Pastor’s Corner: Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Dear Apostles,

I mentioned Father James Martin last week - and I am going to quote him again today. After all, his book Learning to Pray is really worth reading! Sometimes, as detailed in last week’s meditation, we avoid praying, or fall out of the habit. 

But one of the ways to build a practice of prayer is notice all the ways in which we are already praying!! Here again I’m indebted to Father Martin:

1. You spontaneously ask God for help. Maybe you send up a quick request for yourself, or maybe you’re deeply moved by compassion for someone else. Maybe your desire for help takes root and inspires action, or maybe it is a fleeting thought — in any case, you’re connecting a sense of need or reliance with a desire for Divine attention or involvement.

2. You pause to think about something that inspires you. You find yourself taking in the beauty of the world, or dwelling in gratitude about something, or really relishing something good that’s taking place in your life. You remember and take encouragement from past stories, or others’ stories, of resilience, beauty, and joy.

3. You try to “center” or “connect” or breathe deeply, or “ground down.”  Noticing a desire for calm or focus or deepening peace, you pay close attention to yourself but also reach outside yourself for support or stability.

4. You ask big questions from time to time. You wonder about meaning of life, the existence of God, or the practice of prayer. You experience a longing to be connected with transcendence and meaning.

5. You wonder if God approves of an action that you’re taking. Reflecting on our actions, how they measure up, whether they’re helpful or harmful, wondering whether we can do better.

These are all impulses and practices that often come naturally in one form or another to a lot of people. And each of these impulses and desires can exist without a lot of intention, but they can also be latched onto and taken seriously. We can start to pay close attention to what we’re longing for. When we become intentional about these impulses, our prayer lives can take on new form and even new momentum.

One of my favorite poems by Mary Oliver is a brief and lovely illustration of this:

Praying
Mary Oliver

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

With this in mind, this week I invite you to pay attention (!) to the ways in which you’re already praying — the petitions, gratitude, repentance, meditation and awe that bubble up in and around you all the time. Thank God for the gift of prayers of all kinds!