3. Prayer ‘Off the Rack”
FIRST, one can use ready-made prayers because:
• They’re great – written beautifully & express
what I’m feeling right now
• They connect me with the eternal Church – I join
with all Christians who have prayed that prayer
since the 12th century
• They connect me with the universal Church –
Practically all Christians pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Spiritually unite with world’s 2 billion Christians
• They connect me with me – interconnect my past
with my present & future, ordinary with
transcendent, reality with ideal
Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
4. Ready-made prayers connect me to the
__________ and __________ Church
A. American and
International
B. Catholic and
Ecumenical
C. Eternal and
Universal
D. Local and National
Am
erican
and
International
Catholicand
Ecum
enical
Eternaland
Universal
Localand
National
0
1
9
3
5. Fastest Responders
Seconds Participant Seconds Participant
3.969 Blaschak, Alex
5.443 McCowan, Taylor
6.105 Stevens, Cassidy
6.105 Bane, Anna
6.487 20EFC4
6.765 Innacchione, Craig
10.053 Hardy, Shawntel
6. Prayer ‘Off the Rack”
SECOND, May not be able to pray in my own words
because
• I don’t know what to say – For whatever reason,
I can’t put into words my feelings or what I want
to say to God.
• I’m distracted – I may find fantastic times to pray
by can’t concentrate enough for deep prayer
• I’m emotionally distracted – I’m feeling strong
emotions and have trouble settling down for
prayer
• I’m tired – I’m too exhausted to pray
deeply
Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
7. Prayers I’ve said all my life
A. Always keep their
meaning because I
know the words by
heart
B. May lose their
meaning because I
don’t listen to the
words anymore Alw
ayskeep
theirm
ean...
M
aylose
theirm
eaning...
12
2
9. 5 Ways to Pray Ready-made Prayers
1st Way: Reflecting on the Words
• Prayers we’ve said all our lives may lose their
meaning. I don’t even listen to the words
anymore.
• Simply paying attention to the words I’ve
always recited by haven’t always prayed could
renew my prayer life. Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
10. Ready-made prayers can express my
own sincere desires and hopes
A. True
B. False
True
False
4
11
11. Team Scores
Points Team Points Team
2.67 Row 5
2.5 Row 1
2.5 Row 2
2.3 Male
2.18 Female
2 Row 4
1.67 Row 3
12. 5 Ways to Pray Ready-made Prayers
2nd Way: When Soul Searching Isn’t Possible
• Sometimes I choose ready-made prayers
because I can’t do the soul searching required
in other types of prayer.
• I use words of ready-made prayer to express
my sincere desires and hopes
Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
13. 5 Ways to Pray Ready-made Prayers
3rd Way: Linking Myself to the Past
• Allow the prayers to link myself with the past
and/or others who’ve prayer this particular
prayer through the years.
• This allows me to bridge across the rifts
between
– myself/my past
– My Church /other Churches
Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
14. 5 Ways to Pray Ready-made Prayers
4th Way: Singing
• Not many people think of song as prayer
• St. Augustine – to sing is to pray twice
• Create collection of prayerful music
– Instrumental
– Nature sounds
– Christian songs (simple/easy to learn) Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
15. Who said, “to sing is to pray twice”?
A. St. Augustine
B. St. Leonard
C. St. Joseph
D. St. Bernadette
St.Augustine
St.Leonard
St.Joseph
St.Bernadette
14
000
17. 5 Ways to Pray Ready-made Prayers
5th Way: The Mantra
• Use ready-made prayer as a word or phrase
repeated slowly and reverently
• Allow to still my mind in order to center all of
my attention
Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
18. When using these prayers, I should
“lean into being” …
A. Not at all as it is rote
prayer
B. Only insofar as it
feels natural to me
C. As intensely as I can
to move to the next
level Notatallasitisroteprayer
Only
insofarasitfeelsna...
AsintenselyasIcan
to
...
12
11
19. Team MVP
Points Team Participant
4 Row 4 Hardy, Shawntel
4 Row 5 McCowan, Taylor
4 Female McCowan, Taylor
4 Male Stevens, Cassidy
4 Row 1 Stevens, Cassidy
3 Row 2 20EFC4
3 Row 3 Kearney, Morgan
20. Lean into Being
Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
Remember
• Every prayer is to be used as a vehicle to get
me to that place of quiet (not a prayer
accomplish)
• Constantly feel for opening into the solitude
• No rigid procedure.
• Lean into deeper levels, but only insofar
as it feels natural
21. Three Pitfalls to Avoid
Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
1) Don’t allow prayers to become so mechanical
that they no longer mean anything to me
2) Don’t fall into trap of thinking that there is
some magic to these prayers
3) Beware of the Martha syndrome – keeping me
(my accomplishments) rather than God
at the center
22. Conclusion
Armchair
Mystic
Chapter 5
Ritual action of ready-made prayers instills in me
a sense of unity and continuity.
Unite my prayer
to prayers and
pray-ers of all
time
Allow me to pray
at times when
other forms too
demanding for
my attention
23. Ready-made prayers instill a sense of
A. Unity and
community
B. Universality and
connectivity
C. Unity and continuity
Unityand
com
m
unity
Universalityand
connecti...
Unityand
continuity
000
