Catholic Mission In Canada

The Sacred Place of Prayer
By Sister Jean Marie Dwyer, O.P.
Novalis: 2011, 164 pages
www.novalis.ca

In the course of Christian life, there are times when one wonders if one is doing everything one can to live that life well. Especially in missionary territories, where resources can be limited, our questions about improving our prayer lives may go unanswered for long periods of time, whether we are beginners or veterans.

Should I be praying more, or differently? Is there anything beyond always asking God for what I want, or need? Should I talk to someone about what is happening to me? Is it possible to have a good prayer life away from retreat centres, libraries, spiritual directors, and outside a regimented discipline of prayer strategies?

Sometimes, the suggestions made to us seem impossible to manage, given the demands of life and work.

For missionaries and lay people, The Sacred Place of Prayer, a new book by Dominican Sister Jean Marie Dwyer, places an exceptional prayer life within our grasp. Since the human person is a sacred being created in the image and likeness of God, each one is also a “sacred place of prayer” (the title of the book). We are drawn to God and reflect God by nature, so making more room for God in our lives helps reveal God’s saving action in the world.  

Whether starting anew or developing an already active prayer life, try Sister Jean Marie’s “to do” list:

1. Recognize everyone’s dignity.
2. Expand capacity to love, and make it show.
3. Read and reflect on the Scriptures daily;
4. Listen to God’s Word at Sunday liturgy with fresh and receptive ears.
5. Reflect in silence on the beauty around you and on your life.
6. Ask God how to pray for others and use God-given gifts to help them.
7. Sort the good and bad influences in your life and change what leads away from God.
8. Direct your inner spirit to God often each day and pray with picture symbols instead of words.
9. Be honest about your motives and seek what God desires for you.
10. Recognize God’s voice in the positive and hopeful.
11. Count yourself among those people, both good and sinful.  
12. Remember that prayer is meant to develop your relationship to God.

Through contemplative prayer, says Sister Dwyer, we can put our love into action to reveal the reign of God here and now because we know that the same Holy Spirit who transformed the lives of the saints is at work in us today if we are receptive.

Chris Mader, who has just completed her doctorate in theology from St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, writes this magazine’s Faith Matters column with husband Antal Prokecz.