Preparing for prayer

Some simple tips from the monks of Mirfield

It’s a mixed bag, my Substack: sometimes you get long essays on obscure arcana, sometimes a sermon, sometimes a story, and once in a while, a note more brief and personal. Today is one of those whilesome onces. Forgive the unfinished series and sagas that linger in the half-formed chaos of my drafts folders. Here is a little something which I hope may be of immediate practical use.

It is always a pleasure to be asked how to pray. Sometimes it is simply assumed that we all know how. At one level, this is right. Prayer can be a conversation with God, and you can start it right away.

But what kind of conversation will it be? As with any conversation, its tone will depend on the mood you establish first, on things like setting, expectations and attitude. One goes about a conversation with one’s boss in a boardroom rather differently from how one converses with one’s wife at a romantic dinner for two. Even if your wife happens to be your boss, she may find it odd to find the boardrooom lights dimmed, the conference desks decked with roses and candles, and Barry White rumbling in the background (to be clear, the Walrus of Love is not my typical mood music). Likewise, the dinner for two will be spoiled by strip lighting, the clattering of a next-door photocopier and exposition of your latest great spreadsheet.

So, let’s talk about expectations. First, God is unlikely to do much of the talking. He is more the strong and silent type. To get to know Him, it is best to enter His silence and dwell there. He will communicate with you, but usually in ways which go beyond words. It therefore pays to be still and attentive in His presence. The place where you pray and the posture in which you do so need to be as conducive as possible to this silence and stillness. You need to find somewhere you will not be distracted. God requires all your attention. And you need to be seated or kneeling in a position in which your body will not distract you. A prayer stool can help, as can a hard chair on which you can sit comfortably but attentively upright.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we can begin. The way I do so is taught by the monks of the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield, near Leeds in England. Despite popular rumour, there are indeed Anglican monks, and these are some of them. They spend their lives immersed in prayer, so they should know what they are about.

As a simple way to prepare onself for prayer, they recommend the mnemonic ‘PACT’:

P= Presence

First pause, and become aware of God’s presence, wherever you are.

God is present everywhere, but that presence is more intensely felt in places hallowed by prayer, and especially in the Blessed Sacrament. It is therefore good, if possible, to pray in a church or chapel where the Sacrament is reserved. A prayer corner with icons and a lit candle makes a suitable stand-in at home or work.

Make the Sign of the Cross. Be mindful of God as you pray:

“In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

A= Adoration

Remember the Lord’s love for you, and return yours to Him.

More than a string of requests to God (though not less than that), prayer is an orientation towards God, using the words and symbols He has given us in Scripture and in His Church to let Him redirect us towards Him and draw us to Him. So, lower your mind into your heart and open yourself to Jesus as he ever opens his Sacred Heart to you.

You may wish to pray this refrain from the Stations of the Cross:

“We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.”

C= Contrition

The great spiritual teachers agree that the first step on the path of sanctification is acknowledgement of our own sin and our need for God’s grace. We call to mind our failings here, turning to God entirely and trusting in Him alone for healing and forgiveness. One may wish to conclude one’s prayers with a recitation of the Kyrie eleison:

“Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.”

T= Thanksgiving

What do you have to thank God for today? Your family, your home, food, clothing? Something more? Now is the time to acknowledge this with gratitude.

You can use your own words, but you might conclude with this prayer, taken from the General Thanksgiving in the Book of Common Prayer:

“We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.”

PACT - Presence, Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving - is a simple way to reorient oneself towards God in preparation for speaking to and listening to Him. It can be used before Mass, the daily office, your own private intercessions, the Rosary or the Jesus Prayer.

So, why not trying making your PACT today? And should you wish to visit the Community of the Resurrection, you can!

For more tips on prayer and a journal to plan your daily, weekly and monthly intercessions, please see my Daily Prayer Planner, available from Amazon.