How to pray: some practical tips

Pick a good posture that won’t give you cramps!

Mary meditated on events (read Lk 2, 19, 51):

We should come to prayer with the events we’ve experienced – which might prompt expressions of thanksgiving, asking for forgiveness, or petitions.

If you are angry, present it to Jesus so that he may carry it in us. In the same way, if you have been humiliated, present it to Jesus so that he may carry it in us (otherwise we will still face the same problem after the prayer!)

Pay attention to the signs of the times: for example, the Pope launched a year of the Rosary, a year of Saint Paul, a year for priests, etc.

Pray for the intentions of Mary, and, by welcoming them in our life, pray for those who have been entrusted to us. And pray for your leaders. We complain about them but often pray very little for them!

It is not a matter of what we say, but of experiencing an encounter:

Pray the Rosary.

Pray the Liturgy of the Hours, pray the psalms as the Holy Family of Nazareth did.

But try to banish expressions such as "reciting the Rosary," or "saying the Divine Office": praying the Rosary and the breviary should be like meeting with the best of friends.

Pray like the sons and daughters of the King that you are!

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Bishop Jean Ntagwarara, Bishop of Bubanza (Burundi), former chaplain of the Foyer of Bujumbura (preacher at the Foyer de Charité of Courset) and F. Breynaert (written presentation).