a lonely place and prayed there.”

                                                                                              (Mk. 1:35)

  1. Look for a cozy place: in a church or chapel, in your room.
  1. Sit comfortably, be calm and concentrate.  To do this:  leave your concerns behind… concentrate on the here and now, in the present moment, in this very place where you find yourself…
  1. Take a few moments to be aware of yourself.  Observe yourself in silence, in inner tranquility, serenity, peace and openness…
  1. Focus your attention on the face or icon of Jesus.
  1. Close your eyes and try to remain silent, being conscious of yourself and the face of Jesus…
  1. Take note of your desires to pray, to be near Jesus, to feel Him close to you…  
  1. Read the passage (or better yet, recall it without reading again)

            "In the morning, long before dawn, Jesus got up and left the house and went off  

             to a lonely place and prayed there.”

                                                                                              (Mk. 1:35)

  1. Afterwards, close your eyes or leave them half shut.  Imagine Jesus before daybreak, going out of his house toward a deserted place, kneeling down and praying to God his Father… Observe and contemplate Him silently. 
  1. If you prefer, imagine Him now together with you, praying to God our Father.  
  1. Let your heart, mind and your whole being be filled with the prayer of Jesus, with the spirit of Jesus...
  1. Repeat in your heart, like an echo of your soul....

 Jesus, teach us to pray...

Jesus teach us to pray…

Jesus, teach us to pary with your own spirit…

Jesus teach us to pray…

Jesus, fill  us with your spirit of prayer….

Jesus teach us to pray…

 

II. Abandoning oneself into the hands of God

1. Be conscious of  yourself, of your being.

2. Relax, be calm and settle down. 

3. Silence, inner calmness, serenity.     

4. “Do not worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and what you are to wear. Surely life is more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look  at the birds in the sky.  They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not worth much more than they are? Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God’s saving justice, and all these things will be given you as well. So, do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  (Mt. 6:25-34)

5. Abandoning one’s self into the hands of God in this very moment. (Like someone who is immersed in water…) Experience the sensation of sinking in God, of being immersed in God. 

6. Repeat this from the depth of your soul:

    “Father I place myself in your hands.”

-         Father: inhale (as an impulse toward God)

-         I place myself in your hands: exhale (abandoning ourselves in God)

Subir