What will daily prayer look like for you this Lent? During this spiritual exercise, you are called to commit yourself to a daily holy hour. If you can’t do an entire holy hour on a given day, do as much as you can. Preservation of the twenty minutes of silent contemplative prayer is the exercise minimum on days you cannot make a full holy hour. When you are making the full holy hour, at least twenty minutes of silent contemplative prayer in open conversational time with God should be a part of the hour.
In addition, you will read a passage from scripture and a corresponding reflection— both provided in the app— each day. The Word will lead you through the spiritual exercise and the reflection will serve as your guide in following Christ in his passion death and resurrection. Stay faithful to these daily scripture readings and reflections. They will aid you in entering into your time of contemplative prayer each day as well as assist you in avoiding common pitfalls such as pride and fear.
The following two excerpts from the Exodus 90 Field Guide remind us of just how important time in contemplative prayer with our Lord is:
St. John of the Cross calls contemplative prayer “Silent Love.” It is this silent listening to the Lord that ought to be emphasized during your twenty minutes of contemplative prayer each day. For it is within this silent prayer that “We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed” (CCC 2711).
Do not let yourself be dissuaded by thinking that you have no time. The Catechism boldly states, “One does not undertake contemplative prayer only when one has the time; one makes time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter” (CCC 2710). You can do it. God will provide the grace for you if you show up to prayer each day willing to receive it.
When it comes to being formed as a man, God must lead the way. An hour of daily contemplative prayer gives our Lord the time and the space to lead us. Regardless of how well you have or haven’t done in making time for contemplative prayer in your life up to this point, today is a new day. Give Jesus Christ an hour of your undivided attention each day this Lent and you will very likely receive abundant blessings for you and your family.
Ideally, daily times of contemplative prayer should be spent in Eucharistic adoration with our Eucharistic Lord exposed in a monstrance or reposed in a tabernacle. If neither option is available, then “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). For best results, choose both a consistent place and consistent time each day; a place that is set apart with a candle and something to aid your prayer such as a sacred image or a crucifix, and a time that is conducive to undistracted prayer, such as first thing in the morning before your mind swells with worries and tasks.
Exodus Men make up a living fraternity. All of us are actively striving to be better men for those around us. We are not passive men, but fervent men, willing to give up comfort for meaningful change. We are men of prayer and men in need of prayers. For this reason, we are called to pray, at the minimum, the prayer our Lord has given us, the “Our Father” for our brothers every day. This simple, consistent act will bring forth graces far beyond what we could possibly know this side of heaven. Be faithful to this small, but highly impactful, fraternal act of prayer.
In addition, know that as you embark on the Lent spiritual exercise, there will be thousands of Exodus men around the world praying an “Our Father” for you every day. When the exercise gets hard and you’re tempted to quit, just remember, your brothers are praying for you today and they’ll be praying for you tomorrow as well. Pray for your brothers and receive the graces of their prayers.