Practicing the Presence

One of my favorite parts about being on the Spiritus team is receiving weekly formation about different aspects of our faith. A couple weeks ago we had the opportunity to spend some time with Bishop Ricken and we learned about practicing the presence of of God. This concept involves being aware of God’s ever loving presence in our everyday lives, and seeing Him in the present moment. This type of prayer allows us to pray without ceasing and to offer up our entire day as a prayer to God. I think sometimes I fall into the temptation that I can only pray if I’m in the chapel or at Mass. By practicing the presence of God, I can pray anywhere. I am more easily able to see Jesus in my teammates, the students I serve, and in the simple tasks of each day.

Bishop Ricken also talked about the Jesus prayer. You pray it by saying “Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.” It can be simplified to “Jesus have mercy on me” or you can change it to whatever suits your needs like “Jesus I love you” or “Jesus thank you”.  There is no right or wrong way to pray the Jesus prayer. The Bishop had us sit in silence for about seven minutes, and repeat the prayer meditatively. This prayer has allowed me to become more receptive to Jesus’ great love for me. A lot of times I talk to students who say they are too busy to pray. By teaching them about practicing the presence of God and the Jesus prayer, I hope they will be able to integrate prayer into their everyday lives. If you are interested in learning more about this topic, check out The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, the basis for Bishop Ricken's talk.