Technically this is a book about Youth Ministry, but it inspired me so much that I’m listing it as a resource to help your prayer life. Mark is a protestant, but he approaches prayer from a very Catholic point of view:
“Ignatius of Loyola referred to contemplation as ‘seeing God in all things.’ Brother Lawrence called it ‘the pure loving gaze that finds God everywhere.’ Jean Pierre de Caussade defined contemplation as ‘the sacrament of the present moment.’ Teresa of Avila referred to this experience as ‘Awareness absorbed and amazed.’”
Mark advocates an adapted form of Lectio Divina for youth ministry. This is how I’ve closed most of my small-groups for the last two years and here are the two reasons why I keep doing it:
- Most of the students have told me they enjoy the silence.
- Even at the end of a crazy meeting, after we’ve prayed I still feel like we’ve accomplished something amazing.
