Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”

We can all learn a lot about how to pray from Jesus. In a world where silence, rest, and praying are seen as wastes of time, we can forget that all these are necessary to be a true follower of Christ. When we pray we need silence, not just in the world around us, but also in our own minds. We need to push aside as many distractions as possible so that we can focus on God. This isn’t to say that we won’t have unbidden thoughts, but that when they do come we make every effort to ignore them and give ourselves completely to God in our prayer. Hand-in-hand with silence is the need for resting in the Lord. We need to slow things downs and take time to seek solace in God’s presence. We can’t do that if we are constantly busying ourselves with projects. Doing good works can be exhausting and at times we can forget to focus on why we are charitable and merciful toward others. When we lose sight of why we do the right thing, we fail to appreciate our participation in God’s Grace. This is why God gives us the concept of a Sabbath—a day of rest. We might not be able to take our rest on Sunday, but should make a point to rest with God at some point and time during the week. Once we have silence and rest, then our prayers will be more focused and fruitful. We will be able to pray to our Father in a more meaningful way, to partake in His Eucharist with more passion, and forgive others more readily.

Do we seek silence every day so that we can better focus on God? Do we make time to rest in God every day? How can we minimize the distractions that keep us from praying with our whole hearts, souls, minds, and strengths?

O Lord, teach us how to pray.

Amen.