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Pray

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Lent invites us to pray.  But what is prayer?  Prayer is simply the surge of the heart towards God.  How to do that can seem complicated and undoable.  Prayer and praying styles are as unique as we are.  Here are a few suggestions:

• Like to color and doodle? Try our Labyrinth.  As you color, draw, or trace your way

Towards the center, take your time and think about the wounds, errors you have made, the brokenness hearted moment in your life.  Ask God to heal them. As your reach the center pause and think about what it would feel like to have those things lifted from your mind.  As you begin your journey out, take your time, and wrap your brain around the fact that God has already forgotten the errors and wiped them away...as if they were never even there.

• Interested in learning more about the Bible stories try Ignatian imaginative prayer https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/imaginative-prayer-a-meeting-on-the-road-to-emmaus/

• Are you an art connoisseur?  Icons are windows to heaven.  Learn a bit more about ways to use icons in your prayer life. Gaze at the icon (found here). What longings or feelings arise in you?  Remembering you are looking into heaven...to a God who is listening...what are the words you are hearing back?

• A Labyrinth is an ancient practice that moves your body as you pray. For centuries, labyrinths were imbedded in cathedral floors so pilgrims could walk the path while praying. Outdoor labyrinth gardens can be seen even today. But you can use a labyrinth by tracing a finger along the design. You can download a labyrinth exercise here.  Or, how about a little Lenten outing? There is a labyrinth on the campus of  Boston College @ 191 College Rd, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 on the lawn of Burns Library that was dedicated as a space for prayer, peace, and consolation, in memory of those who died on 9/11

• Want to try something that pilgrims have been using for years (also something proven for reducing stress and lowering your heart rate)?  Since 300, the “Jesus Prayer” has been a prescription for drawing closer to God.  Based on the premise that just by saying the name of Jesus, he is present with us, this prayer helps us slow down and be aware of our breathing. Don’t be turned off by the word sinner... sin (and sinner) have gotten a bad rap these days coming to mean something like breaking the rules and becoming heavy with guilt.  “Sin” was never meant to be used that way but as an opportunity to become more than we are.  The Jesus prayer: Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.  simple enough.  Now this time as you draw your breath in, and pray "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God" and as you exhale say, "have mercy on me, a sinner.  As we breathe in we are filled with Jesus, with a sense of his presence, his holiness, his purpose.  As breathe out, we let go of our sin, our emptiness, our selfishness. I invite you to try this for five minutes, concentrating on your breath, and filling yourself with Jesus. Learn a bit more here.

All Saints Prayer Wall-stop by and add a personal prayer to our prayer wall. People have been writing their concerns, their needs, their thanksgivings on walls for hundreds of years.We invite you to do the same.

• Pick up a sharpie and a ribbon.

• Write anything that is weighing on your heart: the name of a sick loved one, the hard time you are going through, a hope for the future, anything.

• Tie it to the wall.

• God who hears all things, will hear the cry of your heart and is surrounding you with love.