Let's Pray

+ Enlarge

Would anyone like to join me in doing a study on prayer?

I’ve been reading quite a bit on prayer, and because prayer is one of the three pillars of Lent, I thought it might be good to form a community of prayer. I’d like to begin by using Saint Teresa of Avila’s The Way of Perfection as a guide.

That’s not as frightening of a proposal as it might seem. When I first was told I had to read the book for a class I was taking, I thought it would be beyond my level; St. Teresa is not only renowned as an expert on prayer, she also is a Doctor of the Church.

However, when I actually started reading the book, I found it very understandable – the challenge was trying to abide by her instructions on prayer.

Teresa wrote The Way specifically for the nuns in her convent. Reading what she wrote is a lot like listening to a mother giving instructions. It’s quite homey, and her personality comes through. For example, discussing what the book will contain, she says, “I am thinking of listing some remedies for certain common, small temptations of the devil, for since they are so common perhaps little attention is paid to them. And I shall write of other things as the Lord inspired me or that might come to my mind; for since I don’t know what I’m going to say, I cannot say it in an orderly way. …”

The first few chapters of the book go into quite a bit of detail specific to life in a cloistered monastery, but the remainder of the book has plenty of suggestions that apply to all of us who wish to deepen our prayer life. For example, she lists three things, the practice of which “helps us to possess inwardly and outwardly the peace our Lord recommended so highly to us. The first of these is love for one another; the second is detachment from all created things; the third is true humility, which, even though I speak of it last, is the main practice and embraces all the others.”

Another thing I like about Teresa is the way she phrases things. Discussing what can happen if there is ongoing contention among the nuns, she says, “Think and believe that you have thrown your Spouse [meaning Christ] out of the house and have made it necessary for him to go in search of another dwelling, since you threw him out of his own house” – advice that applies to each of us as well.

For the prayer group, I was thinking that online would be best, particularly because I’m going to propose that one session be first thing in the morning, and I don’t think anyone wants to travel to Salt Lake City to be here at 6 a.m. to pray. While I’m an early riser and enjoy starting my day in prayer, I don’t know how much interest other people have for such an early meeting, but I thought I’d suggest it. I’d prefer 6 a.m. on Wednesdays, but if another day at that time works better, I’d be happy to consider it. However, I couldn’t meet on Monday or Tuesday mornings.

For those who can’t meet first thing in the morning, would Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. be a good time?

For the groups, I’m not planning a strict agenda. The Way of Perfection has 42 chapters; I was thinking we could cover a chapter or two each week, but the group can decide that. I’ll be using the text as it appears in the second volume of The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez. However, any edition of the book should work; a free copy is available online at https://anucs.weblogs.anu.edu.au/files/2013/11/St.-Teresa-of-Avila-The-way-to-Perfection.pdf.

If you’re interested in the online prayer group, contact me at the email below and let me know what time works best for you. I’d like to start on Feb. 15, and I hope you’ll join me.

Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic. Reach her at marie@icatholic.org.