Difficulties in Prayer and the Importance of Posture in Prayer
Overcoming difficulties in prayer and the importance of posture in prayer. What are the Church’s guidelines about kneeling and genuflecting? Dan and Melissa discuss these topics and more as they answer questions from listeners.
Topics/Questions covered in the show:
- Has Dan always found spending time with God in prayer easy?
- Does it get easier to pray as we progress in the spiritual life?
- Tips on developing a robust prayer habit.
- How does the enemy try to disrupt your prayer life?
- Are we required to kneel at Mass if it causes pain?
- What does the act of kneeling at Mass signify?
- Why do people prostrate themselves before the Lord?
- Why is your posture in prayer important?
- What are the Church’s guidelines for kneeling and genuflecting?
- Are there legitimate reasons for not observing the rubrics regarding kneeling and genuflecting?
Resources:
- EWTN Religious Catalogue – online
- Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
- The Collected Works of St Teresa of Avila, Volume One – Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez. Contains Book of Her Life.
- The Four Waters of Prayer, Part II of II – Post on SpiritualDirection.com by the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles
- The three ways: purgative, illuminative, unitive — Four part series on SpiritualDirection.com (all parts linked to each other)
- Navigating the Interior Life – Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God – Daniel Burke with Fr John Bartunek
- Catechism of the Catholic Church – Part 4, Section 1, Chapter 3, Article 2: The Battle of Prayer
- Rubrics – New Advent link
- Why don’t people kneel at Mass? – post by Dan Burke on SpiritualDirection.com
- Ceremonial of Bishops – A book that describes the Church services to be performed by Bishops of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church.
- “A genuflection, made by bending only the right knee to the ground, signifies adoration, and is therefore reserved for the Blessed Sacrament, whether exposed or reserved in the tabernacle…” (CB 69)
- “No one who enters a Church should fail to adore the blessed sacrament, either by visiting the blessed sacrament chapel or at least by genuflecting: Similarly, those who pass before the blessed sacrament genuflect, except when they are walking in procession.” (CB 71)
- Inaestimabile Donum – Instruction Concerning Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery, Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship “The venerable practice of genuflecting before the Blessed Sacrament, whether enclosed in the tabernacle or publicly exposed, as a sign of adoration, is to be maintained. This act requires that it be performed in a recollected way. In order that the heart may bow before God in profound reverence, the genuflection must be neither hurried nor careless.” (ID 26)
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 – “May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – USCCB Bible link
- Questions? Send an e-mail to Questions@myavila.com or call 818-646-7729. Please leave your name, location, and question(s).
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