Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God or, as St Teresa put it very simply, “conversation with Christ.” Since Jesus Christ is truly our Lord and God, and has purchased with the shedding of His blood, redemption and eternal life for those who follow Him, prayer is the most important conversation that we could have. Lent is a time when we should examine our habits of prayer and do what we can to grow in friendship with Christ.

It is true that we can pray anywhere, and it is a good practice sometimes to make short prayers from the heart, such as “O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee.” However, if we are to give the proper place to Christ in our lives, we ought to set aside time to pray, particularly in the morning and at night, and when we come to the Church, before and after Mass.

When we pray, we should not limit ourselves to asking for things, but spend time in praise and adoration of God, perhaps using some of the beautiful traditional formulas of our Catholic prayers.