Father James Martin: The right way to pray is whatever works best for you.

Ashley McKinlessSeptember 15, 2017

Jesuitical30-AL.mp3

Father James Martin: The right way to pray is whatever works best for you.

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Chances are if you’re Catholic you’ve said it, or at least thought it: I am terrible at praying. I know I have (and am). You’ve tried the rosary. You’ve given the Examen a shot. You even dragged yourself to adoration. Why isn’t God answering?! Especially in this long slog between Pentecost and Advent, it’s easy to get discouraged.

Fear not, dear listener. This week, we bring back Father James Martin, who has written a new book on prayer, In All Seasons, For All Reasons: Praying Throughout the Year. We ask him: How to (pumpkin?) spice up your prayer life during plain ol’ Ordinary Time? What’s your favorite way to pray? And what’s the worst prayer advice you’ve ever heard?

(You can enter to win a free copy of Father Martin’s book if you leave us a review on iTunes, screenshot the review and then send it to jesuitical@americamedia.org!)

We also asked listeners what the first prayer they learned was and got a ton of responses. Check them out in this Twitter thread @jesuiticalshow:

What's the first prayer you memorized? pic.twitter.com/xc8zQuMr78
— Jesuitical (@jesuiticalshow) September 12, 2017

Next in Signs of the Times, we discuss: Does Pope Francis’ change in the rules around Mass translation mean we can stop saying chalice? Will Mychal Judge, O.F.M., the first official victim of 9/11, also become the Catholic Church’s first openly gay saint? And, should a student be kicked out of his Catholic high school for having dreadlocks?

Also: An Indian priest who was kidnapped in Yemen gets to meet the pope; said pope gets a black eye and then throws a few punches of his own on Donald Trump’s DACA decision and climate change denial; and a chainsaw-wielding nun gets to work in the wake of Hurricane Irma.