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With that in mind, I was struck the other day by a picture of Jesus praying that my family has hanging in the kitchen. I see this picture about 10 times a day, but this time, as I was thinking about my vocation, all that is going on with the New Evangelization and the Year of Faith, it took on a new meaning and importance to me. I have always understood the importance of prayer because it was talked about in my family since I can remember, especially by my Nana; so as I saw this image I was reminded of how many times in Scripture Jesus went to pray by Himself. The time that Jesus took to pray was crucial to His ministry so the time we take to pray is crucial to our own! One can never pray too much! Steeping oneself in prayer can be as simple as "Jesus, I trust in You" a few times during the day. When we take these little moments to remind ourselves of the center of our life, work and ministry - Jesus Christ - we then open our hearts more often to be vessels of His grace in the lives of others, for it is not what we do for others but what Christ does for them through us.
Let us take this time at the beginning of the Year of Faith to refocus ourselves and pray for an increase of the Marian virtue of Constant Mental Prayer in our lives! With an openness to the Holy Spirit, let us pray that our prayer, along with our ministry may soften the hearts of those around us to a greater abandonment and love of our Lord!
Written by Alycia
