Staying Holy and Inspired at Home
1. Make Time for Prayer Every Day
a. First, it's best to set aside a small “sacred space” in which to pray. Light a candle there, and “decorate” it with a crucifix or other religious art, flowers or a green plant, and your Bible, opened to the daily Gospel.
b. Begin by spending 3 to 5 minutes in praise and adoration of God, who created you and the whole world, including all people and things you hold dear. He is so much greater than us, we need to acknowledge this always.
c. Then, move on to praying for your intentions. In fact, keep a list of these: write down the names of people who asked you to pray for them, and others for whom you wish to pray. Be sure to include Pope Francis, Bishop Duca, Father Paul and other parishioners and friends of the Cathedral, and their intentions. You will certainly have other personal intentions: your family and their needs, friends and co-workers, and so forth. Of course, in this time of "coronavirus crisis," pray for those who are suffering with it; those physicians, nurses and other health care workers who are caring for them so selflessly; others whose lives are devastated financially and psychologically by this tragedy; and scientists and others who are doing their best to guide us in overcoming it. It's traditional also to include prayers for all the living and for all the dead who are still being purified of their sins before entering heaven.
d. Speaking of sin, next repent of yours. Make sure you say an act of contrition during this part of your prayer-time. Remember, if your sins were so deliberate and serious that they could be mortal sins, God will forgive immediately if in calling them to mind you are truly sorry for them for the right reasons - because they offend Him, not because you fear punishment or embarrassment or the inconveniences of sin - and if you resolve to go to confession as soon as this becomes posssible.
e. Finally, close your prayer time with a few minutes of thanksgiving to God. He loves you absolutely, and responding with gratitude is the best way to say "I love you" back.
------------------
f. If your prayer-time is first thing in the morning, part of it should be a "Morning Offering." Dedicate the day to God, so that everything you do is done in His service, and builds up His kingdom in your little corner of the world. Ask for insight, a share in His divine wisdom, so that all the choices you make during the course of the day might be right ones.
g. If your prayer happens just before bedtime, it's also best to do what's called an "examen." First, look back over the day, and notice when you realized or felt that God was present and was blessing you. If you realize you made mistakes, immediately ask for His forgiveness and promise to do better. Then thank Him for the opportunity you had to live life for another day, and beg that He guard you while you sleep and guide you in the future.
h. If you can gather your family for prayer together, it's usually best to pray the rosary together, or simply sit in a circle and spontaneously pray in everyone's own words for some or all of those things listed above.
i. If you don't have much time, why not just pray a decade of the rosary, or recite other memorized prayers? If you search the internet for pictures of "Catholic Holy Cards" you will find dozens of prayers that can be used. You can also just talk to the Lord in a conversational way as well. He speaks our language!
2. Use the Bible as a Help to Inspiration and Learning
a. The best way to begin is to read the Scripture passages chosen by the Church for use at Mass each day. Click here each day to read them: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/
b. On a majority of Sundays this year a selection of Matthew's Gospel will be read. If you'd like to discover more about that book of the Bible, you might wish to use a good Catholic commentary as a guide. A recently-published one that Fr. Paul recommends is "The Gospel of Matthew" by Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri. An introductory webpage about it (and how to get a paperback or kindle edition of it!) can be accessed by clicking here: http://www.catholiccommentaryonsacredscripture.com/volumes/the-gospel-of-matthew/
c. One way to use the Bible in prayer is by a particular kind of spiritual reading called Lectio Divina. Basically, it's a way of prayerfully reading the Scriptures and drawing out of the Biblical text idea that can help one spiritually. One website Father Paul uses for this is this Carmelite website: http://www.ocarm.org/en/lectio/ . They offer a wonderful "guided" experience using the Gospel passage for each day.
d. If you wish, you might also join in the official daily prayer of the Church, called the Liturgy of the Hours. It consists almost exclusively of Biblical prayer, mostly from the psalms and canticles, with other readings and verses as well. Yes it takes some getting used to - the Hebrew poetry of the psalms can be hard to get used to at first! - but it is a good way to help pray for and with the Church. While clergy and religious pray the Liturgy of the Hours daily, everyone is invited to discover it and use it. Access the iBreviary website on your computer at http://iBreviary.com (or download the iBreviary app on your smartphone, which really makes it convenient to use!) if you'd like to try it.
3. Make Use of Other Spiritual Reading to Inspire You
a. You may wish to read the various messages of Pope Francis. For instance, click here to read his Easter message from April 12. Or click here to read his marvelous message on March 27, when he stood alone in the rain in St. Peter's Square and prayed with the world in this time of pandemic.
b. The President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, also released a statement on Easter Sunday. Click here to read his hopeful message.
4. Telecommunications Media Can Also Help
a. Until we can gather again in the Cathedral, our Sunday Mass at 10:30 am, and a Daily Mass (Monday through Saturday) at 8:00 am, is broadcast by CatholicLife Television on Cox Cable Channel 15 in East and West Baton Rouge Parishes, and on their YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/c/CatholicLifeTV/live, and on their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/catholiclifetv/
b. Our own Parish's Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/SJCathedralBR/ - will also publicize news and events as these are scheduled.
c. Bishop Robert Barron's "Word On Fire" Institute also has a number of online aids to worship, prayer and learning. Go to http://www.wordonfire.org/ to learn more.