How you can further your Catholic Faith during Mass and in the Working World

Today's world is quite a whirlwind. So many products ranging from technology, food, and events to indulge in that can easily distract you. So little time to be able to reach all the commitments that you have in your schedule thanks to the 40 hour work week that is full of assignments and deadlines all while trying to meet up with your friends during your free time. This doesn't even mention the family and pets that you have to constantly manage and show virtuous love to. All in all, today's world is full of consumerism, work, and commitments that can easily hinder you from growing in an area that is arguably lacking in the hearts of many: spiritual growth.

As a Catholic, I find myself getting caught up with the world's hustle bustle, so much so that I find it difficult to show my appreciation and love for God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Although prayer or devotion usually takes less than an hour, the distractions that are scattered all throughout my life from the news, hanging out with friends, work, and recreational activities like sports often come together and prevent me from showing my faith, especially in private. While I do my best to keep up with the routine I have set up for myself faith wise, especially the goal of going to mass everyday, I find it to be a struggle and I am sure a lot of my brothers and sisters out there can relate. This is why we try to find other ways to remind ourselves that our job is to serve God and to keep our minds on Him always as we go through our tasks for the day to ensure that we can better the lives of many throughout our life, from strangers to friends and family.

I realize that each of us have our own ways of showing our faith towards God and we all live different lives, so our prayer and devotional lives may be different depending on the person. However, after trying different ways of worship I have found a few ways to show in a simple and humble way how to keep my mind on God and keep my goals focused on faith, hope, charity, and the other virtues given to us by our Lord.

I hope that these tips or prayer ideas can help you reader grow in your faith.

1. Furthering your understanding of the words of the Mass through a simple head nod

Do you ever find yourself during mass zoning out during the preface (the part that goes "It is truly right and just, our duty and salvation...")? I remember when I was younger at mass I was quite prone to checking out and this part of the mass especially was I was susceptible to doing so. It was that and during the Eucharistic Prayer when Jesus would be sacrificed and prepare us to receive Him. I would always think to myself "Why are all of these words necessary, can't we just receive the bread and leave?" I'm sure many other Catholics think this way as well or at least used to, and overall struggle to focus on the words that are being said during the mass.

However, you might not know that the words of each mass depend on what type of mass it is, as well as the week. Each week (and possibly each day depending on if there is a feast day or memorial) the wording of the mass changes, from the entrance antiphon, the collect (when "Let us pray" is first said), all the way to even the prayer used for Eucharistic Prayer (there are 4 versions used, see if you can spot the difference next time you're at a mass!).

However, one constant that is always featured during the mass, no matter what version is being used are the names of Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Virgin Mary, Mary, and the saint (or saints) of the day if it is their feast day. Although this tradition is lost to time, it is tradition to nod your head in acknowledgement and reverence to these names being uttered during the mass. For the name of Jesus, it is a pronounced head nod, for Mary it is a noticeable nod that isn't as pronounced, and for the saint of the day or patron saint of the chapel you are celebrating at it is a slight head nod in acknowledgment of their feast day.

Doing this has made me realize not only the the wording of the mass changes everyday, but has driven me to pay attention to what is being said, hoping to not miss a reverent nod. By doing so, I have started to fully hear what the priest is saying during the prayers and understand why the words are ordered and structured the way they are. This in turn has allowed me to not only appreciate and love the vocabulary and diction that is being used during the mass, but wanting to learn and understand more about the names of the saints being listed and the sacred words that are being said. I used to be deaf, attending mass but not actually hearing what is being said, preached, or talked about, whether it be through a cantor (the singers during the mass), the lector (the individual reading the first and second readings), or Father or Deacon himself. Now that I have taken the time to open my ears just as Jesus had done for the Deaf and Blind Man in Mark 7, I have a newfound respect and love for the mass and I hope that you are able to find a similar appreciation for the names of Jesus, Mary, and the saints as well as the mass itself.

2. Find what prayers and devotions work for you, not everyone is the same

I vividly remember a lecture that our priest, Father Rhett Williams of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Columbia, SC gave that has made such an impact on us students and parishioners that pretty much everyone at STM structures our prayers in this format. The reason that Father gave this lecture is because he would get the question that many of us ask ourselves: what should prayer time look like, whether at home, at Eucharistic Adoration, or during Mass. Should it be about ourselves? Should it be about other's intentions? How should we word our prayers, with simplicity or with grandiose wording? Father sought to answer these questions, and I'm glad he was able to guide us down our prayer life in a great way.

Be ready for this acronym, because it's kind of a funny acronym. PPTIRD. And in Father's words when he heard us laughing, "Not with a U".

Now you yourself might be laughing at the silliness of this acronym, but this acronym has changed how I pray daily and how I am able to prepare for the day, for Mass, and Adoration. You might be wondering what these letters may mean; let's take a dive into the PPTIRD prayer format.

P- Prepare. Take the time to clear your mind, examine your conscious: where have you lived a life of God and failed to during the day? Where does your heart and mind lie right now in relative to the world around you and to God? 10-15 minutes of silence in the chapel may be a little awkward, but in the paraphrasing of a saint's testimony being able to stare at the tabernacle and communicate visually with God during your time of preparation will show that you are fully present with God and are formulating what you have to say to Him.

P- Praise. Take the time to praise God for what He has done in your life and in the lives of those around you. When we think of praise, we often think of singing, and it would be a little unsettling to sing in front of others that are also trying to pray in a chapel. For me, this is where I will usually say something such as "Lord, we praise you in all aspects of our lives, help us keep the covenant and calling you have given us in our hearts and help us carry our cross throughout the world until the end of time". When I say this, I think back to the Psalms and time of Exodus how David and Moses respectively would praise God through words and asking for His grace to keep them strong at all times.

T- Thanks. Give thanks for everything that you love or you have been blessed with. Whether it be your parents, your siblings, your pets, your friends, your co-workers, strangers around you, the Earth, God himself, the Saints, the opportunities you have been given, etc. There's endless ways to be thankful and give thanks to God, it's just simply a matter of figuring out what you want to thank God for and expressing it with full love, not only for Him, but for the people or things around you.

I- Intentions/Intercessions. These are the things you want to ask for others. Whether you are wishing a friend, a parishioner, a group of people, strangers, family, etc. good health and prosperity, praying that they get better after a down week or day, for world peace, end of hunger, you name it; it is important to offer as many intentions as possible. None of these would be possible however without the help of the saints, many of whom have shown heroic virtues and lives through many miracles documented throughout time. One important thing to remember though is that you want to offer intentions for everybody, whether they be poor, sinners, or those forgotten or isolated and even more importantly offer intentions for people whether they are going through a low or a high. Oftentimes when we as Catholics think of intentions it is made for people who are not doing well or are at a hard place in life. However, not only should we be thankful during people's good times, but we should be asking that their virtuous life and great times may extend for as long as possible. A thing that I have started doing at my chapel is offering intentions and prayers for all those who go into the communion line (usually something short) and for those in the pews as a way to show my love towards those that I know, love, and deeply admire, for I wish I could only be as holy as them one day.

R- Requests. After offering up your intentions for your brothers and sisters, ask God for your own needs, petitions, and prayers. Whether it be asking for an increase in holy virtues such as humility, temperance, or patience or asking that God watches over your future wife or husband that you two will always persevere through the toughest of times. From asking God how to get rid of the inner demons in side of you to even doing something as simple as asking for a peaceful day, there are a million ways that you can ask God for something in your life. It is important to know that it isn't selfish of you to ask for grace, prayer, or intentions for yourself, for you are made in the image and likeness of God and He will want to see you succeed and live a fruitful and blessed life.

D- Devotion. After you have cleared your mind and set yourself on a path of prayer and peace, this is when you finally show your devotion to God, Jesus, and the Saints. This can range from saying well known devotions such as the Rosary to the Divine Mercy Chaplet to praying for something more specific: if you want to focus on improving your virtue of humility then the Litany of Humility is always a simple yet beautiful prayer that will help reset your mind and heart. Note that not everyone will have the same devotional preferences as you and there's no one right way to show devotion, so choose prayers or devotions that you think will help benefit you the most, and this may even vary from day to day. Sometimes I'll finish my prayer with a Hail Mary, other times I'll do a decade of the Rosary.

So, that is PPTIRD. I know that it can be quite a bit, and sometimes I even find myself struggling to pray in this format, despite the order PPTIRD gives me, I still worry sometimes that my prayer isn't "grandiose" enough or good enough. Don't worry about that, prayer is still prayer, no matter how simple or complex it is, so I hope that PPTIRD can help you figure out what you want to say to our Father and help clear your mind and your heart as you walk in your journey of prayer and life.

3. Devotional time and prayer time can be made at any time, even during your commute or walk

Oftentimes people think that we can only pray while in the chapel, or when God is present at church, or even just at home. This isn't necessarily the case; God is everywhere in our lives. He is found in the people next to you in class, in the Starbucks line, in the nature around us, you just have to realize that He is there with you at all times. As a result, it is perfectly ok to pray at any time or anywhere, such as during your walks to class, drive to work, or even during road trips with your friends, whether they be Catholic or not. It be a little bit awkward, people might give you a second glance as you pull out your rosary in public or while you mutter or whisper to yourself, but as long as you are not making it about yourself, who cares what other people think?

One of the things that I have found helpful and has made my commutes, whether it be when I was in University or during my commute to the Chapel (I live 30 minutes away from my home parish) is to take my commute time as an opportunity to pray the aforementioned PPTIRD or listen to the readings of the day and spend the time in meditation, silence, and devotion to Jesus, the saints, and God to help prepare myself for the mass that is coming up and for the world in front of me. Once I accomplish this, I find myself feeling refreshed, having prepared my mind and my heart to live the virtuous life that I want to have for the rest of the day and in the case of Sundays or Daily Mass days, walking into the chapel with a sense of preparedness to hear the Bible and Father's homily and compare it to how I initially interpreted it while in the car.

One app that I have found particularly helpful during my walks or during my drives is Hallow (shoutout to Anna, the British voice that I listen to). They offer podcasts, Bible or Catechesis in a day by Fr. Mike Schmitz, prayers or devotionals such as Rosaries, the Angelus, and Lectio Divina, and talks by famous celebrities and athletes who try to follow the teachings of Jesus such as Liam Neeson, Simone Biles, and others. By utilizing this app, I find myself always looking forward to my commuting time, eager to listen the the wealth of information and love they have for God.

Remember, God is found everywhere around you, in the people that you meet and in the beauty of the Earth itself, so don't feel like you need to find a secluded place to pray or that you have to pray in a sacred space such as a chapel. As long as you are able to make your prayer time in public about God and focus in on Him and not about yourself (as found in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18) while you make your commute, or while you're on your break, or even while at work or class, then you will find yourself ready to take on any task or obstacle presented to you as you carry your cross or continue your journey in this world.

I again hope that these tips that I have been so fortunate enough to learn about and practice while on my journey can be just as beneficial to you dear reader as you continue your growth with God, with others, and with yourself and I cannot wait to see where you each go with your life, glorifying the Lord by your lives. May God bless you all and peace be with you all.