Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI, a leading figure in the modern contemplative prayer movement, was questioned on a recent retreat about the challenges of remaining faithful to prayer in the midst of the many distractions we all face. His answer was short, sweet, and sincere: “You can do it,” he said, “Just stay with the practice.”

Practices like Centering Prayer and Welcoming Prayer are incredibly simple, but that certainly doesn’t mean they are easy. It can be humbling to realize how incapable we are of being fully present to God, or how difficult it is to welcome God in the way God chooses to come to us in the present moment. In many ways, that’s the point – to recognize how short of the Divine standard we will always fall without God’s grace! Progress in living out of our “likeness of God” is much more often slow and steady than an all-at-once transformation. Yet, progress can be made when we are faithful in returning to our practices regularly. In fact, our practices might be most effective at those times when we feel most incapable of detaching ourselves from the thoughts that come our way in prayer, or when we least feel ready to welcome that which the present holds, for it is at those times when our entering into prayer is most purely an act of faith and trust in God, rather than the self.

So don’t get discouraged! Stay with your practice! And listen to Fr. Bill:
You can do it.