I have a devout friend who is almost a hundred years
old. She’s outlived all of her family, including her siblings, her loving husband
of seventy years, and her only child. She’s alone, and not too long ago she lost
her eyesight.
For the past two years, every Wednesday morning,
I’ve brought her Holy Communion and stayed to visit with her. Our conversations
are always lively, as she’s intelligent, witty, and good humored. She speaks often
and openly about her prayer life and her love of the rosary. Here is a woman
who has lost so much, all the people she loves and her ability to see, yet the
one thing she has not lost is her faith. She is a continuous example of
steadfast joy and faith.
Recently, however, my friend fell and fractured her
hip. During our last visit, this one in the hospital, she expressed anxiety
over her prayer life. In the past, she’d always been able to pray herself
through troubled times and has especially found comfort in reciting the rosary.
But due to her age, and the nature of her injury, she was unable to focus long
enough to pray even a single Hail Mary.
I offered to pray a decade with her, but as we
prayed, she lost her place several times and became agitated. Instead of
bringing peace, the recitation of a rosary decade brought her more anxiety. At
the time she needed her rosary the most, she was unable to pray it. I’d never
seen my friend so upset. As I struggled to console her, I remembered an old Benedictine
prayer booklet my aunt used to read that contained a list of short prayers
called aspirations.
Aspiration is defined as both the hope of obtaining
something and the act of drawing a breath. Aspiration prayer encompasses both
these definitions, short sighs offering up hope, praise, and love to God.
St. Frances de Sales
spoke on the importance of aspirations in his work titled, Introduction to a
Devout Life. “… there are many predetermined forms of aspirational prayers,
but it is best to speak to God from your heart. Send up small darts of love to
God throughout the day.”
Small darts
of love. What a great way to
think of prayer. And a perfect way for my friend to find comfort during this
difficult time. So I looked up some examples of aspirations and found a few
popular ones: My God and my All. Jesus, I trust in you. Blessed
be God. Jesus, mercy.
Yet none of these
aspirations resonated with my friend, so we talked about what was on her heart,
her fears, her anxieties, and her hopes. She confided that, unable to see, she
felt unsettled in her new environment and what she wanted most was the comfort
she’d always found when praying the rosary. We finally came
up with a short prayer that spoke to her heart: Mary, comfort me.
I encouraged her to
pray this prayer throughout her day, as often as possible, not only
during times of uncertainty, when she felt alone or scared, but also during the
ordinary moments of her day. Offering our emotions to God in moments of fear and
pain is a way to unite ourselves to Christ’s suffering. But short aspirational
prayers are also a way to keep us centered on Christ, even in joyful times. By
lifting short, sincere prayers throughout our day, we keep our focus on God and
are drawn closer to him. I wanted my friend to feel the comfort of Christ’s
closeness both in the good moments, as well as in her moments darkness and
uncertainty.
On my next visit, my
friend seemed more at peace. I asked her how her prayers were going and her
face lit up. She told me that she has been saying her short prayer all the time
and as she prays it, she imagines our Blessed Mother sitting with her. She says
she can feel Mary’s warmth and love and that it is very comforting.
I believe her, because
not only is my friend happier, but she seems to be recovering both mentally and
physically. Quite the feat for someone nearing one hundred years old.
The power of prayer.
Mary, comfort
me.
Since helping my friend,
I’ve become more aware of my own prayer life, incorporating short aspirational
payers throughout my day. Whether I’m cooking, doing laundry, shopping for
groceries, or watching one of my kids’ sporting events, I can breath out a
small prayer and refocus myself and my day on Christ. Thanks to these small
darts of love, I’m feeling more happiness and peace in my life.
