Spiritual Resolution Reading to share for 2007

[StephanieC]

Hi~
I’ve come across some good “jump-start” reading for my resolution of really dedicating myself to my prayer life this year. Thought maybe others might appreciate it as well. I’ll quote a bit from each so you can get the flavor of each essay before you click on the link.

Giving God Twenty: How to Start a Real Prayer Life

…SIMPLY SIMPLE
Thousands of books have been written on the subject of prayer, and I know you may have the impression that contemplative prayer is complicated, difficult, and only for nuns and monks hidden away in monasteries. Nothing could be further from the truth. Silent prayer is for everyone. Anyone can do it. You can get started right away–today, in fact–and within a few days or weeks, rise to a steady and high level of union with God…

The Seven Daily Habits of Holy Apostolic People

…There are various ways to come to know Jesus. We are going to speak briefly about some of them in this article. You want to come to know, love and serve Jesus the same way you learn to love and stay in love with anybody: your spouse, family members, and close friends, i.e. by spending a considerable amount of time with him on a regular and, in this case, daily basis. The payoff, if you will, is the only true happiness in this life and the vision of God in the next. There are no easy substitutes. Sanctification is a work of a lifetime and it requires our determined effort to cooperate with God’s sanctifying grace coming through the sacraments.
The seven daily habits that I propose to you are the morning offering, spiritual reading (New Testament and a spiritual book suggested to you by your spiritual advisor), the Holy Rosary, Holy Mass and Communion, at least fifteen minutes of mental prayer, the recitation of the Angelus at noon, and a brief examination of conscience at night…

Happy reading & Happy New Year!

 

[Alison]

The second article is written by Father John McCloskey. I was just reading what you referenced and I knew he had to be an Opus Dei priest because he was sharing what lay persons of opus dei commit to doing everyday! That is so awesome. Thanks for this Steph. Love,

-Alison

 

[Princess_Abby]

Stephanie, thank you so much for posting this. What an answer to a prayer of my own! I have struggled so much over the years to maintain a satisfying daily prayer life. I like structure and it seems that these articles might be a source of great guidance. Thanks!

 

[StephanieC]

The second article is written by Father John McCloskey. I was just reading what you referenced and I knew he had to be an Opus Dei priest because he was sharing what lay persons of opus dei commit to doing everyday! That is so awesome. Thanks for this Steph. Love,

-Alison

Yep, that’s him. (I probly should have credited the authors in my OP, but their names are in the links)

There’s something I really appreciate about St. Escriva’s bluntness. It hurts, but it helps!

 

[StephanieC]

Stephanie, thank you so much for posting this. What an answer to a prayer of my own! I have struggled so much over the years to maintain a satisfying daily prayer life. I like structure and it seems that these articles might be a source of great guidance. Thanks!

Oh, you’re welcome! I wish I could say I had a good prayer life pre-childbirth, but I’d be lying. Post-child, it really took a nosedive & only in the past several months have I been able to (with God’s grace!) re-establish a semblance of rhythm or routine.

I like the motivational pep-talk style of both articles, too.

Just to share/sidenote: I went to a talk last month & the speaker asked us to think about our spiritual life a year ago (Dec.'05) and compare it to now ('06)–was there any growth? Ouch! That lit a fire under my butt to get busy & see what growth develops by Dec. 07…

 

[tcraig]

I found The Seven Daily Habits of Holy Apostolic People about a month ago, and decided to make acquiring all of the habits my New Year’s resolution.

Since it’s been shown to take about 28 days to firmly establish something new as a habit, I decided to implement one item each month. This month (January) I’m concentrating on 15 minutes of Scripture reading a day. By adding and concentrating on just one thing each month, I won’t get overwhelmed and give up.

Of course, there were things that I was already doing on a fairly regular basis - i.e. praying the rosary, nightly examination of conscience, etc. But my goal is to incorporate all seven habits into an organized, cohesive whole.

I feel very excited for 2007, as it’s the first time that I feel as if I’ve got a “game plan” to implement!

 

[StephanieC]

Tcraig,
That’s very exciting!
You are wise to start small & systematically. I wish I were that disciplined, to be able to add monthly; instead, I’ll probably just get back on my horse & tackle as many of the steps as I possibly can.
In any case, Here’s to 2007!