Lord Teach Me to Pray: Part 1 Praying Christian Virtues (Monday Night Sessions)

“Lord, Teach Me To Pray” is a program designed to help men and women learn how to pray in response to the Catholic Church’s call to holiness and a deeper commitment to Jesus as Lord. It was developed upon the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Part 1: Praying Christian Virtues: Focuses on the need to develop good religious habits based on the spiritual teachings handed down to us on the Christian Virtues. We learn, listen, and practice prayer based on the Ignatian spirituality methods of meditation, contemplation, and Consciousness Examen. We discover what St. Ignatius suggests to do for dryness and obstacles in prayer. Small groups commit to 15 minutes of daily prayer on given scriptures and gather once a week for 12 weeks.

Part 1.5: Contemplative Prayer Practices: Designed for those who want to continue praying together prior to the 19th Annotation. We learn and pray the different contemplative prayer practices used by the Desert Mothers and Fathers and the Monasteries in the early centuries of our church; such as: Breath Prayer, Body Prayer, The Jesus Prayer, and Lectio Divina. These all lead up to Ignatian Meditation and Contemplation. Praying Christian Virtues is a prerequisite.

Part 2: My 19th Annotation: Experience praying the full Ignatian Exercises which St. Ignatius wrote for those who live and work and are unable to withdraw to a silent retreat. It is a 27 week experience of prayer presenting different spiritual exercises weekly. You commit to pray daily and gather weekly to share your faith experience in a quiet, respectful way with others. Praying Christian Virtues is a prerequisite.

Part 3: Discernment and Gifts of the Spirit: “The whole spiritual life is nothing but the attaining of the Holy Spirit.” (St. Seraphim Sarov). Meet for 14 weeks to learn about the identity and activity of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity through the writings of many spiritual authors, catechesis of the Holy Spirit with emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and an introduction to St. Ignatius’ Rules of Discernment. Commit to praying 45-60 minutes daily on given scriptures and meeting weekly to faith share. Praying Christian Virtues and My 19th Annotation are prerequisites.