Periods of spiritual dryness and difficulty in prayer are common for anyone who attempts to pray.
When sitting quietly with God feels like the most daunting task, we can sometimes be led to question the depth of our faith and are discouraged from even small attempts to pray.
Yet, it is precisely during these moments of struggle, we need the most strength to persevere.
Fr Jacques Philippe, arguably the most well-known member of the Community of the Beatitudes, has teamed up with Sr Anne of Jesus to bring us his latest book: Prayer: Oxygen for the Soul.”
Founded in France in 1973, the Community of the Beatitudes came out of a desire to live with other Christians as found in the Acts of the Apostles.
With a strong commitment to encountering the Holy Spirit through unceasing prayer and community, each member seeks holiness by living out the beatitudes daily.
Collaborating with members of the Community of the Beatitudes—married and consecrated, lay and religious, Fr Philippe alternates the chapters between the members and himself, breaking down the concept of prayer, making it accessible, engaging, and at times tear-jerking.
It is a thoughtful and practical addition to his renowned repertoire, aimed at “awakening within the desire for personal prayer, that silent, interior prayer of the heart so recommended by all the saints in the Christian tradition.”
Concentrating on prayer as “an act of faith, hope and love in God” in the opening chapters, Fr Philippe sets the tone of relationship with God as the foundation of our prayer and expands on the theological virtues throughout each chapter, either through advice or mediations.
At one point Fr Philippe cautions the reader to not fall prey to the happy feeling one can get when God answers, because his answer will not always be to our liking.
Nor should we follow our “feelings” when praying, because we risk chasing spiritual consolations rather than developing true knowledge of God.
His use of imagery to evoke emotion and meditation is quite powerful too. Fr Philippe uses a chapter to focus on a well-known metaphor where our souls are the garden and God is the gardener.
God brings life to everything in the garden, yet we are required to work the land and water it if we want to see anything grow. Similarly, our own invocation of Christ’s “I thirst” can only ever be quenched and bring about eternal life through relationship with God we achieve by praying.
The diversity of voices in Prayer: Oxygen for the Soul also offers us a multifaceted view of prayer, making it easy to find a perspective that resonates personally. Whether it’s contemplative or singing, what matters most is that we pray.
Not even 120 pages, it is a short and helpful manual that will be sure to get you praying again and if not, at least provoke deep thought about God’s love and how prayer might be able to change your life in a positive way.
Whether you’re looking to reignite a waning prayer life or deepen an already established one, this book will offer both inspiration, deep thought and practical tools to assist you in whatever stage of prayer you may be in.
“Prayer: Oxygen for the Soul” by Fr Jacques Philippe and Sr Anne of Jesus is published by Sceptre Publishers, Inc. It is 117 pages long and can be purchased at the Mustard Seed Bookshop.