Message from Fr. Aristides Lima

St. Gregory the Great Catholic Parish

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

In his letter to the Philippians, Saint Paul gives us a model for prayer. As my spiritual director in seminary used to remind us, “When it comes to prayer, we are all still beginners, we are all still in the first grade.” We need the help of the Holy Spirit to pray. With an authentic desire to know God and sincere willingness to make time and space for Him in our lives, we can experience the “peace of God that surpasses all understanding”.

I recently came across a helpful guide for the Prayer Process which reflects Saint Paul’s example of prayer:

• GRATITUDE- Begin by thanking God for whatever you are most grateful for today.

• AWARENESS- Revisit the past 24 hours when you were, and were not the best version of yourself. Talk to God about these situations.

• SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS- What did you learn from them? What might God be teaching you from these experiences? Ask Him.

• PEACE- Ask God to forgive you for any wrong towards yourself, another person, or Him). Ask him to fill you with His deep and abiding peace.

• FREEDOM- Speak with God freely about how He is inviting you to change your life to be the best version of yourself.

• OTHERS- Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today.

Conclude with the prayer that Jesus taught us, THE OUR FATHER.

If you would like a copy of this guide to prayer, they are available at DynamicCatholic.com.

Fr. Aristides Lima
Parochial Vicar