Opening Prayer
Lord, I petition to make prayer the most important Business of Life, recognizing it as the foundation of my spiritual advancement and my daily integrity. Help me to rouse myself from laziness and coldness, desiring You with my whole heart before I attend to any other task. Let my communion with You be the source of my strength and the reason for my rejoicing.
I ask for the grace of final perseverance, realizing that the pursuit of holiness takes time and constant effort. Let me not despair in the face of my own misery, but have confidence in Your mercy alone to bring me to my glorious destination. May I leave nothing undone that You have given me to do, devoting my whole life to the service of Your glory.
Amen.
Matthew 24:42-51
42Watch ye therefore, because ye know not what hour your Lord will come. 43But know this ye, that if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open. 44Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come. 45Who, thinkest thou, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath appointed over his family, to give them meat in season. 46Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come he shall find so doing. 47Amen I say to you, he shall place him over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant shall say in his heart: My lord is long a coming: 49And shall begin to strike his fellow servants, and shall eat and drink with drunkards: 50The lord of that servant shall come in a day that he hopeth not, and at an hour that he knoweth not: 51And shall separate him, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
St. Alphonsus Liguori
St. Alphonsus Liguori teaches prayer as the most important business of life. The Gospel “Faithful Servant” is the clinical narrative of “Always give thanks“. Prayer evaluations: “He who prays is certainly saved; he who does not pray is certainly damned“. We must prepare for the end through a person of prayer. We are no longer spiritual infants. The spiritual paper cuts of busy-ness are healed when we realize prayer is the only way that can lead us. We must pray without ceasing and join prayer with fasting. This is the harvest of the unitive way.
Prayer is the “most important business of life,” for if the soul is lost, everything is lost. It is the only guarantee of final perseverance and our primary shield against the peril of death. To neglect this business is to invite spiritual bankruptcy; to prioritize it is to ensure we hold fast to God until the end.
“He who prays is certainly saved; he who does not pray is certainly lost… he who prays most receives most.”
— St. Alphonsus Liguori
Mary and the Magisterium
Prayer is the most important business of our existence. Mary is the woman of unceasing prayer, showing us how to keep our hearts in God’s presence even amidst daily toil.
- Is my prayer a "mere formal duty," or is it my "most important business"?
- Am I "prepared for the end" of my life through a constant "conversation with God"?
Closing Prayer
Lord, teach me to pray with my whole heart.
Amen.
