At that time, certain of the Scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying: Master, we would see a sign from You. But He answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For even as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Ninive will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. But when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he roams through dry places in search of rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house which I left’; and when he has come to it, he finds the place unoccupied, swept and decorated. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be with this evil generation also. While He was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and His brethren were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. And someone said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brethren are standing outside, seeking You. But He answered and said to him who told Him, Who is My mother and who are My brethren? And stretching forth His hand toward His disciples, He said, Behold My mother and My brethren! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.

Matt 12:38-50

When one enters the desert, understand that you are putting yourself to the test. When you put your focus to Christ, to prayer, to prayer unceasing, you will be tempted to stop, to be distracted.

Do not let the distractions hold you. If you become distracted, recognize this has happened, recognize it as a playful annoyance, and move beyond it. Return to your prayer.

You may experience thoughts that take you down a stream of ideas, and suddenly you are so far from your prayer that you have to start again. Do not despair! Return to the start, and continue. Do not condemn yourself. Prayer is a practice that can only get better the more you commit to prayer.

Begin with stillness.

Be consistent as much as you can be with when and how you pray. Aesthetics have to have a bit of a rule to live by. Let your heart and you conscience create your rule of life, your rule of prayer.

If you don’t know how to pray, or what to pray, start with that:

“Lord, teach me to pray.”

Pray the rosary.

Pray the Jesus prayer.

Read scripture until your mind rests upon words or phrases, then close your eyes, allow the words and phrases to take you. This is the Holy Spirit speaking to you. It takes effort to know how to listen. Sometimes the voice will be clear, like someone is standing behind you, speaking audibly. Sometimes it will come to you in a remembering a past event and seeing an insight you may not have seen before.

Read scripture. Close your eyes, mentally see the image you have read, and slowly find yourself taking a place in the scene. You might be a protagonist, or you might be observing from outside. Watch the scene play out. Listen. The Holy Spirit will speak to you. Again, it may be forceful like a voice from someone sitting beside you, or it may be quieter, more subtle.

Journal your experiences. Better, select a spiritual director you can speak to about your experiences. A good spiritual director will let you speak, will share insights when appropriate, and will help you do deepen your connection in prayer to the Divine.

Pray without ceasing. Let everything you do be an act of prayer. Dedicate your work to Christ before you being, as you work. Dedicate the merits of what you do in your life to the service of Christ, and do so in discretion. Do it in secret–your Father in Heaven will know.

Push yourself to unceasing love. This is less an act of exertion and more a surrender to the gentle hand of God in your life. This is not to say one should not act with responsibility. Rather, it is a way of looking at the threads of one’s life to see the handiwork of God within the movements of others, our thoughts, and perpetual choices and outcomes.

Participate in the Sacraments.

Particularly, during Lent, making a good confession, which I will be examining in the next blog post.