476 • Part IV. Prayer: The Faith Prayed
THE WORK OF PRAYER
Prayer requires time, attention, and effort. We need to discipline ourselves
for what spiritual writers call “spiritual combat.” They cite problems such
as
acedia
(a form of sloth or laziness) that arises from a lax ascetical behav-
ior, a laxity that needs to be corrected. The Tempter will try to pull us away
from prayer. Distraction and dryness will discourage us.
The remedy is faith, fidelity to times for prayer, constant conver-
sion of heart, and watchfulness. The
Catechism
’s section “The Battle of
Prayer” (CCC, nos. 2725-2745) answers many questions that beginners
are likely to ask. Its advice is practical and experiential. For example,
the section addresses the issue of distraction, a major obstacle for most
beginners. Distractions interfere with all forms of prayer. The temptation
to fight them entraps one; all that is needed is to turn back to the pres-
ence of the Lord in our hearts. A distraction reveals our attachments, but
a humble awareness of this can move us to offer Christ our hearts for the
needed purification.
PRAY ALWAYS (1 THES 5:17)
It is often said that we should pray as if everything depended on God and
act as if everything depended on us. The “can-do”mindset of our culture
inclines many believers to substitute self-reliance for prayer. People are
not conscious of their need for God.
Despite the general cultural preference for an independent spirit
that idealizes the achievements of the self in getting things done, stud-
ies about religion indicate a significant counter movement. Virtually all
Americans claim they believe in God. A high number of people report
they pray each day.
Within our Church, spirituality movements, including traditional
schools of spirituality such as Benedictine, Carmelite, Franciscan, and
Ignatian, stress the importance of liturgical and meditative prayer. In
addition, new immigrants enrich the life of the Church through their
traditions of popular piety. For example, devotion to Our Lady of
Guadalupe, begun in Mexico, has spread to the point where her feast is
now celebrated throughout the American continent.