Are you distracted when you pray?

I would love to tell you that I pray with single-minded intent and I am always laser focused. You know that’s not true. I’m human and I get distracted! I found myself in that distracted place last night at mass. I realized half way through the homily that I wasn’t really paying attention.

It wasn’t that the priest had nothing interesting to say. I always enjoy his homilies (even if they are long), but my mind was wandering to ‘what am I going to cook tomorrow?’, ‘do I have to do anything tonight, can I just relax?’, etc. I caught myself in the act and thought- oh no, focus.

Yes, I was sitting in church, but I was not fully present. So each time I felt myself wandering, I came back to the words “Thank you Jesus”. It’s the prayer I say when I don’t have other words, or need to focus. When I can concentrate on being grateful, I can concentrate better on prayer.

Life is busy, challenging, and sometimes just crazy! Everyone gets distracted, it’s completely normal, but can you refocus in those moments and not just ‘go through the motions’? That’s what I realized in mass last night- I was checking a box of yes, I attended. I was not checking the box of ‘I’m here God, what are you telling me today?’.

That’s my prayer for you this week. When you get distracted in prayer, take a moment and a breath and refocus. Remember that it’s ok to be distracted, but see if you can add that to your prayer- Lord help me in all the distractions!