How can I learn to pray without a rubric

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JimR-OCDS said:
Go here

Poslusney_Centering

Jim
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Centering prayer helps many people to focus on their prayer instead of having their minds distracted in every direction, but it does have some hazards. It is fine to gain knowledge and control of your body in order to quiet yourself and offer yourself to God, but there is always the chance that one will get comfortable in their own skin and never go out to wait at the gate for the Bridegroom. There is a real temptation to start the banquet , with or without Him.
 
For some people, praying is as easy as breathing. For others (I’m one of them), praying is insanely difficult. To actually focus, sit still, word our prayers coherently, it is verrrry difficult. I struggle a lot with it. Even praying with a rubric is tough for me sometimes just because focusing is so hard for me.

My best advice is this:
  1. Pray out loud. I find it much easier for me to get my words out when I’m actually saying them rather than thinking them, otherwise I’m more susceptible for my thoughts to wander elsewhere.
  2. Keep an image near like the Blessed Mother. Feel free to focus on it for awhile, even before you begin praying.
  3. Pray in your own words. When I say that, I mean literally your own words. Many people I know, when they pray, they break pattern and begin speaking in metaphors and poetically – which is absolutely fine, but it doesn’t come easy to some of us to do that. So often, my prayers come out like this;
“Dear God, thank you for all of your blessings. Please help me with XYZ. It’s not easy to accomplish and I’m struggling. Please watch over my family. Please help them with their difficulties. Thank you for today. Amen.”

And sometimes when I am struggling so much in focusing, I beg:

“Mother Mary, I need your help. I can’t pray right now. I can’t get the words out. Please assist me.”

(tip, don’t be afraid to ask Mary for the help – she is eager to).

These are my simple tips. I am the worst prayer warrior if you can even call me that. I’m more like a prayer imp, but that’s not what matters – what matters is that we actually pray. We do it reverently, but honestly. Practice these tips and it may help you a lot – they have me,
 
Centering Prayer is merely resting in the God’s presence, who dwells within. Anything that happens in prayer is because God makes it happen.

St Teresa of Avila referred to it as quiet prayer, but in all prayer, she advocated mental prayer which is being aware of just who you are praying to whenever you pray.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Centering Prayer is merely resting in the God’s presence, who dwells within. Anything that happens in prayer is because God makes it happen.

St Teresa of Avila referred to it as quiet prayer, but in all prayer, she advocated mental prayer which is being aware of just who you are praying to whenever you pray.

Jim
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You’ll agree there are wrong turns to be taken, and it pays to have someone to help you discern what is going on. People can get very upset about something that is not “doing it wrong”–that is, when they go through spiritual dryness–and yet can be oblivious when they are not praying at all but instead learning how to get very psychologically comfortable. I wouldn’t send someone into centering prayer with no orthodox resources.
 
There are enough resources available these days.

The link I provided is one of them.

There are also plenty of priest who do Centering Prayer and understand what novices go through.

Jim
 
Here is a brief introduction by Pope Benedict about St. Alphonsus Liguori’s methods of prayer at reported by the National Catholic Register.

www.ncregister.com

Pope: St. Alphonsus Liguori Teaches Us About Prayer

The Holy Father spoke about the saint on his feast day, Aug. 1.
www.ncregister.com www.ncregister.com

Here is some excerpts from St. Alphonsus’ classic How to Pray at All Times

https://www.ecatholic2000.com/cts/untitled-211.shtml

After reading the excerpts and becoming comfortable with the prayer, you may want to check out his book about praying before the blessed sacrament.

Good Luck. Moving past vocal prayer is an exciting journey. St. Alphonsus will make sure that you don’t reinvent the wheel.
 
My wife used St Alphonsus Liguori’s teaching often.

Like all teachings on prayer, you eventually have to do it yourself and let God take you where He desires.

Jim
 
jdavani said:
Well I want to learn how to pray off the cuff without resorting to common prayers
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Oh, well…you can start to pray always. I mean, look for ways to be grateful…“Lord, that blooming tree, oh, your make such beauty!”…or just to praise Him as something about Him crosses your heart…or see people struggling and say, “Lord, I have this concern for that person. Guide them not toward what I want but toward your holy Will, which is the best for them”…and so on. Get used to responding to whatever crosses your path with one of the modes of prayer: adoration, praise, thanksgiving, petition, contrition. When the time comes to say something out loud that captures the heart of the group you’re in at the moment, quiet yourself for a moment, listen, and then do your best to get out of the way and say only the Holy Spirit gives you.

You’ve been there when others do this. Sometimes it strikes your heart, sometimes it doesn’t. It isn’t a performance. Raise your heart, trust and God will accept whatever little flowers you gather for Him.
 
I agree.

It is exciting seeing someone embarking on a journey to a deeper contact with God. I am a big fan of Theresa of Avila as well. I like her writing style and she has helped me a lot in prayer. I don’t think I would recommend Interior Castles to a beginner, but The Way of Perfection was one of the first books that I read that delved into prayer. I think it is a good starting point as well.
 
Sit before the Monstrance with Jesus in the glass and smile at Him.
 
Praise the Lord that you were asked to lead a prayer. As Catholics, we are taught memorised prayers, so it is not a natural thing for us to say prayers from the heart. Even priests, some of them, I noticed tend to make this type of prayer simple.

It’s like talking to God, so those advice are spot on. However, as you grow in the Lord, you begin to know what to say and pray.

In a prayer group situation, you can observe how your bros and sisters praying, and normally it is centred around those few points.

You may want to include a prayer of thanksgiving - thanking God for the blessing which can just about anything in your situation. That can be followed by a petition, asking God what you want that night in your prayer meeting - like asking for the Holy Spirit to guide and anoint you all or just so that your meeting runs smoothly. Then you can finish by sort of praising God and probably ends with asking Mary for intercession.

That would be quite a lot already and probably covers the things your group want.

You need to be spontaneous and don’t worry too much that you ‘pray wrongly’, you will grow from there.

God bless.
 
jdavani said:
I mean without a Hail Mary or any prescribed prayer that’s already written. I don’t worry I’ll still say my rosary but I just want to learn how to pray more intimately
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When it comes to prayer, you can’t go wrong with St. Teresa of Jesus. She founded the Discalced Carmelite reform (whose charism IS prayer) and is a Doctor of the Church –

“Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us. In order that love be true and the friendship endure, the will of the friends must be in accord.”

" . . . if you would progress a long way on this road and ascent to the Mansions of your desire, the important thing is not to think much, but to love much; do, then, whatever most arouses you to love."
 
Mental prayer is not contemporaneous vocal prayer.

When someone asks for a chicken sandwich, and you keep offering them ham, it can be a bit off-putting.
 
Actually, St Teresa of Avila can be difficult to read, as the members of my OCDS group had shared.

Even she herself stated that she was not good a writing.
She often goes off on tangents and loses the reader before returning to her point.

So, her writings take a little getting use to. The first time I tried, I put it away for I wasn’t getting anything out of her Way of Perfection. Years later, after practicing Contemplative Prayer and joining an OCDS group, the Way of Perfection was our first work to read in formation. It came to life and I read her works throughout.

That being said, I prefer St John of the Cross, who along with Teresa founded the Discalced Carmelites. His writing style is much better, probably because he was better educated. However, the Living Flame of Love, became my favorite work by St John.

Either saint, it’s good to have some resources to help.

Fr Thomas Dubay did a good job in his book, “The Fire Within.”

In all, God leads, we follow. So, there are some souls who will be better fed through other works. A favorite of mine from my early days before Carmel was, "Francis: The Journey and the Dream, " by Murray Bodo O.F.M It was my first taste of contemplative practice.

Jim
 
Yes it is in the case of the Rosary. I would suggest reading The Secret of the Rosary but St. Louis de Monfort. He explains it really well.
 
That is a formal, memorized prayer.

I’m pretty sure our original poster is asking about extemporaneous vocal prayer.
 
Oh yes.

Well, I’ve given him a source explaining how to practice mental prayer.
 
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