Prayer Life
Our life of prayer is at the heart of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ, and it is essential for us as Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago. Prayer fosters our life of ongoing conversion to Jesus Christ, following the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi.
As Franciscans of the Eucharist, the center of our life of prayer and our service to the Church is the Eucharist. We want to encourage a proper understanding of the Church’s teachings on the Eucharist, first by our witness and then by our words.
We strive to live this witness by participating in daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration. As our community develops, we will continue to build up to perpetual Eucharistic Adoration at our centers. In order to see Jesus in the poor, we must first be able to see Him in the Eucharist. It is from our relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist that we draw strength to do the Lord’s will each day.
Key Elements of Our Daily Communal Prayer Life
Mass
Communal Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration
Liturgy of the Hours: Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer (Office of Readings and Daytime Prayer are prayed in private)
Devotion to Mary and the Saints: Angelus, Annual St. Francis Novena, St. Francis' Prayer Before the Crucifix prayed after Mass
Daily Mass, Liturgy of the Hours in common, and Eucharistic Adoration are at the heart of our life of prayer, and nourish the life of our community and our own personal relationships with the Lord. These liturgical (Mass, Liturgy of the Hours) and devotional (Adoration) forms of prayer are encouraged by the Church for every Catholic. These forms of prayer are ways we acknowledge our total dependance on the Lord.
Key Elements of Our Daily Individual Prayer Life
Private Eucharistic Holy Hour
Prayer with Scripture
Liturgy of the Hours: Office of Reading and Daytime Prayer (Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer are prayed in common)
Rosary
Devotional Prayer
Spiritual Reading
Private prayer is essential to our consecrated life. We grow in relationship with the Lord through meditation and spiritual reading, especially reading the Sacred Scriptures. It is in the word of God that we, like St. Francis of Assisi and all the saints of the Church, are daily inspired to continue this pilgrimage of faith, with the goal of Eternal Life in the Kingdom of God as our final destination. Our own personal commitment to a life of prayer and virtue is the best way we can preach. We owe it to our own brothers and sisters in community to strive for a life of ongoing conversion and renewal as St. Francis taught us so well by the witness of his life. We look to the intercession and witness of all the saints, especially the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Franciscan saints, as a source of constant encouragement.
In addition to these daily prayer practices, all members are encouraged to frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and all members make an annual week long or 8-day retreat. Additional retreat opportunities are provided at different levels of formation and before key formational events.
