Describing prayer, St. Therese of Lisieux wrote,
For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.
There are, I’m sure, tens of thousands of books written on prayer. In creating this blog, I believe my task is to provide you with simple explanations, and then point those who wish to go further on to other sources.
So, just what is prayer? According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, prayer is
“a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God.” (CCC #2558)
“is a vital necessity.” (CCC #2744) Prayer is the lifeblood of your faith. Without prayer, your faith will die.
If you’re serious about developing a prayer life, you have to make a fundamental commitment to Jesus. This process is called conversion. For conversion to occur, one must have:
- A love for God
- A desire to do His will
- An openness to make changes so that your life is conformed to His.
Prayer is always a work in progress. In order to grow in our prayer life, we need to be committed to working on our relationship with God. It is not easy. But the Holy Spirit will guide you, if you let Him.
In fact, asking for the Holy Spirit’s help is the first step in prayer.
—-more to come!
