Can't pray !

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irishman19

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My mind wanders during prayer and church service ! I feel hopeless and that I will never get to Heaven. I seem to do better watching mass on the Catholic TV network, but then I feel like I will burn in hell for missing Mass.
Pastor are so hard to see anymore, they are so busy. I have not been to confession for over a year, I just feel like what good will it do, I always fall back into sin. I was brought up in a very devout Catholic family I attended Catholic school 1-6 raised 5 children I and my wife made sure they went to Mass each Sunday and attended CYO, out of the five only two of them practice their faith. I suppose we went wrong some where, all of this has caused me to question my faith… I just don’t understand, I know I love God,I just can’t connect anymore…
 
hi, your post is a good post; perhaps more common to others that you think…the pressures of society makes a certain stress; i mention the big picture; then shrink it to a box, for your approval-feel free to disagree/ there is a downward spiral to american society; i wonder if a cynicism grows? if so , in the affirmative-it would not be unheard of to live in society, participate in it, be part of it-reporting that fast pace-and so a trend (as societies typically do) sprouts a cynacism…If applicapable, i would make up a term (you heard it here first) a fast veloosphy (fast velocity+philospohy): the mind wonders/yet, on the way to church don’t be suprised by a ‘tap’ on the shoulder-that call by a small still voice-“what’s your hurry on the way to the kingdom of God…” perhaps a suprised citizen of the US might form an opinion, less cynical, responding…“hey, the kingdom was in me the whole time…” hope that helps, patrick
 
Learn about and begin to practice quiet prayer. A side benefit is you will learn to control your mind from wandering and daydreaming.
 
irishman19 said:
My mind wanders during prayer and church service ! I feel hopeless and that I will never get to Heaven. I seem to do better watching mass on the Catholic TV network, but then I feel like I will burn in hell for missing Mass.
Pastor are so hard to see anymore, they are so busy. I have not been to confession for over a year, I just feel like what good will it do, I always fall back into sin. I was brought up in a very devout Catholic family I attended Catholic school 1-6 raised 5 children I and my wife made sure they went to Mass each Sunday and attended CYO, out of the five only two of them practice their faith. I suppose we went wrong some where, all of this has caused me to question my faith… I just don’t understand, I know I love God,I just can’t connect anymore…
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I recommend that you spend time before the Blessed Sacrament even if you can’t pray, sit quietly before the Lord.
 
Trying to grab a Pastor can be difficult especially when you need to sit down and receive spiritual guidance. Perhaps you could ring up or email (just saying what you have in your post) and ask if you can talk with him. Barring unforeseen emergencies, pastors make every effort to be available to help any member of their flock.

With regard to the mass, as someone else has said, many of us have experienced the wandering mind. I find it helpful to follow all of the mass in my missal and not just rely on my ears. The book “A Biblical Walk Through The Mass: Understanding What We Say And Do In The Liturgy” by Edward Sri, has also helped me think about and understand the different parts of the celebration.
 
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of thy love.

V. Send forth thy spirit and they shall be created.

R. And thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray. O God, who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.
 
Holy Michael the Archangel defend us in the day of battle.
Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the Power of God,
thrust down to hell satan and all the wicked spirits,
who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession and was left forsaken. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, a sorrowful sinner. Despise not my words, O Mother of the Word, but in your mercy, hear and answer me.
Amen
 
Holy Michael the Archangel defend us in the day of battle.
Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the Power of God,
thrust down to hell satan and all the wicked spirits,
who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.
Amen.

All of what you have written are tactics of the evil one. Do not believe his lies. God loves you with a love so great and so profound that He can’t wait for you to come to Him. Go to Confession and then pour out your heart to Him asking Him to help you…He is more ready than you can imagine:)

My prayers for you,
mlz
 
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

If you can attend Eucharistic Adoration, as someone else mentioned, all you need to do is sit there in quiet. You will find peace!
 
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

†

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

†
 
irishman19 said:
My mind wanders during prayer and church service ! I feel hopeless and that I will never get to Heaven. I seem to do better watching mass on the Catholic TV network, but then I feel like I will burn in hell for missing Mass.
Pastor are so hard to see anymore, they are so busy. I have not been to confession for over a year, I just feel like what good will it do, I always fall back into sin. I was brought up in a very devout Catholic family I attended Catholic school 1-6 raised 5 children I and my wife made sure they went to Mass each Sunday and attended CYO, out of the five only two of them practice their faith. I suppose we went wrong some where, all of this has caused me to question my faith… I just don’t understand, I know I love God,I just can’t connect anymore…
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Start by just taking the time to say one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be every day. Try to get to confession. We are all sinners, but God in His infinite mercy and love always welcomes us back. The graces you will trceive from confession will give the strength to pray even more. God bless.
 
Thank you all ! I will try with all my heart to love our Lord JESUS CHRIST…
 
Post #3 says it: practice.

Pray as best as you can. Keep praying.

Say short prayers, when possible. Thank you God for this parking place. Thank you for another day of life. Thank you for this sandwich. Thank you for that beautiful sunset.

I’m in physical therapy, and what was painful and couldn’t be moved, now hurts a lot less and I can move a lot more now – just from practice.

I re-started saying the rosary about ten days ago. I don’t worry about the distractions. I just keep praying.

I have this odd psychological habit, when I say the Our Father and even other prayers I start yawning. It is no coincidence. I think I managed to overcome that problem just this evening, by whispering the prayers out loud. No yawn.

But, as you progress, and feel more comfortable with prayer, you will want to say everything to God. I just pray, I don’t know how long it takes me to go through the list of people that I pray for, especially for those who are sick, even dying.

Just typing those words – I had to stop and say, Please God, I pray for Connie and Tom in their challenging health situation.

There is a separate thread I started about The 6 Constant Mitzvos [commands]. This is a book on Jewish spirituality, and it discusses six commands in the Bible that pertain to every second of the day, not just special situations. When it comes to loving God, that translates into obeying God’s laws and – what else ? – praying. Even with every breath, to say “Baruch HaShem” (barook ha shem) Blessed be the Name of God.

That’s a simple prayer to learn and practice.

I read a non-Catholic book on prayer. One essay said that if a person said no other prayer in their life, they should at least say “Thank You, God.”

Can you say, Thank You, God ?
 
:gopray:

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning is now ever shall be world without end
Amen.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen

:signofcross:
 
Coming from someone who was born and raised Catholic I can say that you and your wife didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t fail them at all. You did the right thing by making them attend mass and participate in CYO. You can only do so much for them though. Once they become adults, etc it is up to them to continue practicing the Catholic faith. Kind of like the saying you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. You can offer your children spiritual guidance, etc, but you can’t make them continue practing the faith. Pray for them as often as you can. God will help them, but ultimately it is up to your children what they will do.

As for your mind wandering I have the same issues. I am easily distracted, especially during mass. For some reason it seems to happen more during church services than any other time. My grandmother always says that it’s the devil trying to distract you in any way that he can.

I would really encourage you to go to confession and maybe even attend mass one time during the week if your schedule allows. Get more involved in your church, bible study, religious classes for adults, etc. Your situation is not uncommon at all.

I will keep you and your family in my prayers
 
If you can’t pray I’ll pray for you.

***Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death
Amen.

:crossrc:***
 
Saint Therese says that God tests our love for Him by taking graces and gifts away that we once had. Do not despair, rejoice, God does this to the ones who love him, so they can come to love God in a more pure form.

My mind wanders too during prayer, and i have to keep it in check at times, sometimes even when i pray i am thinking of something else for the whole duration, but do not become despondent. Like the prayer that Jesus Christ gave to Saint Faustina says, the Divine Mercy at the end:
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.
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Your only human and like every human including myself we are not perfect, so do not despair when these things happen, instead lean on God with the love you have for him because God understands what your going through and loves you all the same, find peace in that.

Also on Confession, please do not deprive yourself of this Gift from God, no matter how despondent i become i know Confession will always be there to relieve me of my failings and burdens.
 
I thank you all for your support and prayer…Perhaps I should stop and thank GOD for folks like yourselves. Sometime a little nudge is all it takes ! I am going to give it a go,I will try and pray for all…
 
irishman19 said:
My mind wanders during prayer and church service ! I feel hopeless and that I will never get to Heaven. I seem to do better watching mass on the Catholic TV network, but then I feel like I will burn in hell for missing Mass.
Pastor are so hard to see anymore, they are so busy. I have not been to confession for over a year, I just feel like what good will it do, I always fall back into sin. I was brought up in a very devout Catholic family I attended Catholic school 1-6 raised 5 children I and my wife made sure they went to Mass each Sunday and attended CYO, out of the five only two of them practice their faith. I suppose we went wrong some where, all of this has caused me to question my faith… I just don’t understand, I know I love God,I just can’t connect anymore…
Click to expand...
If you fall back into sin then you need to repent (no matter how many times this may happen), i.e., where sin is, grace will abound all the more, you must pick yourself up for God knows our frailties, Just, remember, you are victorious through Christ our Saviour, do not give up. He will carry you through.

p.s. Go to mass/church irregardless of what you may feel for there is a fount of grace awaiting you in the Eucharist and reconciliation. Do not allow your present feelings to dictate your life, feelings such as these go away with time.

Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death
Amen.
 
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