Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
James Martin, S.J.January 25, 2019
  Ludovico Carracci, "Madonna and Child with Saints" (detail), 1607. Met Museum. 

Subscribe to “The Examen” for free on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe to “The Examen” for free on Google Play

Join our Patreon Community

We’re really getting deep into Ordinary Time now. At least the church is. How about you? Christmas and Epiphany have probably already receded in your mind and Lent won’t come for a while. So maybe you wonder: What can I pray about? Well, Ordinary Time is one of my favorite times of the year because we follow Jesus through his exciting public ministry of preaching and healing.

So if you sometimes have a hard time thinking about what to pray about, as many of us do during our longer prayer periods, now might be a good time to pray with the Gospels. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just use an online resource like the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website, or a daily prayer book, like Give Us This Day, or Living with Christ, or Magnificat, and pray with the Daily Gospel reading. Imagine yourself in the scene, or talk to God about the story, or see if an insight comes, or simply pick a part of the story you and just rest with it. It’s Ordinary Time for sure, but you may find that your prayer can be extraordinary.  

[Don’t miss any of the latest writings, podcasts and videos from Father Martin. Sign up for his newsletter.]

More: Prayer
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

A portion of a new interview with Pope Francis will air tonight on the “CBS Evening News” at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, according to a release from the CBS News Communications office.
OSV NewsApril 24, 2024
A Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinApril 24, 2024
The reflections of Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., convinced me that Pope Francis' reframing of the scope and meaning of synods will have staying power, because it opens up a new model for the church.
Blase J. CupichApril 24, 2024
During his general audience, Pope Francis reminded his listeners of the importance of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. Engaging the crowd by having them recite the virtues aloud, Francis said that theological virtues animate our everyday actions toward the good.
Pope FrancisApril 24, 2024