Prayeraphobia

A frustration I hear a lot from my friends and blog readers is that people can’t seem to get deeper into their prayer lives. When pressed for reasons, most commonly cited is lack of time or energy and focus, but in reality, fear of intimacy with Christ may actually be at the root of this problem.

Did you know there are actually NINE stages of prayer? Yes, NINE! And liturgical prayer, along with our other written or spoken prayers, private or public, is only the first level! By the seventh level, the saints would sometimes fall into ecstasies.  Many of us feel that this kind of prayer life is simply out of reach for us. We give up on the idea before we even begin, seeing ourselves as somehow unworthy. Perhaps, too, we fear surrendering and laying open that much of ourselves to God.  But He knows every inch and thought and hair of us anyway, does He not?

The biggest hurdle for most people is getting past level four, which involves the “prayer of simple gaze.” A full, silent, meditating and concentrated attentiveness to God and the truths of the Faith requires vulnerability and purification, and often no immediate consolation from the Holy Spirit!

The good news, the “Gospel” of this process, is that Jesus is there, at the other side of that dark night, to initiate the next level of prayer, infused contemplation.  This yields a sweetness and delight that will be positively addictive to any Catholic soul! Think of it as a foretaste of the Beatific Vision.  What could be more desirable on earth than this? And certainly, my friends, nothing to fear.  

Seven People to Pray for Today

It's easy to fall into the habit of praying in too small a circle.  We pray for our personal intentions, for our families and closest friends, our parish, but we sometimes forget to open the lens a bit and commit to intercessory prayer for those who may have no one praying for them at all. Here are a handful of suggestions to get you started!

1. Your enemy. Yes, I'm opening with a tough one! It's so essential to the faith to pray for those who have wronged us.  It aids in the forgiveness and healing processes and it's commanded by God.  If you have no enemy per se, then simply pray for someone who irritates or challenges you.  Do not pray a self-serving prayer like "Lord, please help this person not be so annoying!" Instead, pray for the soul of that person, for health and joy to dwell in him or her, and for God to root out anything in YOU that may be provoking this "enemy" or preventing a better relationship between the two of you. 

2. Your priest. And all priests! Friends, who on earth has a tougher job than our priests? In this fallen world, they are hated, second guessed, and often in straight up peril.  Even a young, vital priest in a relatively good parish likely faces spiritual battles daily.  Think of what he sees.  Think of what he hears. His job takes him to hospital rooms, prisons, deathbeds, and into the confessional.  Pray for the fortitude, peace, and salvation of all priests, especially your own.

3. The falling away and fallen away. At any given time, I'm watching at least two or three people gradually drift away from The Church.  It's tragic.  I know you must see the same, and I know you likely have family members who have fallen away and seem very unlikely to return to Christ.  We cannot simply sit there and wring our hands; we are called to pray fervently for these people whose eternal lives are on the line.  It is no small thing to walk away from the graces offered by The Church! What has pulled or is pulling this person away? Pray for the grave sway of sin to release these people pronto!

4. Police, firefighters, military personnel, and corrections officers. I don't think there is a population more taken for granted, more unappreciated, than those who dedicate their lives to protecting our lives. Materially underpaid, constantly under scrutiny, and certainly in physical danger every single day, our police officers, firefighters, soldiers, corrections officers, and any and all first responders have truly died to self in a manifest way.  Pray for their life and limb.  Pray for their souls, as they do risk their lives daily, and pray that they feel the gratitude of those they serve. 

5. Your parents. If there is one thing that has come as a surprise to me as I've gotten older it's how many people do NOT have good and peaceful relations with their parents.  I'm sure you know an example or are perhaps living in this situation yourself.  We all know that we are commanded by God to honor our parents, but the dynamic between parents and their adult children can be so very complicated, and often honoring by tolerating is the sad result. So, whether you are fortunate enough to be on good terms with your parents or if your interactions are strained, please, pray for your parents.  If you still have them with you, pray for their health, their souls, and that your communications with them can be fruitful.  If you have lost your parents to death, pray for their souls.  

6. The souls in Purgatory. Much could be and has been written on this topic.  The bottom line is that it is our Christian duty to pray for the release of the souls in Purgatory, as we desire the Church on earth to pray for our souls after our death. When I think of all the souls who are completely neglected and unrepresented in Purgatory, I get the chills.  What a sobering thought this is! And so easy to remedy!  Pray for these souls today, for you may be among them tomorrow. 

7. The addicted. The bulk of the prayer requests I receive from people are for help, rescue, and comfort in a personal crisis, the catalyst of which is most often some sort of an addiction. Whether the addiction is to alcohol, pornography, or drugs, this monster completely and brutally takes over the lives of those it visits. Addiction devastates and divides families.  Addiction turns the addict into a stranger to his or her loved ones, a liar, a victimizer, and a source of stress for everyone he or she encounters. Much anger is directed at the addict, and this anger fuels feelings of hopelessness and isolation.  These feelings lead to an increased reliance on the object of addiction.  Please pray for these folks and their families. Pray that the cycle can be broken for them, that they seek and find the solid help they need, and that they return to a healthy and abundant life without reliance on what has enslaved them. 

Who Wouldn't Want This?

Has Lent got you feeling grumpy? Deprived? Hungry? Has politics got you acting like a real bear? Are you snapping at people? Is the long wait for the first buds of springtime transforming you into someone from whom people walk away? Your heart, soul, body, and mind all need something. But what? If only The Church had something, something you could access daily if you really wanted to, that yielded miraculous graces! If only  . . . 

I give you today, friends, some straight up Catechism.  Section 1391 and thereabouts, called "The Fruits of Holy Communion." Take a gander at this: 


The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus. 

Growth in Christian life needs the nourishment of Eucharistic Communion, the bread for our pilgrimage until the moment of death.

As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life, and this living charity wipes away venial sins.

By giving Himself to us Christ enables us to break our disordered attachments and root ourselves in Him. 

The more we share the life of Christ and progress in His friendship, the more difficult it is to break away from Him by mortal sin. 

Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. 

The Eucharist commits us to the poor. 

There is no surer pledge or clearer sign of this great hope in the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness dwells than the Eucharist. 

We break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live forever in Jesus Christ. 


Friends, if you have fallen away from The Church, if you have spotty Mass participation, if you do not believe in The Real Presence, if you are a Protestant, if you are an agnostic, if you are an atheist, if you are able to read these words, I beseech you to consider availing yourself of this Heavenly gift.  There is no better time than RIGHT NOW.  As Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade said, "The present moment is the ambassador of God." You are reading this for a reason.  Maybe it's for you; maybe it's to pass on to a lukewarm friend or a family member who is no longer a member of the pre-denominational, Jesus-origninated, blessed and daily guided Catholic Church.  Soon enough it will be Easter Sunday, and new life will be shattering the walls of death.  Taste and see what this upcoming Passion week is all about. Begin to imagine how close you can be to Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, the Living God -- so close that He is literally right there in front of you and entering your body. It's a weighty thing, and it's a miracle, and it's here for you every single day, in every Catholic Church around the entire world. Amen?