Elizabeth Scalia

For many the idea of “finding time for real prayer” seems daunting as they imagine adding an hour to their already crammed schedules and then begin to consider all the things they will “need” to really get going: a prayer corner, with icons and statues and Bibles and breviaries.

One need no longer hold a cold and lonely vigil at a locked door because — thanks to what used to be called “new media” — monasteries and diocesan adoration chapels from all over the world maintain live streams of the Blessed Sacrament for remote adoration, whereby the energy of the Christ is transmitted through energy both housed and in the ether, to encounter our own.

It is an important and, yes, powerful thing to invite our guardian angels to guide us, as we peruse the news, toward stories most worthy of our attention; to guard us against rash judgment or bitter cynicism.

There were plenty of lessons to be learned in that “Year of Mercy” now we are in a “Year of Prayer” — so designated by Pope Francis in anticipation of the 2025 Jubilee Year.

It’s a tricky but necessary thing to take time to sit quietly before the Lord while also putting your time and talent into service for Christ’s sake.