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Prayer is an impulse; it is an invocation that goes beyond ourselves: something that is born in the depths of our person and reaches out, because it feels the nostalgia of an encounter. This nostalgia is more than a necessity: it is a path. Prayer is the voice of an ‘I’ that fumbles in search of a ‘you’. The encounter between the ‘I’ and the ‘you’ cannot be done with calculators: it is a human encounter and we often fumble to find the ‘you’ that my ‘I’ is looking for.
This book brings together thirteen contributions by twelve authors, which form an itinerary for walking with Jesus and coming to contemplate God in our ordinary lives. Its aim is to facilitate this encounter with the one who loves us from eternity, so that it transforms our lives and allows us to bear fruit that, although beyond our reach, is made to fit our hearts.
Prayer is a gift that God wants to give to all of us. It is up to each one of us to remove the obstacles that prevent us from welcoming it with open arms. May these texts, written from the aspiration to pray more and better, help us to long for, to ask for and to cultivate that relationship that will transform our lives into what God has dreamed for them.
The editor of the book is Rubén Herce, priest. He has worked with university students for more than a decade. He is deputy director of the Core Curriculum Institute and the Science, Reason and Faith (CRYF) group at the University of Navarra and also co-directs the journal Scientia et Fides.
The 13 articles were also published independently. This is the list:
1. Stealing Christ's Heart. So many people, so many ways to pray.
The good thief stole Christ’s heart with a word and opened up to himself the gates of heaven. Prayer is like this: a word that steals Christ’s heart and enables us to live, from now on, close to Him.
2. With Words Jesus Taught Us. Praying from the word of God.
This second editorial in the series considers God’s initiative in prayer, which comes to meet man and educates his heart so that he can enter into a relationship with God and discover his condition as a beloved child of God.
3. In the Company of the Saints. Teachers and prayer companions.
To learn to pray, we can be helped by those men and women who prayed during their lifetime: the saints. In a special way, St. Mary.
4. Learning How to Listen. The interior silence.
The life of Moses teaches us that, in order to fulfil the mission to which we are called, we need to be transformed by the Holy Spirit through listening to God in filial dialogue with Him.
5. How God Speaks To Us. Some tips on how to discover his language.
The language of prayer is mysterious: we cannot control it but, little by little, we experience that it changes our heart.
God speaks in a low voice, but constantly; in Holy Scripture - especially in the Gospels - and also within us.
7. A Good Connection. Prayer in slow motion.
The words St Josemaría used at the beginning and end of his prayer can also serve as a guide for our own.
8. At the Right Time. The prayer that brings back memories.
God makes us experience our prayer in the way that suits us best at any given moment. St. Elizabeth is a testimony of how patience and constancy are transformed into full joy.
9. Fear Not, I Am With You. Difficulties in prayer.
In the course of our prayer life, difficulties or doubts will also arise. There are many reasons to think that God is especially close at such times.
10. How Close Jesus Is. From prayer to life, and from life to prayer.
St. Josemaría spoke of a ‘quid divinum’ - something divine - that we can discover around us and in the things we do. Then a new dimension opens up for us in which we share everything with God.
11. A Letter from Christ. A friendship that transforms us.
Our relationship with God in our prayer is intimately linked to all our actions in daily life. Jesus pointed this out in his preaching and Saint Josemaría always reminded us of it.
12. Souls of Liturgical Prayer. Praying with the whole church.
Some thoughts of Saint Josemaría that can help us to be more united to God and to the Church in the different liturgical actions.
13. One doesn't reason; one looks! Contemplative prayer.
Contemplative prayer develops a new way of looking at everything that happens around us. It is a gift that fulfils our natural desire to be united with God in the most diverse circumstances.