One of the things that newcomers often don’t realize is that liturgical prayer isn’t for the ‘right now’ when you are enthusiastic and filled with consolation and the ‘feeling’ of the presence of God in your life. You harness the enthusiasm now to build a habit and a structure of prayer that will help you get through the inevitable dry times that will come.
Yes, exactly and not just the dry times but when your faith is under attack as well, like when life suddenly deals you a rough hand.
When my MIL’s 4th child (3rd son) was 3, he was diagnosed with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. She was told that he would become increasingly disabled to the point where he could do nothing for himself and die at about 16. The family was in New York City, not their home town, to see the specialist who made the diagnosis. She was quite understandably distressed so she went to confession at a nearby church. The priest told her that her son was sick and was going to die because she was a sinful woman, that the boy was being punished for her sins.* Needless to say, this is wrong but coming from the priest, it was a severe blow to someone already suffering. It was not just what the priest said. My FIL could not handle it and retreated into the bottle and although he continued to supply the income, he left her to carry all the responsibility for caring for the family on her own.
It was the ritual that kept her going. She told me that if she had not had the ritual to fall back on, she would have lost her faith altogether. In many ways, she found the ritual comforting, perhaps the only way she could meet God in her life the way it was when her children were small.
- No, he was not afflicted because of her or anyone else’s sins but that the glory of God might shine forth, which it did from his witness, but that’s another story.
QUOTE:
toshia_t: I miss just talking to Him without feeling like I did everything wrong in my expression of faith.
As Allweather said, it is not an either/or situation. You can still ‘just talk’ to Him. You can pray anytime, not just at Mass. In fact, it is recommended and encouraged. If you are blessed with being able to ‘just talk’ to Him, don’t stop. He said, “Pray without ceasing.”
Don’t worry so much about making the correct ritual movement or prayer at the correct time at Mass. I am a convert so I know how bewildering it seems at first. But it does make sense and come naturally after a while.
Are you going to RCIA? If you are, ask about the various postures and gestures at Mass and what they mean and why we do them when we do. It may be ritual but it is certainly not mindless, nor empty. Here is a link about postures and gestures.
usccb.org/liturgy/girm/bul3.shtml
and another
stcyril.org/posture.html
Here is a specific ‘for instance’
fisheaters.com/sign.html
Quote:
Yet another is the series of three small Crosses traced by the thumb of the right hand – one small Cross on the forehead, one small Cross on the lips, and one small Cross on the breast – just before the Gospel reading at Mass. The sign on the forehead is to show that we believe the Gospel, the sign on the lips is to show that we respect the Gospel and desire to spread the Good News, and the sign on our breast is to show that we love the Gospel and want it kept in our hearts.
