Daily Spiritual Practice

[Jimbo9889]

I try to have a time set to prayers during the Morning and the Evening. I kind of created my own prayer “rule” if you will, involving about 5 Daily Prayers, 2 Spiritual Readings, and 1 Prayer Unique to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday:

(1) Morning Offering of the Brown Scapular -
(2) Morning and Evening Prayers to the Holy Spirit (also contains Our Father, Hail Mary, recitation of the Creed) -
(3) The Little Office of the BVM -
(4) Short Prayer from the 1962 Missal -
(5) Litany Reading/Prayer to BVM, Sacred of Jesus, or Holy Name of Jesus from the '62 Missal -
(6) Spiritual Reading from “A Year With The Church Fathers” -
(7) Spiritual Reading from “Divine Intimacy” -
(8) If Friday, Then The Rosary in Offering Up to Enemy Love; If Saturday Evening, Then Preparation for Holy Mass; If Sunday, Then Continued Preparation for Mass in the Morning and Vespers and Compline Prayers after Mass.

My issue here is that I feel that all of this necessary but at the same time another part of me feels its too time consuming and demands more than my station in life would require to show devotion. Yet at the same time I feel like as if I weren’t to do all of this I would be missing something. I was thinking that if in trying to save time, [unless I really undeniably or spontaneously intuit the need to pray it] I would have this modified prayer “rule” instead:

(1) Morning Offering of the Brown Scapular -
(2) Morning and Evening Prayers to the Holy Spirit (also contains Our Father, Hail Mary, recitation of the Creed) -
(3) The Little Office of the BVM -
(4) Spiritual Reading from “A Year With The Church Fathers” -
(5) Spiritual Reading from “Divine Intimacy” -
(6) If Friday, Then The Rosary in Offering Up to Enemy Love and Forgiveness; If Saturday Evening, Then Preparation for Holy Mass; If Sunday, Then Continued Preparation for Mass in the Morning and Vespers and Compline Prayers after Mass.

I wear the Laymen’s Brown Scapular being Part of the Brown Scapular Confraternity, so (#1) seems necessary to me. Praying from the The Paraclete (#2) seems important to me as well as would Praying the Little Office of the BVM (#3) since its a part of the Confraternity Promise. The Spiritual Readings from “Divine Intimacy” and “A Year with the Church Fathers” (#4 & 5) serve as a kind of Self-Reflection of the Day and Prayerful Requests too. Typically the end of the Week means a lot to people of all the Monotheistic/Abrahamic Faiths and for Christians, Friday often is the day of the Lords Suffering, Saturday is a day to wind down on the world and its concerns to begin focusing and preparing for the next day, Sunday is Mass which ought to be marked with the highest number of Prayers and Devotions. (#6)

 

[Windmill]

I’d recommend having a priest dispense you from the obligation to pray the LOBVM and let you pray the Rosary instead (this is a common practice), then I’d just do Compline (1962 BR) before bed. Anything else can be gravy, but stick with those two as staples. That will keep you on schedule with the liturgical cycle but not over-obligate you. If you have extra time in the day, you can add something like the daily reading, but if you don’t have time, at least you’ve stayed faithful to the standard.

I’ve gone through this type of prayer pattern too, and it is too rigorous for a layman in the world. We aren’t called to be monks. You would be neglecting your vocation.

 

[Jennifoo]

Hi there Jimbo 9889. It’s great that you’re so sincere about growing in faith and your prayer life. It’s obvious that you’ve thought about this a lot.
I’m a Lay Carmelite, and I may be able to help. In our Rule, which is for lay people like you and me, we are advised to pray every day, keeping it realistic to our daily responsibilities and we seek a balance between liturgical prayer and devotions. My suggestion would be to pray the Liturgy of the Hours instead of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That’s what we do. It is very challenging to learn, but worth it. It is far more varied that the LOBVM. You don’t have to pray each office- most lay people pray Morning and Evening Prayer, plus Office of Readings and Night Prayer.
As for meditations, it’s important to choose a resource that is neither too long or too short, and really helps you. I recently purchased Benedictus and LOVE IT!! The meditations are perfect length, thought-provoking, eloquent, plus it has gorgeous artwork and ribbon markers. Pope Benedict XVI’s writings are fantastic.
As for devotions,it’s important to keep it simple. The Rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and Stations of the Cross are excellent and proven over the centuries. Also, when praying the Rosary don’t crowd it with extraneous vocal prayers- vocal prayer should never dominate the Rosary as meditation on the life of Christ is the main focus. Keep those extra prayers for some other time, like when you’re driving, waiting in line at the store, at the DMV, etc.
My last suggestion is to remember the importance of silence in your prayer life. You can have silence at home, in your car, plus when taking a walk. Be still and know that God is God and He loves you.
Pax Christi, hope this helps:p

 

[LilyM]

How long do these devotions take you each day? And in general what are the other obligations you have - full time or part time work? Full time or part time study? Care of children?

It’s impossible to say whether you’re doing too much without knowing these things.

 

[Jimbo9889]

Thank You for replies, while specific people asked me questions, the comments and answers will be able addressed without mention to those specific people, no offense:

1. So pray Rosary in the Morning and Compline at Night? I have the '62 Missal, but when I look for Compline Prayers they are only for Sunday, is it possible to Pray these Sunday Compline Prayers before going to sleep at night even on other days? I would also do an examination of Conscience then as well.
2. I am a Part-Time Worker in Retail whose hours vary on a week by week basis, and Full-Time Student. The Original Devotion “Rule” I made for myself could take an Hour in the morning and an Hour in the evening before going to bed, but in all honesty I think it would be better for me if I made my prayer rule an Hour in the whole day: 30 Mins in the Morning; 30 Mins in the Evening, and if most of my Prayer time is spent not vocal but contemplative.

Perhaps my morning prayer rule ought to look like this:

10 Minutes in Vocal/Preparatory Prayer (Morning Offering of the Brown Scapular - Morning Prayers from “The Paraclete” - Spiritual Reading from “A Year With The Church Fathers” & “Divine Intimacy”)

X Minutes in Mental/Contemplative Prayer (Pray The Rosary)

Perhaps my evening prayer rule ought to look like this:

20 Minutes in Vocal/Preparatory Prayer (Evening Prayers from “The Paraclete” - Spiritual Re-reading from “A Year With The Church Fathers” & “Divine Intimacy” - Litany to The Holy Name of Jesus and The Virgin Mother

X Minutes in Mental/Contemplative Prayer (Jesus Prayer on Eastern Christian Prayer Rope)