I converted to Catholicism on Easter Vigil this year. I’m very excited about the Church and my conversion and God has blessed me with amazing signs and grace. I think that I excel at the intellectual aspects of the Church like reading and interpreting the Bible, understanding doctrine and theology, etc. I think that I also am fairly adept at some of the more meditative aspects like Eucharistic Adoration since I learned some secular and Buddhist meditation techniques while I was searching and wandering. I can get into a deep meditative state fairly well. However, I haven’t actually prayed much in a long time, specifically vocal prayers, asking for blessing for myself and others, for the Church etc. I’m a bit overwhelmed by the richness and complexity of the prayer life of the Church. Ultimately, I think this richness is a good thing! But, I think it makes it hard for a beginner to know where to start. I’d like to make prayer a good habit, something that I do every day and do it from the heart. I say the rosary sometimes, but sometimes that can feel a bit too rote and I get into a more or less hypnotic state. Can anyone offer advice on how to get into good prayer practice?
If I were you, I’d start simply, with saying an “Our Father” once in the morning and once at night. This is the prayer given to us by Jesus Himself, and, if you take the prayer seriously, the most powerful prayer on the planet.
It praises God (Our Father, Who art in Heaven hallowed be thy name), tells Him that you want to do His will (thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven), asks him for our daily needs (give us today our daily bread), forgiveness (and forgive us our trespasses), help for forgiving others (as we forgive those who trespass against us), and help in avoiding sin and all things that lead us to sin (and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil).
Everything you could ever ask for in a prayer is in the “Our Father”.
Say the prayer slowly and prayerfully, listening to the words as you say them. Eventually, you may feel called to add prayers (such as the Hail Mary & Glory Be), and meditative prayers (such as the rosary - by the way, it’s designed to be meditative and draw you out of yourself. That’s why it’s so rote. I mentioned a year or so ago on a different thread that the purpose of Catholic meditation is to focus on God, while the purpose of Eastern meditative practices is to focus on the inner self or nothingness, depending on the tradition), but each person is called to pray differently.
Regardless, though, the most important part of the prayer life of the Church is
going to Mass each Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation (and more often, if possible), and frequent Confession and reception of the Holy Eucharist.
