Question about traditional prayers

[texasag7599]

I am in RCIA right now and I am trying to become quite traditional in my personal worship. I’m trying to keep older obligations and meatless Fridays and such.

Anyway, I have built a little home altar and I am trying to pray all the traditional prayers.

My problem is that at times, it seems I am doing more reading and reciting than I am building my relationship with God. Any ideas on how to keep the traditional prayers and still talk to God on a personal level?

 

[jmcrae]

I am in RCIA right now and I am trying to become quite traditional in my personal worship. I’m trying to keep older obligations and meatless Fridays and such.

Anyway, I have built a little home altar and I am trying to pray all the traditional prayers.

My problem is that at times, it seems I am doing more reading and reciting than I am building my relationship with God. Any ideas on how to keep the traditional prayers and still talk to God on a personal level?

You could intersperse extemporaneous prayers in between your more formal prayers, or else pray extemporaneously before and after your set of formal prayers.

What I do with the kids is, in the evening before bed, we recite together some prayers that we wrote ourselves, followed by the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, which is then followed by each of us mentioning in our own words whatever intentions we want to pray for. We use the Sign of the Cross at the beginning and at the end. From time to time (not as regularly as I’d like), we also pray the Rosary, which includes the Creed, the Fatima prayer, the Hail Holy Queen, O God Whose only begotten Son, Saint Michael the Archangel, and the prayers to our Patron Saints. We start each decade with the children’s personal intentions, as well.

 

[bpbasilphx]

\My problem is that at times, it seems I am doing more reading and reciting than I am building my relationship with God.\

**The two most important things in prayer are INTENTION and ATTENTION.

Even if you are using prayers from a prayerbook, do you intend to pray? And are you trying to pay attention to the words?**

 

[WarriorofJesus]

I am in RCIA right now and I am trying to become quite traditional in my personal worship. I’m trying to keep older obligations and meatless Fridays and such.

Anyway, I have built a little home altar and I am trying to pray all the traditional prayers.

My problem is that at times, it seems I am doing more reading and reciting than I am building my relationship with God. Any ideas on how to keep the traditional prayers and still talk to God on a personal level?

You can still keep the traditional prayers and talk to God in a personal level. You can talk to God personally and tell him your problems or satisfactions and offer him those traditional prayers as thanking him or pleading for him to help you. In other words, you can talk to God personally when having a problem and say, "Lord, please help me with this problem…(you talk to God about your problem)…and accept these prayers that I offer to you so that you can solve my problem…Then from there, you can pray the traditional prayers to God. That is my idea on how to balance the traditional prayers with your personal prayers. I hope this helps and good luck!

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

My problem is that at times, it seems I am doing more reading and reciting than I am building my relationship with God. Any ideas on how to keep the traditional prayers and still talk to God on a personal level?

A very traditional form of prayer is lectio divina. Perhaps this is the type of prayer you’re looking for. See valyermo.com/ld-art.html for more information.

 

[heathernoel]

Pray the words, then talk to Him about what it means to you.

For example, the “Our Father” takes on a whole new meaning when you start discussing it with Him. Just be sure to listen.

As an aside, one of my friends who was just confirmed went to Reconciliation, and as penance, was asked to repeat the “Our Father” to himself three times. He said it was SO brutally hard, but when he was done, he ended up in an hour long discussion with Him.

Amazing!!