Throughout Encounter Grace: Moments of Hope, Joy, and Peace, Becky Eldredge includes questions for reflection. To kick-off our Lenten read-along, we invited Loyola Press authors and friends to respond to two of those questions:
- How has your recipe for prayer changed over the course of your life?
- What has remained constant?
Enjoy their responses.
Asking for Guidance
“My prayers have become less formal and more personal. They are conversations with God, expressing my gratitude for the life He has prepared for me. More importantly, I ask for His guidance and patience in enabling me to be a better and more faithful servant as I traverse through the peaks and valleys of life. I also ask for His instructions on how I can show up for others.
“The Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Act of Contrition continue to be important priorities in my prayer rituals since I was a child. My go-to, so to speak, before my nightly prayers has always been, ‘Dear God, I love You. I know You love me too. Please be merciful to me, the sinner.’”
—Anthony P. Carter, author of This I Know: Principles for a Life of Faith and Optimism
Dwelling in Mystery
“My first recipes for prayer contained many wordy ingredients. Now, it is practices to nurture attention, awareness, and presence.”
What has remained constant? “Simply put, my desire to consciously dwell in Mystery.”
—Anne Kertz Kernion, author of The Four Connections: How to Flourish by Aligning Your Beliefs, Body, Brain, and Bonds
Conversing with God
“My recipe for prayer has evolved from just prayers I was taught over the years as a young Catholic to more of a conversation with God. Whether it was through tragedies, like Hurricane Katrina, or triumphs, like births of my various godchildren, my prayer recipe has changed to more ‘seeing God’ in these moments and having more conversations with Him during these moments. This evolution has made me feel closer to God and, I believe, made me more devout in expressing my faith in all spaces and places.
“My favorite prayer over time has been my Rosary. I keep it with me all the time and pray it regularly. I feel a sense of calmness and peace, especially in overwhelming circumstances when I cannot find the words to pray in my own words.”
—Ansel Augustine, D.Min., author of Praying with Our Feet: Encountering God in the Margins
Moving Away from a Santa Claus God
“My prayer has gone from rote to conversational, from a specific time and place to constant dynamic awareness, from a God ‘out there’ to a God within and between, from bringing my wish list of problems to be solved and things I wanted (things I thought would make me happy) to a ‘Santa Claus God’ to discerning how I can bring the God of love to others.
“What has remained constant: God never stopped seeking me.”
—Lisa Kelly, author of The Spiritual Path: Embarking on the Journey of a Lifetime
Keeping Good Ingredients
“As with my actual cooking, my spiritual cooking has changed dramatically since I had kids. I used to take time to carefully select ingredients so I could try new inspiring recipes. Now, by the time I get the kids to bed and the dog fed, I find myself opening cupboards to see what I can scrape together with a few basic ingredients.
“However, in much the same way as I can avoid snacking on chips by keeping our fruit rack and vegetable drawer stocked, I find that the better I am about keeping good ingredients on my spiritual shelves, the easier it will be to keep myself nourished in prayer. Here are a few basic tips:
- Try to plan spiritual meals ahead when there will be time to pray and maybe ‘batch cook’ for a few days when a quick Our Father is all there will be time for.
- It’s all about the sauce. You can use the same ingredients over and over in prayer if you bring a new perspective each day. Lectio Divina is a great way to use the same ‘prepared meal’ multiple times while letting the spice of our daily life bring a different sauce to each reading.
- Last but not least, try to turn down an hour of doomscrolling (spiritual junk food) for an inspiring podcast and some doodling.”
—John Byrd, Communications Manager, American Jesuits International
How has your recipe for prayer changed over the course of your life? What has remained constant?
Participating in our Lenten read-along of Encounter Grace? Introduce yourself in the comments below! And post your thoughts, favorite quotes, or reactions with #lentreadalong on social media.