Hi Book Clubbers!
Chapter 2 was all about how Dynamic Catholics have a routine of prayer and then have a routine within a routine. They always pray at the same time, in the same place, in the same way. They know how they are going to pray, by trying different things and determining what works best for them. We need to find this time for silence and prayer because it is in this silence that God talks to us. We shouldn't try to get all crazy and elaborate with our prayer routine, but to keep it simple and focused. Just setting a small amount of time each day (that can increase in length over time) will present many benefits to our lives.
I really enjoyed a lot of the practical tips on how we can easily improve our prayer lives (and the summaries at the end of every chapter!)
Discussion Questions - Set 1
1.) Can you tell when you are and are not spiritually healthy? What are the indicators?
2.) Do you have a daily routine of prayer? If so, what is it? If not, what would you like it to be after reading this chapter?
1.) I think that I can tell sometimes tell when I am not spiritually healthy. When I am worrying about things that I can't control or in a mode of thinking that is negative, I find that I will often think less about God and growing our relationship and my faith. I am during these times less likely to be active at Church or to make time for prayer time, etc.
ReplyDelete2.) I did have a daily routine of prayer of reading the daily readings and various reflections on these readings in bed before I get up. I also read a lot of spiritual articles on blogs and via email. But what I realized after reading this chapter, is that I was just reading these articles and not really reflecting on them in a prayerful way. I feel like I was gaining something from it, but that it was one sided in that I wasn't really having a conversation with God. Since reading this chapter, I have continued with these practices, but have now added an element of writing down my favorite verses or reflections in a journal and then writing out a prayer that piggy backs off what I read (or something that is happening in my daily life if that is tugging at my heart more.) I haven't been perfect in doing this, especially on the weekends when things get busy, but I hope to keep growing into this prayer routine over time.