Opus Dei: Mental prayer

This is Chapter 10 of Dominie Stemp's narrative on her journey in Opus Dei written in her blog. You can find Chapter 1 here.

The mental prayer 'norm' is 2nd on the list (I am doing the norms in the order with which they are read out in the weekly circle).

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 534 says

"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God....."

Of all the norms - this I find the hardest of all because it demands a great deal of mental gymnastics - and requires one to think. But it is absolutely necessary to pray daily - and as Pope Francis said recently - if you don't pray - you pray to the devil! How many times has this Holy Father mentioned the devil? - I have lost count! He did what appeared to be an impromptu exorcism on Pentecost Sunday - on a man with 4 evil spirits. Well he is the Pope after all! Our Lord gave his apostles power to do exorcisms and every diocese in the world has to have an exorcist.

But what did he mean though - that if we don't pray we pray to the devil? Because he likened the devil to worldly possessions and immoral behaviour. I think what he meant is that - if we don't pray to God, we love the world and everything it has to offer - which can lead us astray and into Satan's arms - sins of the flesh and all that!

The celibate members in Opus Dei (numeraries) and clergy are required to spend 1 hour in mental prayer daily - divided into 2 periods (ideally morning and afternoon).

The married members are supposed to do a minimum of half an hour daily - divided into 2 sessions. Flexibility is allowed though and sometimes I have to do half an hour in one go. If I know what's happening in my day - I can work out when to fit the mental prayer in. During school term-time it isn't a problem, because I can do some mental prayer before the mass begins. During school holidays I may only manage to do the prayer in the evening when my boy has gone to bed. Sometimes I do 10 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon. The goal for supernumeraries is to work up to the full hour, time and circumstances permitting.

What does one pray about? Well anything and everything! - God is there to listen to all your worries and concerns. You can pray about the Church, the sick, the poor, exams to sit, wayward children, lapsed Catholics, scandals to stop - God wants to know everything about you. You can also thank God for any good things that have happened and you can pray on behalf of others. Think of it as having a friendly conversation with our Creator. If you are angry at something or someone - tell Him! Sometimes you want to know if something you are doing is pleasing to God and you may want some concrete 'proof'. It may take a few days to get some 'sign' so you need to discern these things. That 'sign' can come through a person or an event perhaps. Discernment really is the key here.

In Opus Dei we are encouraged to take the day's Gospel to our prayer. A daily missal will help or any number of apps like "Evangelizo" have the daily mass readings. In the Gospel Our Lord speaks to us, although I must confess most of the time I don't know what Our Lord is saying to me when I read the Gospel. I think this is where Lectio Divina comes in - not that I have really tried that approach.

The other 'aids' to mental prayer are a series of 7 small books with a meditation for every day of the year. These are called "In Conversation with God" by Francis Fernandez. They are not supposed to be read like a novel - one is supposed to read them slowly and ponder the points. Other aids are 3 little books by St Josemaria - "The Way", "The Furrow" and "The Forge". These have 1000s of bullet points which act as 'triggers' to the brain - to get it praying!

So, there is no excuse NOT to pray. People say they have no time - but you can bet your bottom dollar they have time to watch some series on TV or watch sport. Everyone has time to pray.

What about praying while doing a physical activity? Well this is fine for say - walking the dog. But doing the ironing? You may end up burning the clothes! Ironing requires a certain amount of concentration so not a good idea to pray at the same time. Walking the dog - in a quiet field does not require too much concentration (unless there are sheep nearby and you have a terrier!).

What have you got to lose?

It feels like opening a window in a stuffy room

By Mrs Pogle in Mrs Pogle's World

I thought it was about time I posted something personal about myself! I enjoy writing entries about Scripture, theology etc., but it doesn’t give very much away about myself, and what God is doing personally in my life at present. So, by having a chat over coffee with you, I also hope to give myself an opportunity to reflect on where I’m at, with life, with family, with God!

Things are undoubtedly busy right now, as I share a house with my daughter and grandson (now 15 weeks old, can you believe! He’s now rolling over onto his front and then carries on rolling onto his back again! I imagine he’ll be crawling soon :? ) I’m busy with work, with family, grandchildren especially, and trying to ensure that God is always my foundation, the ground beneath my feet!

On that subject, things have meandered slightly recently and I have become sloppy in my devotions :( This seems to happen periodically, I let things slide and find I am missing out my prayers, my quiet time…and then wondering why my attitude deteriorates accordingly. Usually (but not always) it takes a smack on the cheek from reality to steer me back onto the right path, but this time it has just been a growing awareness that my life is not quite right somehow. Funnily enough, it was missing a train home with my husband last week after going to a concert in Manchester which drew me up short! We ended up stuck on Piccadilly Station until 5am in the morning, trying but failing miserably to get some sleep! My attitude was awful, not to mention my language, and I didn’t deal with the crisis in the manner befitting a Christian! It was like God holding a mirror up to me and I saw myself as this not-very-pleasant person :oops:

Much of it comes down to discipline ~ I am a very free-spirited flibberty-jibberty sort of person at heart, and I have realised over the years that I need to incorporate a strong discipline into my spiritual life, or otherwise I end up with this airy-fairy candy-floss-like imitation of faith. After doing a lot of thinking and praying, I have re-committed myself to God’s path for my life, starting off by praying the Penitential Psalms last night. Although not a member of Opus Dei, I have re-acquainted myself with the writings of St. Josemaria, and incorporated some of the Opus Dei way of life into my daily routine. It feels like opening a window in a stuffy room, and once more I can feel the joy creeping back into my lethargy!

I recognise that I am very much like a butterfly by nature ~ liable to flit from one flower to another but not staying around long enough for real sustenance. Like the life-span of the butterfly, my intentions can be very short-lived! My aim is to be more like the flower…rooted and grounded in God, constant, growing, stable. Even when it appears dead, and the seeds fall to the ground, the flower lives on, as God resurrects it again and again. I guess the spiritual life, after all, is a constant dying to self and being resurrected in Christ. And as an Oblate, the Benedictine vows of obedience, stability and on-going conversion of life are an important part of maintaining a sense of spiritual grounding for me…

So, that’s where I’m at right now ~ learning (hopefully) from my mistakes, and waiting to bloom again! Thanks for sharing a chat over coffee with me today!

A great aid on my journey of life

By Paul Amrhein in Passing Through, Paul served in the United States Air Force for 31 years and worked as a licensed Realtor for 15 years.

For those of you who have read my previous blogs you'll quickly note that I've been participating in the monthly 3rd Saturday Opus Dei "Morning of Recollections" sporadically for nearly two years. Though I believe I am not called to be an Opus Dei member--numerary nor supernumerary, I believe the movement is beneficial to my spiritual development and I plan to continue to support the movement as a cooperator.

I find the emphasis of the movement of encouraging people to recognize what our daily activities potentially afford when accomplished to the best of our ability for God and our neighbor, and of being a consistent Christian throughout each day, regardless of the environment a great aid on my journey of life.

The meditations and examination of consciences offered at the Morning of Recollections are consistently provocative in the positive sense. Last Saturday for example one meditation provided by the priest dealt with "formation". What he reflected on was that the three years Jesus of public life not only showed who Jesus was, provided a platform for Him to preach, perform miracles and complete His mission salvation; it was also a period of formation for the apostles under His tutelage who followed Him. And even after three years of formation under this tutelage, the Gospel illustrates how they continued to falter. This is encouraging to us, that as we are being formed (transformed) we should never give up and if we do, like the apostles we too will succeed in "winning the race".

The meditation by the lay speaker dealt with the virtue of "fortitude" and the difficulty many of us have with this virtue. How many of us remain faithful to our principles when obstacles arise?

In a word after each of these Mornings of Recollection, I am inspired and drawn closer to the Lord, endeavoring to follow Him along the road He wants.

As an aside--two things. What is also inspiring to me is to be in the midst of 75 or so men, the majority between the ages of 25 and 55 years who are striving to be filled/transformed by our Lord. One other thing, I suggest that anyone who believes they may be interested in getting involved with Opus Dei that they read about the movement. I suggest a person read BOTH critical and favorable articles and books on Opus Dei and pray for the guidance of Holy Spirit.

How to serve our Lord in tough times

By Robert Stackpole in Divine Mercy News and Events

Given the world economic downturn that we are all facing this year, the question I received a few weeks ago from a lady named “Rosalind” is likely to be on a lot of people’s minds these days:

I understand that of utmost importance is our spiritual life … but how do you balance the needs of your spiritual life and your human/physical life? I am the mother of six children ages 8 months to 15 years. My husband was laid off from work so I have been working more than usual. It’s difficult to make enough time to pray, to care for the children, to nourish my married life.

I wish we had more stable finances, wish we could contribute more to the Divine Mercy movement, make more donations to the works of charity, but we barely have enough to pay our bills. … We live simple lives. We are not extravagant. …

We plan on taking on a new endeavour that will hopefully allow us to achieve that stability. … Is it wrong to focus on that? To put effort in that for stability in finances, so we could support our family, provide the children with a good education, and contribute to the spread of The Divine Mercy? For so long, I was lost on the many charities to give, but now I know my heart has been converted to The Divine Mercy …

Well, Rosalind, perhaps it would help to remember that works of mercy and charity are not just the extra things we do with our time (such as helping out at a shelter for the homeless), or the extra things we do with our money (such as giving money to support Divine Mercy apostolates, or some other charity). On the contrary, works of mercy are anything we do to help those in need, beginning with those nearest to us. Saint Thomas Aquinas, for example, defined the virtue of mercy as “the compassion in our hearts for another person’s misery, a compassion which drives us to do what we can to help him” (Summa Theologiae, II-II.30.1).

Again, this applies first of all to our own families, for we have a special responsibility for the families God has placed in our care. Since a work of mercy is a work of compassion for those in need, and your family is really in need of some financial stability right now, by striving to meet that genuine need you are accomplishing an important work of mercy. So the first thing I want to say to you, Rosalind, is: Be at peace. From what I can surmise from your letter to me, your intentions are pure and good, and our merciful Savoir will bless and guide you in this.

It also sounds as if you and your husband will have to work extra hard for a while to get your family finances back on a stable foundation. It is certainly not wrong to focus on that goal for now: Just make sure that you sit down with your husband and talk openly about what kind of time and energy sacrifices this will entail, and therefore how hard it will be, at this stage of your life, to spend quality time (as you put it) “nourishing your married life.” Marital problems can arise when one spouse recognizes this harsh reality, while the other cannot accept it. So be sure you two are “on the same page” here. Forgive each other in advance; it appears that no one is really at fault for the predicament you are in anyway. Such severe financial situations are often the result of circumstances beyond anyone’s control.

Just be sure that you do not put that attention to your marital relationship “on hold” indefinitely, I would suggest that you resolve to go out on a date together three months from now, just the two of you, for lunch and a walk in the park, perhaps or for dinner at a restaurant. Resolve to do it every three months, so no matter how overwhelmed with work you two may get at times, you always know you have already set aside time for each other that is sacrosanct. That way you won’t let daily absorption in the difficult task of financial recovery swallow up your marriage altogether.

With regard to your relationship with Jesus Christ, you are already finding it hard to “make enough time to pray,” you said. This is understandable, too, and our Savoir knows the pressures you are under. Again, one thing you can do to prevent this from becoming a lifelong habit is to set aside a future date — say, six months from now — when you will go on a one-day retreat at a retreat house somewhere, just to be alone with Him, and to get reacquainted, so to speak. Resolve to do it every six months.

Moreover, one of the special things about our relationship with our Lord that makes that relationship unique is that we do not have to completely “get away” from our work and labours in order to be with Him and to grow in our love for Him. After all, Jesus promised: “I am with you always, even to the end of time” (Mt 28:20). By His Spirit He is with us everywhere, at all times and all places.

One of the Catholic spiritual writers who can help us to live out this truth of our faith is the Spaniard St. Josemaria Escriva (1902-1975). For example, Escriva taught, “External work should not interrupt our praying, just as the beating of our heart does not break or diminish attention to our activities, whatever they may be.” All our work and labours — including looking after our own children, and earning a living — can be turned into a prayerful offering to God. Many of us give “lip service” to the art of turning our work into prayer, but when we find ourselves caught in situations such as the one you face, Rosalind, sometimes that is almost the only kind of daily prayer we can manage to offer at all!

Saint Josemaria Escriva’s counsel is helpful here. “Sanctify your work,” he taught us, by which he meant doing your work as well as possible, with a pure intention, such as providing a good product and service for your community, and providing a decent home and good educational opportunities for your kids.

“Sanctify yourself in your work,” St. Escriva taught, by which he meant doing your work for the glory of God and stealing little prayer times throughout the day to keep your heart open to grace. You may not have time right now for a proper half hour for meditation each day, but you can always grab 30 seconds here, a minute there, 10 minutes during a lunch break, or even when you are alone behind the wheel of your car. In these little openings in the day you can offer up the simplest “arrow prayers” to God: “Merciful Heart of Jesus, into Your Heart I put my heart,” “Merciful Heart of Jesus, I put all my trust in You,” “Merciful Heart of Jesus make me love you more and more.” Don’t you think that our Savoir will be delighted by your efforts to steal these minutes in the midst of all your labours to be alone with Him? I assure you that He will pour His grace into your heart in torrents when you do!

Finally, “sanctify others through your work,” St. Escriva said. This means setting a good example for others of cheerfulness, helpfulness, honesty, perseverance, and patience. What a tremendous example of Christian virtue you can be for others at your workplace — and especially for your own children — as they see you tackle the labours of each day in the Spirit of Christ.

Of course, I know that some days — many days — it will not be easy. At times of financial stress and strain, we may have to battle constantly against sheer exhaustion and sometimes suffer discouraging setbacks. Be patient: Let Jesus the Good Shepherd find a way forward for you when sometimes there seems to be no way. If He got His stubborn people of Israel successfully through 40 years in the wilderness before they reached the Promised Land, He can certainly find a way forward for you, too! As St. Francis De Sales put it, “Either He will shield you from suffering, or give you unfailing strength to bear it.” And He is rather good at “writing straight with crooked lines.”

So be at peace, Rosalind. You are on the right track, not only toward financial stability, I would guess, but on the right path to holiness and heaven as well.

Schedules of members of Opus Dei

By Margaret answering a question at Catholic Answers Forum

While we do keep a very demanding plan of life-- prayer, Mass, rosary, etc., the actual scheduling of it is determined by the individual.

There are no "rules" about what time the rosary or spiritual reading or whatever must be done at. Obviously, we are dependent on the schedule in the parish for Mass, and there are only a couple of day and time options for my circle each week, but those are the only truly fixed points on the calendar. Beyond that, we are each encouraged to tailor the plan of life so that it fits our lives and circumstances. A schedule that works really well for a surgeon, keeping a doctor's timeframe, would not work for a housewife like myself with a large family, and vice versa...

My Father's Prayer

By Beatasum in Catholic Me (I am blessed)

My father was a very devout Catholic. He prayed, on his knees by his bedside every morning and every night. He encouraged me to do the same.
Growing up in the Sixties and Seventies, I was not as prayerful as he would have liked. I had other things on my mind: school, boys, dances, music and other non-religious activities. My father prayed everyday for me, in the hopes that I would one day recognize the need for prayer in my life. It took some time for his prayers to come to fruition, but as an adult I now realize how important prayer is. I still feel that I can improve upon my prayer-life and I am grateful, today, to have come across a card that my dad possessed, upon the back of which he had he typed out his petition.

The prayer itself, is an appeal to God to grant a favour through the intercession of the priest, and founder of the organization Opus Dei.

Spanish priest, Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer died on June 26, 1975, at age 73 and was beatified by Pope John Paull II, in 1992. On October 6, 2002, the Pope canonized him fully as a saint. His Feast Day is June 26 (two days after my birthday).

From an early age, Josemaría Escrivá began carrying a rosary in his pocket and he developed a lifelong love and adoration of the blessed Virgin Mary. He had a special connection to the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe; while alive he remarked about a painting of this Virgin giving a rose to Juan Diego. “I would like to die that way” he said. In fact, his natural death did occur in a room under the painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

I don’t know enough about Opus Dei to argue whether or not accusations about political statements by Josemaría Escrivá are true or not. I do know that Dan Brown uses Opus Dei to great negative effect in his books, so I am inclined to disregard the rumours against it, since Dan Brown is at the top of my list of “useless articles”, as my mother would say.

I know also, that for some reason my dad had a very strong attachment to this particular priest/saint. The card on which the prayer is printed is well-worn by his hands–it is torn and stained and a corner is missing, but the words are still clear and the sentiment rings out.

My father mysteriously crossed out eleven lines at the top of the reverse side of the card. I wish I knew what they had read, but he used a black marker, so he must have been determined that nobody read it. He also crossed out his brother’s name since he had died. The remaining intercession touched me deeply this morning and I am determined to fulfill his intention:

“My deepest wish now as always Lord, is
that Josemaria Escriva in his constant
advocacy before Your Throne, might
deign to include my daughters,
my brother Mick and my
sisters; to plead that they would
retain or redevelop the fullest real-
ization and appreciation of the great
benificence bestowed on them by being
born into the True Faith; to the point
where each of them would resolve again
to nurture, treasure and safeguard it
for the remainder of their earthly
sojourn.”

With all my heart, I thank you Daddy for all your prayers for me.

Beatasum

If possible, go to a recollection

By Gwenred of Down Yonder (South!) at Catholic Answers Forum (Anyone part of Opus Dei?)

I am not a member of Opus Dei, but was a "cooperator" for several years. I guess I still am, although where I live now, the closest recollection or retreat I could go to is three hours away, so I have not been active.

I love the spirituality, the writings of St. Josemaria Escriva, and their priests are the best for confession. Ignore the lies that are spread by ODAN, and if possible, go to a recollection. You'll meet members and cooperators (friends) and you'll be able to see for yourself what they are about, namely doing their best to become saints in the midst of the world.

Peace!