The School of Prayer: The Mass

The Eucharist is the Source and Summit of Christian Life

All that we have in our Christian Life, mysteriously and wonderfully, flows from the Sacramental Mystery. Why is this so? It is in the Eucharist that it is made present to us the Mystery of the dying and glorious rising of Our Lord who saves us! The church gathers in the presence of the Lord, and celebrates this sacrificial banquet from which flows our redemption. Sent forth from the liturgy, we are strengthen by the Holy Communion to go forth and live the mystery we celebrate at Mass.

As we live our lives, and pray with our family, we gather at home bringing with us the fruits of what the Lord has given us at Mass. We also recognize the fact that the Lord is present to us, at Mass and each day throughout the week. At the end of the week, we gather once again to offer praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Everything flows from the gift the Lord gives us at Mass. Listen to more on this topic within the audio.

Connecting How We Pray

If we take seriously the fact the Eucharist is the Source and Summit of Christian Life, then it connects how we pray. Not just in the Parish at Mass, but how we pray away from Mass. It connects how we pray spiritually.

A healthy Spiritual Life has two necessary elements. First, the Public Prayer of the Church: The Liturgy. The Liturgy means the Work of God. The work of coming together and praising Him worthily and well. There is no Christian that only prays alone. Baptism is a sacrament of the Church and is part of the public prayer. The Lord Himself instructs us to gather and participate in public prayer.

The second element of a healthy Spiritual Life is private prayer. If one ONLY prays alone, they weaken their Spiritual Life and are, indeed, not living their Christian Life in the fullness for which God intends. Hear more, within this conference, about public and private prayer and why they are necessary for a healthy Spiritual Life.

Preparation for Prayer

When we gather at Mass, one of the important elements in praying well, is preparing for prayer. This element in our Spiritual Lives is often neglected by many Christians. Hear why preparation is important in our Spiritual Prayer Life within this conference.

Let Us Call to Mind Our Sins

We do this after the greeting of the Mass: we are immediately called to prepare ourselves to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries. This call is distinctive. Let Us Call to Mind Our Sins. One of the necessary elements of prayer that we all must incorporate into our Spiritual Life is the prayer of penitence. This is the prayer where I recognize my need for mercy. With confidence, we call out for that mercy, which the Lord has promised to us. We are God’s children, but we must be reminded of the fact we must also be saved.

We are all sinners. All of us do not merit Heaven on our own. Our salvation comes from the Lord. We call to the Lord, not asking for the punishment that we deserve, but His Mercy that He has promised. We must ask His mercy in prayer. See how this must impact us in prayer and in Mass. Here more about this moment of contrition and penitence at the beginning of Mass within the audio.

False Spirituality Skips This Step

Have mercy on me O Lord, for I am a sinner. Because we are sinners and need His mercy, we must pay attention to the state of our hearts and quality of our character as the gospel demands that we change. False Spirituality wants to deceive us into thinking we are already fine. False Spirituality makes us think we are good enough. This is a trap. The minute one says this, the implication to the Lord is we do not need His mercy. This is not true! We all need His mercy. And why? Because we are sinners!

In Mass, at the beginning, we turn to the Lord and His Goodness. We are not good! The Lord is the only One who is good. We cry out for His mercy, that He promised us! The mercy He gives us in Christ His Son. The community that calls out for His mercy, together, will get up and go before the merciful Lord to receive Him in Holy Communion. Hear more within the audio.

An Explosion of Joyfulness

Conscience the Lord is faithful to His promise that the Lord has sent His Son to save us, we lift up our penitent hearts toward Heaven. We give voice to the joy the mercy of the Lord is ours! We do this in the words of the Gloria.

As we move through Mass, the calling upon the Lord’s mercy will occur in two additional ways. We make note that sin cuts us off from grace. Sin brings an end to life. We offer a prayer of great need to the Lord. Save me! Help me! Only the Lord can answer these cries with His mercy.

Prayer of Petition

This prayer, during the Mass, asks for those things we need that help sustain us. To call out to the Lord, with confidence, means we believe He has the power and capacity to respond to the petition. It also means that the Lord loves us. He is concerned about us. The petition is not just us asking the Lord, it also is we are trusting the Lord.

Consider the goodness, the power and providence of the Lord. Hear more about the need to pray for others outside our immediate circle. Understand and hear more about the prayer for intercession. Hear more about the need to pray for grace. Hear more about our cries of mercy during the Mass within the audio.

The Lord is concerned about more than just my salvation. The Lord is concerned about not only my well-being, but the well-being of all His children. To really know and love the Lord, is to love and be concerned for all those the Lord loves. Intercession! Hear more about this topic in the audio

Full and Healthy Spiritual Life Requires Gratitude

A full and healthy Spiritual Life is driven by something much more fundamental. Gratitude. The Eucharist means giving of thanks. Why do we gather at Mass? For the giving of thanks. Gratitude is the well-spring of faith. Why is this the case?

How many times in our lives do we take people for granted? How many times have I received something, and then quickly lay it aside. At times, we may appreciate it in the moment, but we lay it aside. We acknowledge receipt of something, but in putting it aside… we barely receive it. This happens all too often in our lives.

Scripture gives an example of this fact as well. Recall the story of the ten lepers. The audio recounts this story and how only one pauses and stops and gives thanksgiving to the Lord. Upon returning in thanksgiving, the Lord says “your faith has healed you”. The audio relates our cries, our needs and our faith within this Biblical story. Ten received the miracle of healing. Nine moved away from the healing back into the world.

Gratitude is the pause of appreciation that allows us to truly receive the gift we have been given by the Lord. Like prayer, gratitude requires time and our attention. When we gather at Mass in gratitude, we must remember, recall, and appreciate what the Lord has done for us! In doing so, our hearts move toward Him. Our hearts grow capable in recognizing who He is … the Lord!

Gratitude is the Means by which we Learn and Know the Lord!

Gratitude is the Means by which we learn and know the Lord! The scripture is filled with this model.

• They experience the Lord intervening and doing something in their lives.
• The people rejoice at this intervention and gift from the Lord.
• Those souls who are truly attentive, marvel at the good things the Lord has done.
• In this delight in the gift they received, they turn their eyes from the gift, to the Giver.

This is the power of gratitude! Gratitude begins with me really receiving a gift. As I value this gift, my eyes move to the Giver! By receiving the gift, I come to know something about the Giver. As we contemplate this, we recognize the gifts the Lord has given us, and in doing so, we know more about Him.

Gratitude keeps us from forgetting His gifts to us. It keeps them present in our mind and our heart. Understand how gratitude plays an important part in receiving and after receiving Holy Communion.

Hear more about lingering and meditating on the gifts He gives us. Understand and hear more about how this helps us linger with and appreciate the Lord. Hear more about the importance of Gratitude in our Spiritual Life. Appreciate and hear more about the Mass and prayer. Hear more about The School of Prayer: The Mass.