By Bob Sullivan
A friend recently confided, “I really struggle with drifting into thoughts about irrelevant things during Mass.”
“So do I,” I thought.
Distraction during prayer is a universal problem. It happens in churches and chapels, monasteries and convents, during the rosary, and all other prayers as well. Rare is the event when a prayer is so intense that one cannot look back and recall a distraction. Distraction is so common that the Catechism of the Catholic Church even mentions it:
2729 The habitual difficulty in prayer is distraction. It can affect words and their meaning in vocal prayer; it can concern, more profoundly, him to whom we are praying, in vocal prayer (liturgical or personal), meditation, and contemplative prayer. To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, when all that is necessary is to turn back to our heart: for a distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, and this humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential love for him and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be purified. Therein lies the battle, the choice of which master to serve.
The real problem crops up if you focus on the distraction. C.S. Lewis recommended a great perspective regarding distraction during prayer. He suggested seizing each distraction as an opportunity. Turn the “to do” list into a prayer for peace and freedom from anxiety or the feeling of disorganization. Turn your frustration about your wandering thoughts into a prayer for resistance to scrupulosity and an increase in the virtue of humility and patience (with yourself). If an unpleasant exchange with someone invades your prayer, turn it into a prayer for that person or that situation.
Our wandering thoughts are often about trivial matters such as yardwork, the round of golf we have coming up, or something we want to make sure we pack for the upcoming trip. It can be hard to justify turning these things into prayer, especially if we frequently find our thoughts wandering to trivial things during prayer. For such circumstances, we can still offer these things up in prayer.
First, we have to be reasonable with ourselves. Even saints and contemplatives (religious who have dedicated their lives to prayer – often in cloistered monasteries) have written and spoken about distraction during prayer. Therefore, how can I expect to be free of distraction?
Doctor of the Church St. Teresa of Avila called these “silly wanderings.” She simply acknowledged them when they invaded her prayer and brought her thoughts and heart back to the prayers she had started. She taught that you should not focus on the distraction or the frustration you experience. Simply practice returning to your prayer.
How you prepare for prayer can usually improve the quality of your prayer.
Before attending Mass, read the readings, especially the Gospel. There are times when the priest is already halfway through his homily and I realize I can’t remember what the Gospel was about. By reading the Gospel before Mass (even a couple of days before Sunday Mass), my attention will often be drawn to the Gospel without my intentional effort. When something sounds familiar, it tends to grab our attention. “Hey, I just read that,” causes us to remember to pay attention. And since the homily is usually about the Gospel, we can get more out of the homily, as well. You will actually find yourself wondering if the homily will touch on something you noticed when you read it before Mass.
Be intentional about your intentions. If you prepare by taking intentions to Mass or for your rosary or other spiritual exercises, you are much more likely to experience more focus. “What do I want to praise God for at Mass today? What am I going to offer with the gifts of bread and wine today at Mass? Who or what needs grace from prayer during my rosary or novena today?” Be active (intentional) in your prayer, whether it is Holy Mass or grace before your meals.
Avoid mental stimulation before your prayer. Don’t scroll through apps on your phone before going to Mass, or before sitting down to pray the examen prayer or to examine your day in prayer. Much of the media we have today has become another form of entertainment and often propaganda, which is designed to draw you in and manipulate the way you think and act. Plan downtime before your prayer – this is a great reason to start your day with prayer, as our minds are commonly at their lowest level of distraction before we start our day with nearly endless noise.
Start your prayer by calling upon the Holy Spirit, your Guardian Angel, and your patron saint, asking them to guard your thoughts during prayer. This can be as simple as quietly whispering, “come Holy Spirit” a few times. Ask for peace in prayer and the grace to be steadfast in prayer.
As long as you are intending to pray, your prayer cannot be a failure. St. Therese defined prayer as, “a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward Heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” Granted, prayer in Mass or during a rosary is designed to last longer than a simple look toward Heaven, but you can always work on numerous surges of the heart and numerous looks toward Heaven during your prayer. And spiritual exercise is much like physical exercise in the sense of building strength. Stick with it and your spiritual endurance and your focus will improve over time.
