Merciful Jesus I consecrate myself today and always to your most Sacred Heart.
Most Sacred heart of Jesus, I implore, that I may ever love you more and more.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I Trust in You!
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Your love for me.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like Your Heart.

Prayer is a powerful and integral part of every Christian life. It’s a call to be in direct conversation with the Most Holy Trinity and to walk with our Lord Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, on his Way to the Cross. Prayer is also a powerful guide to a life of holiness and grace.
The prayer above is my daily consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. While I was teaching in New Mexico in the early 1990’s I found a book that was donated to the mission about the devotion to Jesus’ Sacred Heart. I read about St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and began for the first time in my life to willingly pray a Novena and it is the above prayer that I begin each day and the prayer I end all other prayers with, whether it is my morning office, the sacrifice of the Mass, my Rosary it is the prayer that calls me to the most intimate part of Jesus and to rest within his Sacred Heart.
When people ask me how to pray, I can share with them basic strategies and some sound advice that are readily available from a host of reliable Catholic spiritual guides and evangelist. These open us up to some basic forms of prayer but I always end with the understanding and truth that where or when we encounter Jesus in prayer He will lead us into a path that bonds us ever closer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I remind them of how prayer is like marriage. I can share with them sound principles, that are tried and true guides to building a strong, loving and enduring marriage but it is only when the man encounters the woman in a deep and profound conversation of love that they will begin to see how the advice becomes alive in their unique relationship with God and each other. (See my Worldwide Marriage Encounter ad below)

“Be with us this day.
Give us courage to be strong, loving and wise;
strong in prayer,
loving in service,
and wise ministers of your mercy.” (DSJ prayer of priests)

This short snippet from the prayer all the priests of the Diocese of San Jose were given and asked to pray a few years ago has become a staple of my daily prayer too…especially in my morning prayer. This call to action is a reminder of how our prayer changes throughout our lives. Prayers we find powerful and impactful today may slowly fade away as we hear the call of God to follow him into a new and more profound relationship. It is similar to how when reading the Gospels, such as the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20) we see and understand different aspects of Jesus’s call to become fruitful and life giving in our lives. I pray the prayer above not because I was asked but because it has, particularly this small part, touched my life and moved me to be stronger, more loving and gracious in the service of God’s holy people.

Let nothing disturb you,
let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices: (St. Teresa of Avila)

Lastly, I end with a prayer that has been a blessing for many years, first as the Taizé prayed during the Holy Thursday adoration, but also a part of my spiritual journey of singing these simple but beautiful truths of God’s love in our life. St. Theresa of Avila a Doctor of the Church reminds us of the trust we are to have in God’s plan. It is a prayer I use during my night prayer as a way of calming and opening my heart to the restful sleep I desire. Finally, I offer you words of much greater wisdom that I have from Archbishop Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, “Prayer consists not in the saying of words but in the lifting of our heart and mind to God. Our divine Lord Himself warned us: “In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words” (Matt. 6:7). In the same spirit, St. Augustine said: “We may pray most when we say least, and we may pray least when we say most.”…Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). The joy of a Christian comes not from intermittent devotions and vocal prayers, but by living the Christ life intimately and to such an extent that even in our failings and weakness we may still betray our familiarity with Christ, as did Peter in the moment of his weakness: “You also were with Jesus the Galilean … Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you” (Matt. 26:69, 73). (from “Wartime Prayerbook by Venerable Fulton J. Sheen)

Fr. Mark