I am very curious about your lessons on prayer and
reflection.
- How often do you do it?
- Is it conversational for formal?
- Is it explicitly with your God or higher entity, or more general, a reflective discussion with yourself, or both?
- What do you most often say or do?
- What's your habit when there's a "big moment" coming in the next week, day, hour, or most importantly, in the next minute?
- I would often start a day, or go into a stressful moment by whispering, "Dear God, I pray I am with you in the baptism of today." Baptism refers more to the act of plunging into a depth of water. The idea being, in my view God is always with me, but I may have a tendency to go it alone when I get stressed. The poem Footsteps in the Sand made me ponder this notion years ago.
- Are there phrases that slip out of your mouth in good times and also in bad that you would share?
- When I went to college and was wowed by a good looking girl (happened very, very often) I discovered myself saying, "Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God." Why three times? I don't know. I have since expanded it to the many things that mystify me - my boys, great food, an exquisite moment with someone or some people, etc.
But at my age I
am pretty set in my ways, hence the desire to expand, hard as it will be. I am
curious, how can I do it better?
More questions…
What do you find
"works for you" in terms of prayer and reflection?
- Is there a cadence: weekly, daily, hourly or other?
- Is it spoken, or more done in written form?
- Is there a time of day - mornings, end of day, something else?
- Do you pray or reflect alone or with someone, or more than one person?
- Do you follow the traditions of one of the formalized religions? If so, what do you like to do?
- Do you have set prayers akin to the ones Catholics use?
- Or do you have a different focus like Life, Mother Earth, or some higher being you choose. Again, how does that come to life?
Some of my own observations
I'm NOT spending too much time praying
I find it's easy
to think I am over investing my time into prayer. But is that true?
- The other day I challenged myself to look at the numbers, "Abe, in 24 hours how much time are you talking about? Okay so let's look at the data." I have timed myself saying the Catholic Rosary. On my own I can complete it in 17 minutes. Yes that's zippy - - one may say too zippy. But, it's only 1.1% of a 24 hour period. Seriously? 1.1% of a day is over investing?
There's goodness in informal and formal approaches
Yes, I do have
fleeting comments to God all day long, every day. About worries, victories and
mysteries. This started perhaps at 10 years of age, I think. That's why I like
and the quote by Elliott in the prior posting,
Dear God, I think about you
sometimes even when I am not praying… Elliott
Yet, there's a
power to setting aside time.. to "pray." Full on. No distractions.
Some memorized
prayers are my favorite as they are so well written. Akin to an elegant,
concise, & articulate poem.
But canned
prayers carry risk: they let me day dream. Of grocery lists. Laundry. A joke by
Trevor Noah. So many things. So I read the prayers out loud even though I know them by
heart - it seems to help a lot to focus my mind.
One counter to
day dreaming (if you can find ways to minimize this tendency) are that the
benefits of prayer are very similar to mindful meditation. You have a focus,
and then you lose it. You regain it. Each time you regain it, it's akin to
lifting weights and building muscle. In this case, of your mindfulness.
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From Rome - it still has the fragrance of roses after 3 years
Copyright 2020 Abe Pachikara
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Close-up of the necklace
Copyright 2020 Abe Pachikara
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My Aunt Valsa brought this from Lourdes, France
Copyright 2020 Abe Pachikara
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In this space is some of the holy water of Lourdes
Copyright 2020 Abe Pachikara
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A new habit: The Catholic Rosary
I find prayer needs to be a habit. Twyla Tharp, in her excellent book, "The Creative Habit" mentions that you don't negotiate with your habits. For decades she has woken up at 5:45 am, changed, hopped in the cab and headed to the dances studio. Boom.
To my surprise, I discovered, or created, a non-negotiable habit: the Catholic Rosary. Frankly, it seemed too much to do daily. The ~20
mins sounds like forever.
Now, due to my cancer treatment, we invited others to join, and join daily.
Inviting others took away my chance to negotiate with myself. Later? Earlier?
What about dinner? Etc., etc. All of that went away.
We meet via Zoom
at 6 pm PST. That let's folks in other time zones in the US join.
The varying lag
times for the audio is not ideal. Yet, there's magic in doing it together. I
cannot pin down exactly why.
I am still pretty
new to a Rosary - I have done it partially right / wrong for decades. Here's a
cryptic summary followed by the prayers, as an FYI:
A = Apostle's
Creed
O = Our Father
H = Hail Mary
G = Glory Be
My = Mysteries -
said before each "decade"
M = Memorare
HHQ = Hail Holy
Queen
P = Prayer to St.
Peregrine, Patron Saint of Cancer
The overall flow
of the prayers is as follows:
- Apostle's Creed, Our Father, 3 Hail Mary's, then Glory Be. That is: A,O,H,H,H,G. I like to say a possible Aramaic version of Our Father for this instance. See below.
- Then 5 "decades" of: declaring one mystery based on the day of week, then 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Mary's, and a Glory Be. That is: My, O,H,H,H,H,H,H,H,H,H,H,G
- Ending with Memorare, Hail Holy Queen and St. Peregrine: M, HHQ, P
Two points on
"how" it is carried out:
- Text in black is what the person leading a section says, text in blue is said by everyone else.
- Each decade can and usually is said by a new person
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Apostles'
Creed
I believe in God, the father
almighty, creator of heaven and earth,
I believe in Jesus Christ, his
only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the
living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Our Father
ARAMAIC VERSION (Not sure of the veracity of this
but I like it and say it for the 1st instance)
"Oh Thou, from whom the
breath of life comes,
who fills all realms of sound,
light and vibration.
May Your light be experienced in
my utmost holiest.
Your Heavenly Domain approaches.
Let Your will come true - in the
universe just as on earth.
Give us wisdom for our daily
need,
detach the fetters of faults that
bind us,
like we let go the guilt of
others.
Let us not be lost in superficial
things,
but let us be freed from that
what keeps us off from our true purpose.
From You comes the all-working
will, the lively strength to act,
the song that beautifies all and
renews itself from age to age.
Sealed in trust, faith and truth.
Amen"
TODAY'S VERSION:
Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass
against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your
womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Joyful
Mysteries (Monday and Saturday)
1st joyful mystery - The
Annunciation of the Angel to Mary
2nd joyful mystery - The
visitation of Mary to Saint Elizabeth
3rd joyful mystery - The nativity
of Jesus in Bethlehem
4th joyful mystery - The
presentation of Jesus to the Temple
5th joyful mystery - The finding
of Jesus in the Temple
The Sorrowful
Mysteries (Tuesday and Friday)
1st sorrowful mystery - The Agony
of Jesus in the garden
2nd sorrowful mystery - The
scourging of Jesus at the pillar
3rd sorrowful mystery - The
Crowning with Thorns
4th sorrowful mystery - The
Carrying of the Cross
5th sorrowful mystery - The
crucifixion and death of Jesus
The Glorious
Mysteries (Wednesday and Sunday)
1st glorious mystery - The
Resurrection of Jesus Christ
2nd glorious mystery - The
Ascension of Jesus to Heaven
3rd glorious mystery - The
Descent of the Holy Ghost
4th glorious mystery - The
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven
5th glorious mystery - The
Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth
The Luminous
Mysteries (Thursday)
1st Luminous Mysteries - The
Baptism of Jesus
2nd Luminous Mysteries - The
wedding of Cana
3rd Luminous Mysteries - The
proclamation of the Kingdom of God
4th Luminous Mysteries - The
Transfiguration
5th Luminous Mysteries - The
institution of the Eucharist
Memorare
Remember O Most Gracious Virgin
Mary,
that never was it known
that anyone who fled to your
protection,
implored your help or sought your
intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly onto you O Virgin of
Virgins, my Mother;
to you I come; before you, I
stand,
sinful and sorrowful,
O Mother of the Word incarnate,
despise not my petitions;
but in your mercy hear and answer
me.
Amen.
Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of
mercy,
hail, our life, our sweetness,
and our hope.
To you we cry, the banished
children of Eve;
to you we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this land
of exile.
Turn, then, most gracious
advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us;
lead us home at last
and show us the blessed fruit of
your womb, Jesus:
O clement, O loving, O sweet
Virgin Mary.
Pray for us, oh Holy Mother of
God,
That we may be made worthy of the
promises of Christ.
St. Peregrine,
Patron Saint of Cancer
St. Peregrine, whom Holy Mother
Church has declared Patron of those suffering from Cancer, I confidently turn
to you for help in my present sickness. I beg your kind intercession. Ask God
to relieve me of this sickness, if it be his Holy Will. Plead with the Blessed
Virgin Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, whom you loved so tenderly and in union
with whom you have suffered the pains of Cancer, that she may help me with her
powerful prayers and loving consolation.
But if it should be God’s Holy
Will that I bear this sickness, obtain for me courage and strength to accept
these trials from the loving hand of God with patience and resignation, because
he knows what is best for the salvation of my soul. St. Peregrine, be my friend
and patron. Help me to imitate you in accepting suffering, and to unite myself
with Jesus Crucified and the Mother of Sorrows, as you did. I offer my pains to
God with all the love of my heart, for his glory and the salvation of souls,
especially my own. Amen.
O great St. Peregrine, you have
been called "The Mighty," "The Wonder-Worker," because of
the numerous miracles which you have obtained from God for those who have had
recourse to you. For so many years you bore in your own flesh this cancerous
disease that destroys the very fiber of our being, and who had recourse to the
source of all grace when the power of man could do no more. You were favored
with the vision of Jesus coming down from His Cross to heal your affliction.
Ask of God and Our Lady, the cure of the sick whom we entrust to you.
(Pause here and silently
recall the names of people who
are alive and have cancer
for whom you are praying)
Aided in this way by your
powerful intercession, we shall sing to God, now and for all eternity, a song
of gratitude for His great goodness and mercy. Amen.
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