A month of fasting and reflective prayer for Muslims.
Reflective prayer is a good thing there is a lot that needs reflecting on in life. In the Catholic Church when you think of reflective prayer you think Monks. (At least I do). But reflective prayer should be an important part of the regular prayer life.
The examination of conscience (and yes I’m guilty of skipping it too) is a good example of reflective prayer There are a lot long versions out there. It can be daunting so start small. Take a single piece of it a day, and go with it.
The hardest thing about it of course is that when we are aware of our sins. It is so much easier to not consider our sins. If we do and are aware of them, we are obliged to do something about it. It’s something I struggle with but the struggle is certainly a step up from ignoring it but a big step below from actually doing it.
This is also where praying for each other makes a difference by supporting each other in our prayer life we give a hand to the person below us and accept a hand from the person above so we can all get to the same goal.
When we participate in reflective prayer, as a Catholic, Protestant, Jew or Muslim we ask God to take us closer to the person we ought to be.
Let us pray that our Islamic brothers take advantage of this month of prayer, fasting and reflection to become the people that God wants them to be. Don’t discount the power of prayer and fasting (Matt 17;21).
And yes I am very much aware of the truth of this post at Moonbattery and elsewhere. (Memeorandum thread here.) None of it changes the Christian obligation to pray for our Islamic brothers and, nor the transformative power of prayer on the soul.
