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To help the members of our Saint Mary Parish Men’s Ministry, husbands, fathers and single men, develop a deeper relationship with God and the Church, we recommend the following resources for public prayer and worship and for private prayer:

Public Prayer: Mass and Other Sacraments

Recognizing that “The great commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength” (Matthew 22:37-38), we strongly recommend the celebration of the Eucharist, the Sacrament which makes present the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, on a daily basis, if possible, but definitely every weekend.

Every man may not be able to participate in daily Mass, but no man is too busy to get to Sunday Mass with his family. In the Third Commandment given to Moses on Mount Sinai, God asks us to keep holy the Sabbath Day. The Church requires every Catholic to keep the Sabbath holy every week by participating in Sunday Mass.

The Eucharist, after all, is the Sacrament Jesus Christ established on the night before he died. The Body and Blood of Christ feeds our spiritual growth.

There are many moments in our lives as men when we realize that we have strayed away from the Lord and His Church. Therefore we also recommend the great Sacrament of Healing, the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation, when we confess and receive the forgiveness of our sins, especially serious sins. The Sacrament of the Eucharist is also a Sacrament of healing – for when we participate in the Mass, all of our less serious sins are forgiven. We recommend yet another Sacrament of Healing, the Anointing of the Sick, to those who are seriously ill or preparing for surgery; the Sacrament of the Sick strengthens us spiritually during bodily illnesses.

What we wish to emphasize is not the obligation to public prayer but rather the grace and strength that it brings into our lives. We participate in Mass and receive the Body and Blood of Christ not only because God and Church expect us to, but because they best express our love of God and one another.

The goal of our spiritual lives was best described by Saint Paul: “…it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20)

We strongly recommend:

Regular weekend Mass attendance as well as Holy Days of Obligation

Daily Mass if possible

For Mass away from home while traveling or on family vacations - masstimes.org

Proper reverence and behavior before, during and after Mass

Sacraments of Reconciliation on a regular basis and Anointing of the Sick when necessary

Service (love of neighbor) – StMMM Mission/Outreach webpage

Private Prayer

Many times during his public ministry, Jesus left his apostles and disciples to go off and pray by himself. He needed those opportunities to be with his Father, and he drew great strength from those moments – the strength that enabled him to complete his mission.

Perhaps we have not been carving enough time out of our busy lives for private prayer. Yes, stressful jobs and active families compete with the need for private prayer time. Nevertheless, we know that finding time to be alone with God is not optional equipment.

What if you’re behind? A Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”

Private prayer can take many forms. As the great 14th century Dominican mystic and theologian, Meister Eckhart, once pointed out, “If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”

Jesus Christ, in Luke’s Gospel, says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11; 9-13)

Saint Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit helps us to pray: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:26)

Real prayer is not about posture, location, frequency, or eloquence. It’s about honesty and sincerity. Prayer is listening to God because you know God has something to say to you and your life, and because you want to engage the God who created you and knows you better than you know yourself in an lifelong conversation. So don’t worry about the formulas. Just pray.

We strongly recommend:

Making time for daily prayer (5 min – 30 min/day)

* Share your most heartfelt feelings with Chris, and don’t forget to listen. After all, prayer is a conversation,

not a monologue.

* There is no one way or right way to pray. There are as many ways to pray as there are people.

Prayer can be structured (place & time) or spontaneous.

* A suggestion for beginners might be to find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for at least 5

minutes. Still yourself. Speak from the heart or read/recite a prayer.

* As your prayer times becomes more regular, try to carve out more time for prayer. Experiment with

different types and styles of prayer.

Types of prayer – praise, forgiveness, petition, thanksgiving

* Vocal

* Meditative

* Contemplative

Resources for prayer:

* Prayer Primer – Thomas DuBay, S.M.

* Intimacy with God – Fr. Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O.

* Introduction to the Devout Life – St. Francis de Sales

* Catechism of the Catholic Church

Praying the Rosary - www.rosary-center.org/howto.htm

Lectio divina – prayerful and meditative reading of scripture or spiritual classics (Suggested Reading List)

Adoration Chapel – visit for quiet time with the Lord or commit to a weekly hour

Family prayer times (grace, intentions, night time with children) – all easy ways to introduce prayer into your life.