KykNET Lent Guide 2023Sample

Week of Preparation - Pray

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.

By Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess. 5:17-18 ESV

There are many types of prayer. Through prayer, one should experience power and insight, gain courage and receive guidance. During the Lent journey, we will be practicing three types of prayer:

Each day ends with reflective prayer. This type of prayer invites you to pay attention to God’s presence in your day. Think back on the events of the day. Ask the Spirit to guide you in this. Choose one or two prominent events that were positive or negative. Think about these events in the presence of God and speak to Him about them.

Weekly, you will receive a repetition prayer to pray daily throughout the day – as you remember. A repetition prayer is a short prayer, prayed continually to anchor you in Him and to still your thoughts.

On Saturdays, you are invited to pray a revisional prayer. This prayer is self-explanatory, in that you are invited to “re” “vision” what you’ve experienced throughout the week. Do an overview of your week and pause at the times where you experienced movements from God. It could be that something left you with hope, or something that stuck with you through the week, or even something that left you with a feeling of resistance. Read the Scripture of the week again. Read through your notes. Go back to the experience of the week that stays with you or stands out to you. Reread that day’s devotional and exercise. Speak to God about your experience.

Exercise:

Practice these three types of prayer throughout the day. Start the morning with a reflective prayer on your week of preparation. Throughout the day, you can practice the repetition prayer to help turn your thoughts to God. Do the reflective prayer at the end of the day and pay attention to where you might have experienced God’s presence.

Repetition Prayer:

Lord, give me the grace to choose Your life.