Practices of prayer
One of the things that keeps me grounded and focused is prayer. There is a clarity that comes when I reflect, discern and recollect events that occur during the day, over the course of a week, or even over where my life has led me. Prayer is one of the key things that helps keep my soul green.
One of the practices of prayer that has helped me is “lectio divina.” It is a form of prayer where I take the Scriptures and allow myself to be drawn into the story of Jesus. Being a morning person, it is one of the practices I do in the morning when most of my creative juices flow.
I also apply the Jesuit form of using the imagination in reflecting on the readings of the day. For example, “What would have happened if I were there at the scene when this unfolded?” “What if I was one of the 5,000 when the fish and bread were distributed?” I like to come up with good speculations. “What was going on at that time?” “What was I thinking?” And, “How might I respond to this situation?” This kind of reflection gives me a sense of how I ought to, or how I might want to respond in the here and now, today, should something arise needing my response. This is one of the graces I have come to enjoy when it comes to lectio divina.
Another practice which I find helpful is spiritual direction. It is a tool that assists my understanding of where I am in my relationship with God and others, and how I view myself in light of situations. When I set up my first meeting, I didn’t have the notion that, “Yes! This is what I need. It’s going to be good for me and I’m going to come away from it positive and energetic.”
No, I just wanted to try it out. The worst thing that could happen was that it didn’t work out and I would just stop going. When I met with my spiritual director, it seemed odd. I am certainly not one to talk about myself, my feelings and where my prayer life is at, etc. with others in a formal way. But growing under the guidance of my spiritual director has been graced.
I remember in formation being assigned to a retreat center that worked with families. I thought that was a good fit for me as I had done retreats before. However, after the first couple of months I felt a kind of tug at me. Intellectually, I knew that my religious vocation was asking me to forgo the possibility of having a family. But as I saw the Christian Catholic family — moms, dads and children working out their difficulties and renewing their commitment to each other in love — it hit me heart-wise what I was giving up. I went through a period of intense reflection after. My spiritual director helped me walk through it. With added prayer, and the support of my community, I eventually concluded that those were the graces I could have received had I chosen that vocation. But, here and now, there are graces that I keep receiving and I am thankful to God for this vocation.
Brother Brandon-Alana-Maugaotega is a member of the Society of Mary/Marianists. He made his first profession of vows in 2009. A pastoral campus minister at Chaminade University of Honolulu, he resides at Hale Malia on the Marianists’ Kalaepohaku campus in Kaimuki.
