As Saint Josemaría Escrivá said, “A Catholic without prayer is the same as a soldier without arms.”
In addition to the great treasure the Church offers us in the sacraments, Catholic Tradition provides various devotional practices to help us in our daily walk of faith.
Here are five beautiful prayer habits to keep your faith alive throughout the day:
1. Morning Prayer
A great way to start the day is by offering it to God, entrusting to the Lord our activities, and asking for the grace to carry them out well. You can use any prayer you like, present your own intentions, or even pray the Liturgy of the Hours.
Here’s one example of a Morning Offering prayer.
2. Spiritual Reading
One of the best spiritual reading options is the Gospels and the Daily Liturgy, but you can also read homilies, books about the lives of the saints, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Thus, by knowing more about faith, growing in friendship with God is possible. In general, 15 minutes is recommended to start, but you can increase it as your spiritual life develops.
3. Mental Prayer
Saint Teresa of Avila said, “Prayer is not thinking much but loving much,” so don’t see this moment as a list of petitions or memorized things you need to say.
Use this moment to talk to God as a friend, presenting your life, pains, joys, struggles, dreams, and family.
God loves you and listens to you. Even though He already knows what you are going through, He likes to hear from you. This can also take about 15 minutes, and you can increase as it becomes more natural for you.
4) Pray the Rosary
On the eve of His death on the Cross, Jesus, looking at his beloved disciple John, gave him Mary as his mother, and thus, all of us, his disciples, also received her as our mother.
She is a short and safe path to God, as she knows how to obey the Father’s will like no one else.
Therefore, being close to her makes us want to be faithful to God and walk towards holiness. As Mother and Teacher, she wants to take care of us and lead us to Heaven.
5) Examination of Conscience
No matter how much we struggle with sin during the day, we often hurt God’s heart with our attitudes, thoughts, and omissions.
Therefore, the moment before going to sleep is an excellent opportunity to come before God with our weaknesses, ask for forgiveness, and make the intention of trying to be better tomorrow.
Let us remember: God always forgives us, we are the ones who tire of asking for forgiveness. It’s always time to start over!
