How to get on the first rung of prayer (Sunday homily)

 Have you ever considered how often the Lord met people at work: 

farmers in the field; women caring for the household; 

shepherds and fishermen, working all night?

When you are at school, or at your job, 

or doing the daily tasks of the farm or the home, Jesus is there. 

And if you find it hard to remember he’s part of your day, 

here are some easy, practical ways to keep Jesus with you all day:

- Start each day with the Morning Offering. 

You can do it in the shower or as you brush your teeth.

- Turn off the radio in the car and pray while you drive. 

You will drive more politely, and if you have a long enough drive, 

it’s not hard to complete an entire Rosary. 

There’s nothing wrong with praying part of your Rosary 

and coming back to it later. 

It’s not the best, but better to pray part, 

than to wait and not pray it at all.

- Make an effort to pause during the day, if only for a moment. 

Our parish staff takes five at Noon to pray the Angelus.

- Keep a Rosary or a medal in your pocket. 

Reach for it when things get crazy.

- Talk to Jesus through the day. This is a way to remind yourself 

of God’s presence and to develop the habit of realizing, you are never alone.

- On the way home, reflect on the day, both what’s behind 

and still ahead. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a second wind.

- Be sure to give yourself a few minutes before bed to look back, 

ask forgiveness and give thanks for the ups and downs of the day.

Of course, there is more to prayer than this. 

This is just how you get your foot on the first rung of the ladder.

Now, the other thing I’m supposed to do this weekend is invite you 

to make a commitment to the Catholic Ministry Appeal. 

You know about this. 

This provides for St. Rita School for the Deaf, 

for our seminary, for our retired priests, 

for Catholic Social Services which provides help to people in trouble, 

including here in Shelby County,

for hospital and prison chaplains, for outreach on college campuses, 

and for other evangelization efforts.

We have parishioners who have benefited from St. Rita, 

we have parishioners who have been in our seminary or are there now, 

we have people who quietly seek out help from Catholic Social Services, 

and a lot of our kids are away at college.

This is help that stays close to home.

There are pledge forms and envelopes in the pews. 

Feel free to fill one out and include it in today’s collection, 

or mail it in later.

Let me add one more point about prayer. 

As important as a plan is, such as what I outlined to a moment ago, 

that never gets anywhere without something far more basic. 

And that is desire.

So, if you’re having a hard time getting out of the starting gate, 

then here is my very simple advice. And it will work if you follow it:

Start with this short prayer: “Jesus, give me the desire.”

That is, for a habit of prayer, for a deeper spiritual life, 

for the grace to kick the habit of going to dark places online, 

whatever it is.

Five words: “Jesus, give me the desire.”

Say it over and over, a hundred times a day. That’s how it starts.

“Jesus, give me the desire.”