The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions, Second Edition. Mike Aquilina
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One
A Beginning
1. A “Plan of Life”
Any good business executive will tell you that the best way to succeed is first to establish goals, then develop a plan to reach your goals. That plan involves specific daily steps toward the goal.
This is true in the spiritual life as well, where our goal has already been defined for us. “God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1). We need a spiritual plan — with daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly action steps — that will enable us respond to God, who draws close to us.
Such a program is sometimes called a plan of life and can include the following basic elements:
• Prayer
• Penance and mortification
• Sacramental life
• Spiritual reading
• Study of the faith
• Spiritual direction
• Practice of the Presence of God
As you go through this book, you’ll explore many aspects of prayer and devotions that can help you structure and strengthen your plan of life. As you’ll see, any good plan includes specifics. What must I do daily to reach my goal? What must I do weekly, monthly, yearly? Consistency is vital. We cannot help but form habits in our everyday life; but habits can be either good or bad. If we form good habits, such as daily prayer or regular study of our faith, these will move us closer to God and His will for our lives.
And so in preparing our plan, we ought to be specific about which devotions, which practices we will fulfill and precisely when we will fulfill them. Whenever possible, we should assign a fixed time for our prayers. If we manage our day using an appointment book, laptop, or smartphone, we can build prayer into the schedule, just as we would any other appointments.
When we want to succeed at something, we naturally turn to those who have already been successful, and we study what they do. Next, we identify those things that have led to their success. Then we imitate those things consistently. The saints who have gone before us have given us good examples of how to grow in a love relationship with God. We can follow their lead, studying the writings and biographies of the saints.
“All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.”
— Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), n. 31 (CCC, n. 2013)
Keeping Your Balance
When developing a plan of life, it is important to maintain a balance. Don’t try to implement too much all at once. If you have not been praying regularly, it may not be a good idea to start by trying to pray an hour a day. Instead, begin by setting aside fifteen minutes a day — and be faithful to that time. It is better to start small and grow than to attempt something beyond your current ability and become disillusioned. The help of a priest or a mature Catholic layperson can be invaluable as you develop your plan.
While you don’t want to set expectations too high, you do want to be committed to the plan you’ve decided to follow. Let’s say that part of your plan includes an hour every Sunday dedicated to reading something that will help you learn more about your faith. You should make every effort to be faithful to that decision, even when it is difficult.
Your plan is a means of reaching a goal. But keep in mind that the essence of that goal is deepening your love relationship with God. Compare this love with other relationships in your life — your relationship with your spouse, good friends, co-workers, and so on. In each case, you need to devote time and energy to help the relationship grow. Sometimes that means sacrifice: you must, for example, turn off the television or forgo some other activity in order to spend time with the other person. It’s no different with God.
Make a Plan
“Sow an act, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.”
— Anonymous
“Let us listen to Our Lord: ‘He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is dishonest also in much.’ It is as if He were saying to us: ‘Fight continuously in the apparently unimportant things which are to My mind important; fulfill your duty punctually; smile at whoever needs cheering up, even though there is sorrow in your soul; devote the necessary time to prayer, without haggling.’”
— St. Josemaría Escrivá
“How easily you leave the plan of life unfinished, or do things so badly that it is worse than not doing them at all. Is that the way you mean to fall in love more each day with your way, and to pass on this love later to others?”
— St. Josemaría Escrivá
“May He give you a humble love which expends itself;
a generous love which forgets itself;
a strong love which is not afraid of pain;
a stable love which does not change;
a patient love which never weakens;
a constant love which never falters.”
— Blessed Mother Mary Angela Truszkowska
2. How to Pray
Beginning to pray — this topic alone could easily consume an entire book. It could, in fact, fill many libraries. Yet, the essential concept of prayer is simple. One classic definition is: “The raising of the mind and heart to God in adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition.” Prayer is communication with a God who loves us. It is important to remember that Christ is the one who has initiated this communication with us. Prayer is our response to Jesus and His love for us.
Prayer involves mental activity. We turn our minds to God. However, it is much deeper than mere thinking. Prayer also is a love embrace of God. It can be vocal or meditative, private or public. It may involve words, whether of a formula or our own. Contemplation of the mystery of God and His goodness and love can also form our prayer.
Daily personal prayer is a gateway to developing a more intimate relationship with God. Set aside a specific time to pray. A specific place can also be helpful, perhaps in church before our Lord in the tabernacle, or in the solitude of your bedroom, or in some other place that is quiet and as free of distractions as possible. Begin your prayer by an act of the will, focus on God and place yourself in His presence. Of course, you’re always in God’s presence; but you’re not always aware of it. Make yourself aware of His presence, and greet Him affectionately. Such a greeting is a great way to start any conversation.
As you begin to pray, it can help to have some structured format. Maybe you’ll spend part of the time reciting formal prayers from memory or from a good prayer book. Remember, this shouldn’t be mindless activity but rather an opportunity to concentrate your thoughts on God and what the words mean and express. The Our Father is a prayer that is easily memorized, yet it holds a treasure of meaning and intention for the person who uses it meditatively.
If you are married and read a news article aloud to your spouse, you don’t do it mindlessly. You wish to convey meaning to the person you love. Your heart and mind listen and observe as you read. Even though you read the words of someone else, you enter into the purpose and sentiment of those words and they become your own. They are a vehicle for expressing your thoughts, hopes, and longings to the other.
Our use of formal prayers works the same way. As we bring those words to God, we also bring the meaning that they convey.