U
Unique
Guest
Is it normal to sit/kneel in a quiet church? What do you say/pray? How should you feel or react? What do you try to take from such an experience? Who do you share it with or talk about it with? 
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Trishie
Guest
When you go into the church, you can bless yourself with holy water, and its usual for us to genuflect on the right knee, (the knee to the floor, or nearly) in reverence to the true Presence of Jesus.
Whether you kneel or sit in a quiet church by yourself is up to you.
Depending on the type of kneeler, whether padded or not, you might become more aware of hurting knees than praying.
You are likely to receive different answers, and need to discern what is right for you.
I kneel for a little while, and then sit if Iām spending a longer with the Lord.
I sit near the Tabernacle, (because Iād not be sitting at the back of the room, Iād want to be near him, so for me thatās the honest thing to do. I only can be me, just as you can only be you.
I talk to Jesus as if we were in the same place together, which we are. If Iām absolutely sure Iām alone, I even sometimes sing a few meaningful hymns.
Otherwise I talk to Him in my mind/heart as I would if I could see Him and we are sitting at at table together (as He did with His Mother, His apostles, His friends, like Mary and Martha, and Lazarus.)
When I ask his assistance for family, friends, the world, the Church, me, I do so in that way.
Basically if you prefer to say the Rosary, or any formal and meditative prayer, thatās great. Your relationship with God is yours, uniquely and preciously.
I donāt usually talk to anyone about it, in answer to your question. Iām only saying it now because youāre asking,
and I know others will have perspective that may be more appropriate for you regarding praying in a quiet church by yourself.
(A joke by GK Chesterton comes to mind. Iāll share it in a minute.)
I cant say what you should be feeling, or what to take away.
Talking and being with One who loves us so much, and whom we loveā¦yes, itās a good feeling, youāve being with loved family, and our Savior. I feel peaceful, and thankful.
Bottom line, I pray in the way with the reverence and love that suits my nature, but doesnāt cross anyoneās boundaries if no one else is present to disturb.
What experience to take out of it? Not looking for any really. Itās enough to have spent time in His presence.
Chestertonās joke.
A man on a London bus became aware that Chesterton was praying quietly from a prayerbook whilst traveling, The man announced loudly to him in censure, āWhen I pray, I go quietly into my room and pray to the Father without displaying my piety to anyone.ā
Chesterton, who had a mischievous sense of humor, replied,
āAnd then you get on the top of a London bus and tell the world about it!ā
Yeah well I just did.
however Iām sure youāll get some great responses, I just thought this might conceivably help you, because who knows what kind of prayerfulness will be right for you.
Whether you kneel or sit in a quiet church by yourself is up to you.
Depending on the type of kneeler, whether padded or not, you might become more aware of hurting knees than praying.
You are likely to receive different answers, and need to discern what is right for you.
I kneel for a little while, and then sit if Iām spending a longer with the Lord.
I sit near the Tabernacle, (because Iād not be sitting at the back of the room, Iād want to be near him, so for me thatās the honest thing to do. I only can be me, just as you can only be you.
I talk to Jesus as if we were in the same place together, which we are. If Iām absolutely sure Iām alone, I even sometimes sing a few meaningful hymns.
Otherwise I talk to Him in my mind/heart as I would if I could see Him and we are sitting at at table together (as He did with His Mother, His apostles, His friends, like Mary and Martha, and Lazarus.)
When I ask his assistance for family, friends, the world, the Church, me, I do so in that way.
Basically if you prefer to say the Rosary, or any formal and meditative prayer, thatās great. Your relationship with God is yours, uniquely and preciously.
I donāt usually talk to anyone about it, in answer to your question. Iām only saying it now because youāre asking,
and I know others will have perspective that may be more appropriate for you regarding praying in a quiet church by yourself.
(A joke by GK Chesterton comes to mind. Iāll share it in a minute.)
I cant say what you should be feeling, or what to take away.
Talking and being with One who loves us so much, and whom we loveā¦yes, itās a good feeling, youāve being with loved family, and our Savior. I feel peaceful, and thankful.
Bottom line, I pray in the way with the reverence and love that suits my nature, but doesnāt cross anyoneās boundaries if no one else is present to disturb.
What experience to take out of it? Not looking for any really. Itās enough to have spent time in His presence.
Chestertonās joke.
A man on a London bus became aware that Chesterton was praying quietly from a prayerbook whilst traveling, The man announced loudly to him in censure, āWhen I pray, I go quietly into my room and pray to the Father without displaying my piety to anyone.ā
Chesterton, who had a mischievous sense of humor, replied,
āAnd then you get on the top of a London bus and tell the world about it!ā
Yeah well I just did.
however Iām sure youāll get some great responses, I just thought this might conceivably help you, because who knows what kind of prayerfulness will be right for you.
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U
Unique
Guest
@Trishie Thank you for your response. I donāt know whatās right for me or even how to go about it. Itās very foreign to me despite being Catholic all my life.
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Annie
Guest
One way of praying in front of the Tabernacle is to have a book of prayers for a holy hour. I have one I really love to the Sacred Heart, itās a pamphlet, so easy to carry with me. (link to text posted at end).
A lot of people will pray the set prayers until they come across something which they might want to talk more with Jesus about.
What I have read is that if we are praying set prayers and something strikes us, then we should move into meditative prayer. (This has happened to me.) (Link to article below, or look up Fr Ripperger on mental prayer on Youtube if you prefer to listen.) Vocal prayer, where we recite set prayers is only the first of 9 levels of prayer, so we want to pray mentally as well, so we can grow more.
Getting back to books with holy hours in them, this is a good help when we are starting out, and even (I imagine) when we are further along. There are old books online in Googlebooks, and in pdf format, and there are lots of in-print books and pamphlets.
www.sacredheartlegion.com
Here is something I found just now but have not read: http://www.thegregorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/How_to_Pray_a_Holy_Hour.pdf
A lot of people will pray the set prayers until they come across something which they might want to talk more with Jesus about.
What I have read is that if we are praying set prayers and something strikes us, then we should move into meditative prayer. (This has happened to me.) (Link to article below, or look up Fr Ripperger on mental prayer on Youtube if you prefer to listen.) Vocal prayer, where we recite set prayers is only the first of 9 levels of prayer, so we want to pray mentally as well, so we can grow more.
Getting back to books with holy hours in them, this is a good help when we are starting out, and even (I imagine) when we are further along. There are old books online in Googlebooks, and in pdf format, and there are lots of in-print books and pamphlets.
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www.sacredheartlegion.com
The Practice of Mental Prayer
Editors Introduction: This is the transcription of a talk that Brother AndrĆ© gave at the 2003 Saint Joseph Forum Conference. The talk is available on CD or MP3. I. Introduction ā Why this topic? Asā¦
catholicism.org
Here is something I found just now but have not read: http://www.thegregorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/How_to_Pray_a_Holy_Hour.pdf
A
Annie
Guest
And additionally, prayer is foreign to us! so we have to āpracticeā it a lot to get good at it. So donāt listen to the voices which tell you that you are not good at it, that it is weird, that it is not helpful, etc. and just persevere.
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Mary_Ellen
Guest
Sitting or kneeling is fine - I sit because I have bad knees.
I pray vocal prayers (pre-written, not necessarily said out loud) such as the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, the Psalms, other prayers I know or from books. I read and reflect on Bible passages or other writings. I may sit quietly in mental prayer (my own words or quiet prayer).
I donāt expect to feel anything specific when I pray, in a church or anywhere else. I focus on the God of consolations, not on the consolations of God.
I expect to take little if anything from the experience. God is due my time and attention. If I learn something from the Scripture or other writings I may read, thatās great. If some revelation about my life comes to mind when meditating on a mystery of the Rosary, thatās just fine, too, but I donāt expect it. Maybe I do expect to calm myself a bit, to center a bit, to re-focus on whatās important in life (God) but thatās not what I focus on.
I donāt share a lot with anyone about anything but sometimes Iāll share an insight with my best friend or, more rarely, with a priest.
Be at peace.
I pray vocal prayers (pre-written, not necessarily said out loud) such as the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, the Psalms, other prayers I know or from books. I read and reflect on Bible passages or other writings. I may sit quietly in mental prayer (my own words or quiet prayer).
I donāt expect to feel anything specific when I pray, in a church or anywhere else. I focus on the God of consolations, not on the consolations of God.
I expect to take little if anything from the experience. God is due my time and attention. If I learn something from the Scripture or other writings I may read, thatās great. If some revelation about my life comes to mind when meditating on a mystery of the Rosary, thatās just fine, too, but I donāt expect it. Maybe I do expect to calm myself a bit, to center a bit, to re-focus on whatās important in life (God) but thatās not what I focus on.
I donāt share a lot with anyone about anything but sometimes Iāll share an insight with my best friend or, more rarely, with a priest.
Be at peace.
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