As we begin a new liturgical year, we have a great opportunity to do a sort of examination as it relates to our lives as disciples. January 1 is often a time when people take stock of their lives and set resolutions in all sorts of areas, especially with regards to our physical health. But I would suggest now is a great time for us to look at our spiritual health and with this new season, to see if there might be something the Lord is inviting us to consider doing to help advance that area of our lives.
One of the most essential habits of those committed to living a life of discipleship is daily prayer. Many of us will acknowledge the need for this in our lives, but getting started can be a challenge. Or, perhaps we do have a daily habit of prayer, but are hoping to deepen our commitment. We might make the resolution to start praying every day, or to pray more, only to begin on day one and think: now what? How do I pray? What can I add? There are many ways to pray, to be sure, and I cannot tell you which way is best for you. Therefore, if we are new to prayer, or looking to explore some new possibilities, this season of Advent could be a time during which we try a few different things, liking trying on different outfits to see what fits, what feels good, what we seem to connect with.
In that regard, I am pleased to announce a resource that I think you will find extremely helpful in building or strengthening this daily habit of prayer, the Hallow app. This app has exploded in popularity over the past couple of years and many (myself included) use it as a part of their daily prayer routine. There are MANY different resources to explore on the app, and our parish has secured a special offer for our parishioners to try out the full set of content from Hallow for 120 days at the very low cost of $1 total! You will find signup instructions later in the bulletin and in Atrium.
I personally use the Daily Examen prayer to reflect on the previous day, noticing where the Lord was present, where I may have missed Him, and how to follow Him better the next day. I also regularly use the app for praying the Rosary. The daily bible reflections from Jeff Cavins are also extremely insightful. Sometimes, I just poke around the app to see what catches my attention. Father Daniel McGrath, one of our Parochial Vicars, also uses Hallow regularly. Here is what he has to say about using this app:
I have had the Hallow app since the middle of the summer. I didn’t use it much at first, but I have begun to enjoy almost daily listening to the music playlists, praying the rosary with it, and especially listening to the scripture readings when going to bed at night. There are so many resources it offers for making the Word of God a more regular part of your life! As St. Paul tells the Colossians, Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.
As we begin this new liturgical year, I pray that all of us will take some time to examine how we are doing with our daily prayer, and ask the Lord what one thing might be that we can add or change. We do not need to overwhelm ourselves by adding too many things, lest we get overwhelmed and discouraged. Start small. Just one thing is something I think we can all manage. And if the Hallow app helps you in identifying what that one thing is, thanks be to God!
Father Alford