Prayer schedule is killing me!

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mymamamary

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Dear Forum

I have a prayer schedule. It includes the Rosary, devotions from BLESSED BE GOD, Sacred Scripture, Sacred HEART CHAPLET and the Imitation of CHRIST, plus IF I can, another chaplet and Praying my own prayers from my heart, plus my standard night prayers that must be said every night

I want to organize myself, but doing these all racks up 2-3 hours a night. I do not have the energy for it, and I am being to be discouraged. I don’t want to give up my devotions and prayers, but When you go to bed at 12 on a school night and wake up at 6-6:40 the next morning, its pretty tiring.

Could I get a huge favor? Could I please get some of you folks here and list them to a schedule, so that I dont lose any of them, but not all of these on one night??

Please help
 
Consult a spiritual director. Maybe you should cut a few things out–don’t let the quantity of your devotions get in the way of the quality of your spiritual life.

-ACEGC
 
Hello,

I’m not really sure how to work around your schedule, but I would like to share my schedule with you. Perhaps it could give you some ideas. On a normal workday here is what I usually do:

Morning Offering
Renewal of consecration to Our Lady and my guardian angel, Angel of God prayer

On the way to work, I usually pray the St. Michael chaplet in my mind.

I attend Mass during lunch break. Before Mass starts, I pray the Rosary. I also make use of this time for personal prayers.

I usually have novenas going on. I either pray them in the morning before I leave for work, or at night before I sleep.
 
Budget an hour a day for devotions, if you have that much time. Assign certain devotions to certain days of the week. For example: Monday - rosary and scripture reading, Tuesday - rosary and another devotion, etc. You get the idea. You can say a mystery of the rosary plus a devotion each day. That should free you to spend quality time with the Lord. He, Himself said that multiplicity of words is not what God wants.
 
Waiting said:
Budget an hour a day for devotions, if you have that much time. Assign certain devotions to certain days of the week. For example: Monday - rosary and scripture reading, Tuesday - rosary and another devotion, etc. You get the idea. You can say a mystery of the rosary plus a devotion each day. That should free you to spend quality time with the Lord. He, Himself said that multiplicity of words is not what God wants.
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I just feel so poor in prayer, I mean, I like to chant. I love to fire up a video on youtube, and chant along, the TE DEUM, Vidi Aquam, Ave Maria etc, you name I love to chant it (Gregorian chant). Sometimes this is all I do. I feel like its “cheap prayer”. I feel I could do better, but dont. Dilemma
 
mymamamary said:
Dear Forum

I have a prayer schedule. It includes the Rosary, devotions from BLESSED BE GOD, Sacred Scripture, Sacred HEART CHAPLET and the Imitation of CHRIST, plus IF I can, another chaplet and Praying my own prayers from my heart, plus my standard night prayers that must be said every night

I want to organize myself, but doing these all racks up 2-3 hours a night. I do not have the energy for it, and I am being to be discouraged. I don’t want to give up my devotions and prayers, but When you go to bed at 12 on a school night and wake up at 6-6:40 the next morning, its pretty tiring.

Could I get a huge favor? Could I please get some of you folks here and list them to a schedule, so that I dont lose any of them, but not all of these on one night??

Please help
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minutes

18 Rosary

05 Blessed be God devotion

05 Scripture reading

08 Sacred Heart Chaplet

02 Immitation of Christ

07 Divine Mercy Chaplet

02 Own Prayers

03 Night prayers​

49 total minutes

I would suggest that you would take a few of these and do them some other time of the day.
Or say them going to/from school, on on brakes.

Try to leave only about 15 minutes left to do at nights.
 
mymamamary said:
I just feel so poor in prayer, I mean, I like to chant. I love to fire up a video on youtube, and chant along, the TE DEUM, Vidi Aquam, Ave Maria etc, you name I love to chant it (Gregorian chant). Sometimes this is all I do. I feel like its “cheap prayer”. I feel I could do better, but dont. Dilemma
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To chant or sing a prayer is to pray twice according to St. Augustine.

This is one of the best and more beautiful ways of praying.
 
I pray all day. Well, sort of.

Nothing complicated; any time I have a free moment (and remember!) I say the Jesus prayer: “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

There are many short prayers, such as the Hail Mary, Oh my Jesus, Glory Be, etc, that you can fit in between thoughts in class. Oh my Jesus is so ingrained in me that I’ll be at “especially those in most need of Your mercy” before I realize it.

I have also heard that you should only work on the Imitation of Christ with the assistance of a spiritual director. Maybe it’s a rumor; maybe not.

You have standard prayers that MUST be said every night? I don’t get it!

I think you are being too hard on yourself. :hug3: And I think you are in real need of a spiritual director, because I get the impression from this and some others of your posts that you might be becoming scrupulous, in the unhealthy sense.

Make an appointment with your priest tomorrow, and take these questions to him!

Praying for you,
 
edward_george said:
Consult a spiritual director. Maybe you should cut a few things out–don’t let the quantity of your devotions get in the way of the quality of your spiritual life.

-ACEGC
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Yes. Besides, we’re not supposed to get hung up on vocal prayer. We’re supposed to be doing mental prayer too in order to advance in the spiritual life. Getting attached to spiritual things is a sin.

I would think a spiritual director, or even a priest who normally doesn’t have the time to do spiritual direction, could help you come up an efficacious prayer life with some spiritual reading that includes mental prayer and also fits with your schedule. This almost sounds like those people who go to the gym and work out on every machine not paying any attention to what they’re actually doing and whether or not it is actually helping them.
 
If you get to the point where you feel like this is a chore, then something definitely has to change. Prayer should be a wonderful time to communicate with God / our Blessed Mother / the saints / angels, and not something that is “killing” you. If you want to pray all of these things, that’s perfectly fine, but maybe just decide on one you want to do in the morning, one in the afternoon, one in the evening, and then all the others can find their places throughout the day if you have a spare few minutes. If you can’t get to them all, don’t beat yourself up about it. I used to do this, too. Now I pray the rosary first thing in the morning, the Angelus at noon, the chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3, an evening prayer at bedtime, and various prayers throughout the day if I have time. It has really helped me to not feel rushed to get all the prayers done and I can focus more on quality rather than quantity. 🙂
 
Prayer for me is a wonderful time, that is exaclty my lament. I have so little time to do it, when I want more. I dont think its a chore, I LOVE PRAYER. However I have so little time to do it, and I want to do so much, that when I go to bed its like 12:00 at midnight and the next morning Im like a zombie when I wake up, and Im getting discouraged.
 
Mymamamary, have you ever heard of the ‘duties of the state of life to which God has called me?’ And that NOT fulfilling those duties used to be listed on exams of conscience as a sin?

You are at school. You must therefore do the work that being at school involves, to the very best of your God-given ability. That is your duty for the time being.

By luxuriating so much in so many pious devotions that you wake up a zombie and (presumably) aren’t able to study to the best of your God-given ability is putting your own will before what God wants for you at this stage of your life.

Think about it. Do God’s will.
 
And remember that it is not the quantity of prayer, but the quality. Sometimes I just love to sit down and listen to God - which is what I struggle with.
 
My suggestion: try the Liturgy of the Hours. You can even chant it (Mudelein Psalter in English, Heures Grégoriennes in Latin or French).

I chant/recite the LOTH daily. Through the entire day it takes me about 90 minutes if chanted, maybe just over an hour recited.

My schedule, roughly: Office of Readings, 6-6:20 am (chanted French monotone)
Lauds, 7-7:20 AM, chanted in Gregorian chant
Terce: 9-9:05 am, recited at work or 9:45-9:55 chanted if working from home.
Sext: 11:45-11:50 AM recited at work or 12:00-12:10 PM chanted if working from home
None: 3-3:05 PM recited at work, 3-3:10 chanted if working from home
Vespers: when I get home from work (varies with commute traffic) 20 minutes or 5 pm if working from home, chanted in Gregorian chant
Compline: 9-9:15 PM chanted.

The effort is spread throughout the day. I don’t take “coffee breaks” at work, instead I take short “prayer breaks” for the LOTH. It helps sanctify the day.
 
paperwight66 said:
Mymamamary, have you ever heard of the ‘duties of the state of life to which God has called me?’ And that NOT fulfilling those duties used to be listed on exams of conscience as a sin?

You are at school. You must therefore do the work that being at school involves, to the very best of your God-given ability. That is your duty for the time being.

By luxuriating so much in so many pious devotions that you wake up a zombie and (presumably) aren’t able to study to the best of your God-given ability is putting your own will before what God wants for you at this stage of your life.

Think about it. Do God’s will.
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Vaild points. If the OP spends so much time in prayer that his school work and grades suffer because of it, he’s not going to get very far in life. All it takes is just a few quiet moments at some time throughout the day to offer one’s prayer intentions for the day, not spending 2-3 hours a night in prayer and losing sleep because of it or worse, having grades slip in school.
 
mymamamary said:
I just feel so poor in prayer, I mean, I like to chant. I love to fire up a video on youtube, and chant along, the TE DEUM, Vidi Aquam, Ave Maria etc, you name I love to chant it (Gregorian chant). Sometimes this is all I do. I feel like its “cheap prayer”. I feel I could do better, but dont. Dilemma
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No praise to God is cheap prayer. If the Lord gave you the gift for chanting, then say your prayers in chant. So long as you act in love, your prayers are beautiful in the eyes of God. Maybe formal prayers are not for you at this stage in your life. Show God the veneration and love in your own way. That way it pleases both you and Him.
 
edward_george said:
Consult a spiritual director. Maybe you should cut a few things out–don’t let the quantity of your devotions get in the way of the quality of your spiritual life.

-ACEGC
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👍

Simplicity is important.

Then one can “add” to ones more simply daily prayer as occasion, desire etc arise
 
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