Prayer Retreat Recap
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On September 26-27, we offered a Parish Retreat with the theme of "Prayer: The Language of God's Love" at Lowe Park. We had a wonderful group of participants. Prayer is such a foundational, essential component of our faith. It is, in fact, the glue that holds our relationship with God together. Like in any healthy human relationship, regular communication is necesary for a healthy relationship with God. That said, I would like to invite you to experience some of the content of our retreat to help you grow in your prayer life.
On Friday evening, we focused on "What is Prayer" and "How to Pray." Throughout the retreat we defined prayer as "practicing the presence of God." In other words, prayer is about resting in God's presence and being shaped by Him. Prayer is essential for fulfilling the call that we all have: to become saints. Becoming a saint is about getting to heaven. Our ultimate goal in life should be to spend all of eternity with God in heaven. In fact, Leon Bloy wrote, "Life holds only one tragedy: not to have been a saint." Heaven will be all about being in the presence of God. We will be in perfect relationship with him. Prayer, in essence, then, is practicing for heaven. So, if we want to get to heaven, we must pray. In fact, Peter Kreeft says, "Praying is more important than eating because your soul is more important than your body…Praying keeps your soul alive because prayer is real contact with God, and God is the life of the soul as the soul is the life of the body” (Prayer for Beginners, 11).
If prayer is so important, then how do we pray? (For the talk on "How to Pray" given by me at the retreat, click here). Jesus himself was asked that question, so the good news is that we have his answer! Jesus taught us how to pray by giving us the "Our Father." To learn more about the "Our Father," you're invited to read the section in the Catechism that unpacks it by clicking here. The "Our Father" is a very familiar prayer, but rich in meaning. We ought to spend time with it, meditating on the words, and taking to heart their meaning.
As far as particular guidance for prayer, I would offer you the four components of prayer given by Peter Kreeft in Prayer for Beginners. He explains that prayer must always include Repentance, Adoration, Petition, and Thanksgiving (RAPT). In fact, it is best to practice that order in our daily prayer lives. We often jump straight to petition (asking things of God), but before going there we need to make right our relationship with God by confessing any sin. Then, we ought to praise and adore him for who he is. Only after that should we bring our intentions to him. And finally, we can thank him for the many great gifts he bestows upon us.
On Saturday of the retreat, we had the opportunity to hear the personal experiences of parishioners Pat Soyer and Nicole Trapani (for the videos of their talks, click here and here). Pat focused on prayer as a relationship. Prayer is, in fact, all about a loving, intimate relationship with the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God himself is a relationship of love and he invites us into that relationship through prayer. Nicole focused on prayer experiences she has had and helped us understand the importance of discerning God's will by listening to his voice.
Finally, we talked about a lifestyle of prayer, encouraging everyone to take action steps to grow in prayer. You're now encouraged to reflect on your prayer life and ways that you can grow in prayer. Also, you're invited to utilize some of the excellent prayer resources available. For the suggested list of prayer resources given out at the retreat, click here. Let us all strive to grow in prayer, practicing the presence of God here on earth, so we might spend all of eternity in his presence in heaven.