Too Busy To Pray

I've gotten busy again --too busy to pray.

There are Masses in various parishes, talks to various groups, preparations for future parish missions, and of course household chores.

I can find time to "say my prayers" but setting aside time to pray has not been a priority.

There's more to praying than saying prayers. I've come to the conclusion that Catholics say too many prayers and do too little praying.

At least fifty-percent of praying ought to be silence. It's emptying the mind of words and being silent.

Prayer without words is more difficult than reading the divine office (the liturgy of the hours) or saying the rosary.

Prayer without words requires (or at least seeks) full focus on God. It includes a willingness to just be in God's presence, to enjoy God's company, to experience rather than talk about the "otherness" and the "closeness" of God.

When I'm too busy to pray I'm too busy!

It's time to prioritize, to begin spiritual exercise anew, to be rather than do.

Nearly all those who write about prayer insist on silence -quieting the mind so the heart can hear --being silent so God can get a word in edgewise. The more I talk the less I learn.

The daily prayer of the Jew (cf. Deuteronomy 6:4) begins with the word "Listen."

Moses got the people's attention with the simple command, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen!" (cf. Dt. 27:9).

In the midst of Jesus' transfiguration a voice from the cloud was heard to say, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him" (cf. Luke 9:35).

And here I am, doing it again. I sit here multiplying words, filling a blogpost because I think it is expected of me --when in fact I should be listening.

"Shh," my soul says to me. "Be quiet --at least for little while. Hush."