Watchfulness
O Lord my God, let me lead my life in your presence.
Five Tenets of Benedictine Monasticism Fr Paul Shelley, OSB, Conception Abbey (Refer to website for entire writing) https://www.conceptionabbey.org/5-ways-live-like-monk-world/
1. Cultivate Silence.
2. Be Faithful to Daily Prayer.
3. Form Authentic Community.
4. Make time for Lectio Divina.
5. Practice Humility.
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Hebrews 12:1-2
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.
St. Isaac of Syria
Pray with attention – so that we can have a true encounter with God
Pray with humility – because this type of prayer goes straight to God’s ear
Pray with affection and tears – with joy and thanksgiving, but also with true repentance and purity.
Pray with patience and ardor – to ‘deny oneself’ is courageously to persevere in prayer.
Pray from the depths of the heart – even if we pray using ‘the words of another’ they should be uttered as if they are our own... this is especially true of the Psalms.
Pray with faith and absolute trust in God – because He knows our life.
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The Church’s Liturgy and a life of personal prayer prepare us to live in God’s presence, to endure God’s presence, and to love God’s presence. We must make this preparation in this world, otherwise, in the world to come, there will be no more time for us to make the appropriate adjustment to that which “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man” (i Cor. 2:9). - Acquiring the Mind of Christ -