Posted on February 28, 2025
Catechism Meditation:
Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. the great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. the “spiritual battle” of the Christian’s new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer. ―No. 2725
REFLECTION. In her article for Catholic Exchange: Prayer Is A Battle, Connie Rossini says… If your first reaction to the thought of starting a prayer routine is, “I don’t have the time,” aren’t you saying that you think other things more important? Don’t get me wrong. I understand that you are busy. I am busy too. But can you be too busy for God? If you wanted to spend time regularly with your spouse but were always told, “Sorry, I’m just too busy,” that would not be a good sign for your marriage. In a healthy marriage, spouses make spending time together a priority. So it is in a healthy relationship with God.
Rarely is anyone too busy to eat. We attempt to get adequate sleep no matter how full our schedule is. We make time for whatever is most important to us. Our next battle, then, is to embrace the importance of prayer, to make it a priority. If it is one of our top priorities, we will somehow find the time to pray regularly.
We know we cannot live a healthy life without enough food and sleep. We must embrace the truth that without daily prayer we cannot have a healthy spiritual life. We must embrace the truth that spiritual health is even more important than physical health. When we do so, we will no more skip praying than we will skip eating or sleeping.
Prayer is a battle. It requires fighting the mindset of the world that other tasks are more important. Until we conquer this mindset, we will never be faithful in prayer.
PRAYER. I open myself to You, Lord. Let me dwell in Your holy presence every day.
Timeless Wisdom Quote:
“No soul ever fell away from God without giving up prayer. Prayer is that which establishes contact with Divine Power and opens the invisible resources to heaven. However dark the way, when we pray temptation can never master us.” ― Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
Featured Video:
Prayer is a Battle: Strategies for Victory (8:15)
