"The essence of prayer is not to be always on our knees, but truly to keep our will united to that of God in every event of our lives." - St. Jane de Chantal Prayer and Consistency by Claire Fleury '18
The most important thing I learned from my time at Visitation is the power of consistency.
I learned that you stick by your friends during the good times, and that you stick closer when things get hard. I learned that you work hard at practice, and you work harder on the weekends, because Coach Veith can tell when you don't go for your Saturday run. I learned that you write your junior research paper over the course of many weeks and not from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the night before it's due.
I learned that when I was inconsistent, I fell. I fell out of relationships, I fell out of shape, and I fell out of sync with school.
I think that what Saint Jane de Chantal is saying is pretty simple – don't do that to yourself! Don't get to the point where you let so much build up that you have to cry and cram and feel defeated. While she may be talking about prayer and not the dilemmas of a high school girl, her message stays the same. As a matter of fact, it's even better, because God is far more merciful than a GPA scale, or an unforgiving friend, or a timed Campus Loop.
It's important to note that St. Jane de Chantal doesn't say we can never be on our knees; she just says we can't always be on our knees. We fall when we are weak; it is inevitable. Jesus did it three times. Admitting to our weakness and choosing to change because of it, however, is entirely optional. If we keep our will united to that of God in every event of our lives, meaning the bad parts and the good, then prayer becomes something totally different – it becomes a part of us. Like any important thing, prayer takes practice. It takes training and learning and repetition.
I think that St. Jane is asking us to stay away from being fair-weather prayers. She is asking us to take the initiative to form a habit that will be far more beneficial to us than we can imagine. So may we all pray that we can give and receive a little more consistency in our lives! Direction of Intention (St. Francis de Sales) Oh my God, I give you this day. I offer you now all of the good which I shall do. I promise to accept for love of you all of the difficulty which I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner most pleasing to you.
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