Prayer is my Religion

People talk often about religion, claiming they are, or are not, religious. I personally don't think of myself as being “relgious” as most people would think, according to my external acts in a religious context. For example, I go to Mass, I pray the Rosary, I read spiritual and theological books and writings, etc. Most people would look at me and say that I am religious. But really when it comes down to it, my religion is prayer. There are multitudes of ways to pray, and I have my own personal favorite devotions, but what prayer comes down to is speaking with and listening to the God who created all of us.

 My personal God can be boiled down to the Being who created me and is the source of all our being. No matter what faith or religion or rituals or practices, or none of these you have, if you have some sort of dialogue with the Creator of all, regardless of what else you think, believe or know of that God, then we share a common faith. My personal devotion mostly consists in going to Mass, praying the Rosary and performing acts of charity and love for others. But religion ultimately comes down to wanting to know your Creator, and wanting to know what He wants from us, and for us, and asking for the grace to do what He would like us to do. As we begin to pray, bits and pieces of wisdom will be given us, and there is so much to the Creator, that we all make different discoveries of what we should believe, know, do, and love.

 If someone wants my spiritual advice or direction, my main tip is to start praying, however you can. Speak to your God, whoever you think God may be, and listen for answers. I personally do things like go to Mass, pray the Rosary, and do other Catholic devotions, but those came about in my life because I asked God what He wants me to do, believe, love and worship, and the path He led me down brought me to the Catholic Church and Her teachings and sacraments. If you want to include these forms of prayer and belief and doctrine in your life, I heartily encourage. But ultimately I want you to do something because you have asked and God has somehow told you to do these things, rather than that you should do them because I myself or some other human person should tell you to. It is all about following the personal calling your Creator has made you for.

 From my own experience, I believe that all who engage God in prayer and dialogue, will come to find these devotions fruitful and true, and will decide to engage Jesus Christ, in a dialogue. My ultimate goal is to know, love, and serve Jesus, and live my life in such a way that it reflects positively on Jesus, whom I regard as the one who saves me from sin, and gives me the grace and virtue to spread and increase God's love in the lives of myself, my family and friends, and through acts of love, small and large, to spread this love through ripples of charity and grace, as our actions create immense waves of simple acts of love and kindness. I don't have to save the world, and neither do you or anyone else. Jesus my Savior and Lord has saved us all. I hope I can live and pray in such a way that you might come to the same conclusion. But ultimately, it is between you and God, and is more a matter of personal interior prayer, than public external religion.