| "We can so easily read about prayer, about love, about Christian service and in the emotional
happiness of our reading come to think that we are actually doing what we are only feeling.
Fortunately no one is more aware of this danger than David Torkington. He is passionately
committed to stripping from the reader those veils of illusion that allow what is said to be
enjoyed in theory only.... This book offers us the help we need to understand this, and then the
choice is ours." --Sr. Wendy Beckett, Hermit
Sometimes
one's prayer life seems to go stale, like an old loaf of
bread. Prayer time is filled with boredom or unsatisfying feelings. I
may be tired of praying the same old way, the way I prayed ever since I
was a child. Or, perhaps I have had a rich , fruitful prayer life for
years but suddenly find myself frustrated or confused about my spiritual
life.
Causes for a
lackluster prayer life vary. It could be that I'm just
feeling a little lazy lately and need to redouble my effort. Perhaps I
was never taught much about different prayer forms and the time is ripe
to learn. If I have been faithful to prayer for some time, this strange
turn of events might actually be an invitation from God to a deeper way
of praying.
David Torkington's book, How
to Pray: A Practical Guide, provides practical tips on prayer. In forty short,
two-page reflections,
the author reflects on a wide array of topics related to prayer and
methods of praying. The chapter headings hint at the variety: "The
School for Love," "Pray, Don't Babble," "Reconciliation," "Mystical
Union," "The Beginning of Contemplation," "The Morning Offering," "True
Humility," "Waiting on God," "The Sacred Heart," and "The Impossible
Made Possible" -- just a few of the topics covered.
Each chapter begins
with a quote that is, in itself, worth pondering. The chapter entitled 'Perfect Love"
begins with a quote from William of St. Thierry: "You'll never love someone unless
you know them,
but you'll never really know them unless you love them" (p. 27). After
presenting many different methods of praying, Torkington reminds us that
not all forms of prayer are for everyone at a given time, quoting Dom
John Chapman: "Pray as you can, not as you can't" (p. 49). Sometimes we
just fling ourselves heavenward: "A naked intention directed to God and
Himself alone is wholly sufficient," explains the writer of The Cloud of
Unknowing (p. 69). Teilhard de Chardin describes how prayer may propel
us beyond ourselves: "To adore means to lose oneself in the unfathom
able, to plunge into the inexhaustible, to find peace in the incorrup
tible, to be absorbed into the immeasurable, and to give one's deepest
to that whose depth has no end" (p. 13).
Torkington's section
called "Parousia" caught my eye as something
particularly different from other books on prayer. As the author
explains, parousia is the ancient word that means "coming," particularly
in the sense of a king's arrival. Parousia is used to refer to at least
three comings of Christ. First, Christ came in history about two thousand years ago.
Christ will come again at the end of time. In between
these two comings is Christ's "continual coming in mystery" to us. When
we pray, we are attending to this continual coming of Christ. Torkington uses the word
parousia as a "memory jog" to remind us of eight
essential ingredients of prayer. Each letter of the word parousia stands
for one of these eight essential ingredients: Profession, Adoration,
Reconciliation, Offering, Union, Silence, Intercession, and Action. The
author offers further reflections on each of these themes.... Torkington's also explains
various methods of prayer. We can pray
in our own words or use the words someone else has written. We can also
use the time-honored practice of lectio divina (Scripture-based meditation).
Traditional devotions,
such as the rosary and devotion to the Sacred
Heart, can be used in a fresh manner. Meditation and contemplation--and
the difference between the two--are also discussed. Readers can also try
the Desert Fathers' method of using a single prayer sentence to foster
growth toward "unceasing prayer."
Entwined among these
methods are many other tips about praying. So
much is packed into this little book that one might think at first that
the two-page topics are haphazard or unorganized, but this is not the
case. In reality, the author has carefully woven together many threads,
forming a rich tapestry that leads the reader, step by step, from the
beginnings of prayer to meditation, from meditation to contemplative
beginnings, purification of heart, and the hope for deeper and deeper
union with God. -- Julie McCarty, MAT, in
Spiritual Life, Winter 2003
"In How to Pray: A Practical Guide, David Torkington sums up the premise of his book
with a quotation of St. Teresa of Avila, 'There is only one way to perfection and that is to pray.
If anyone points in another direction, then they are deceiving you.' Torkington, a well-known
lecturer, retreat master, author and spiritual director, writes, 'True freedom doesn't mean to be
free from, but to be free for the most important thing in our lives, which is to love and to
experience being loved.' His book of 40 meditations and appendix of morning and evening prayers is
filled with a menagerie of ways prayer brings God's love to us and ours to him through what he calls
'divine union.'
The strength of Torkington's book
is his deep, encompassing knowledge and love of the Catholic tradition, which provides the
foundation for his many teachings and examples of prayer. He refers to prayer as 'a school of
divine love. It is the place where loving is learned by those who are prepared to go on giving
day after day though it might seem, at least to begin with, that they receive nothing in return.'
Sound, practical and easy to understand, he uses each letter of the Greek word parousia to
remind himself of eight Latin words that, he explains, embrace the eight essential ingredients of
prayer 'as embodied in the Mass that should characterize our daily prayer.'
Filled with quotations from
Catholic spiritual masters, Torkington writes of St. Augustine, who used the analogy of being a
living sponge to 'show that we are not only surrounded at all times by the love of God, but are
penetrated through and through by His all-pervading presence.' Whether referring to the
contemplative beauty of the Rosary, wisdom from the desert fathers, the intimacy of Holy
Communion, intercessory prayers and prayers of petition, Scripture, the Passion, Lectio Divina,
Stations of the Cross, the Sacred Heart, St. Ignatius' exercises, and much more, Torkington
explains that there is no such thing as private prayer in the Christian tradition even when we
are praying alone because we are 'united with all those who are in the family of Christ.' This is
why, he states, 'sincere prayer of the least of us is powerful far beyond our own personal and
spiritual resources alone.' He also writes, 'God is neither male nor female, but the qualities of
maleness and femaleness can be found uniquely balanced and brought to perfection in Him and
perfectly expressed in His love for all that He created.'
This book is sure to appeal to a
broad audience of Catholic readers and those who minister to them, who believe of prayer that
'there are no perfect means, just different means for different people at different stages of
their spiritual journey.'" --Joni Woelfel in
Ministry & Liturgy, September 2003
"How to Pray: A Practical Guide by David Torkington comprises forty brief reflections
on topics from traditional devotions to mystical union.... An excellent guide for the beginner in
prayer and good refresher for the more experienced pray-er." --Clare
Boehmer, ASC in Review for Religious, January 2003
"An excellent companion for anyone seriously looking for solid guidance, practical help and
sustained encouragement in prayer. It is clear and simple, capturing the essence of the
spiritual journey. This book is an immense treasure." --Fr. James
McCaffrey, OCD, Editor of Mount Carmel: A Review of the Spiritual
Life and Director of the Carmelite Retreat Centre, Oxford, England
How to Pray caused such a stir at last years Frankfurt book fair that it is at present being
translated into ten different languages. Even before it went into print it has been praised by
religious from all over the world: -
"It's the best practical and mystical guide I have read in these many years as director of
Spiritual Exercises, publisher, author and Christian, who desires to learn how to pray."
--Fr. R. Paiva, SJ, Sao Paulo, Brazil
"It is a happy surprise to find a book that coincides with your own wandering and even
discovers new paths. It should be essential reading for anyone who wants to know how to pray."
--Fr. Norbert Ellul-Vincenti, O.F.M., Valletta, Malta
"I was absolutely thrilled to read How to Pray and feel sure it will have a tremendous
impact, not only in my country and in Europe, but in the rest of the world."
--Fr. Jan Fatka, O Carm., Prague, The Czech Republic
"With remarkable ease Torkington convinces us that everyone can make prayer permeate our
bloodstream and thus immerse us permanently in God at every moment of our existence."
--Fr. Grzegorz Chrzanowski, OP, Poland
"This book is a little gem of sane and sound advice. With his utterly practical teaching
David Torkington gently encouraging us back to spiritual health." --Fr.
Brendan Thomas, OSB, Belmont Abbey, England
"How to Pray reveals in forty, easy-to-read, chapters how ordinary
people can replace the fear and anxiety of today's world with the profound
inner peace generated by God's rule of Love. Step by step, it
explains how our participation in "prayer," radically empowers our lives
beyond anything we could achieve by our own efforts. In simple language,
it guides us in the practical steps we must take to imbue our lives with
the Power of Spiritual Transformation which animated the Life of Christ.
This little book is a practical guide to the spiritual life. It
explains why our spirituality is misguided and crawls at a snail's pace
when it centers in our human effort. It explains, on the other hand, how
it "takes eagle's wings" when it centers in God through prayer. Then our
effort is joined to the Infinite Power that created the Universe.
Through such Power our lives are transformed into the Peace of God, a
Peace that surpasses all understanding, and this Gift is available to
anyone who seeks it through the "power of prayer."
Over the years, I've studied many of the books on prayer written by
saints and spiritual writers. Without question, "How to Pray" ranks as
one of the best. --Andrew Richards, Editor of the
Website for Contemplative Prayer
Top of Page
|
David Torkington is a Catholic journalist, author and speaker,
who writes and lectures about prayer and Christian spirituality. He specializes in mystical
theology and franciscan spirituality. He has had a regular column in The Catholic Herald
for many years but now writes exclusively for The Universe in this country and writes for
many other periodicals and newspapers in the USA and Canada. His Publications include the highly
acclaimed trilogy on prayer featuring the fictional character of Peter Calvay:
The Hermit, The Prophet,
and The Mystic which has sold over 120,000 copies at home and abroad.
His other books include, Inner Life, A New Beginning, and Dear
Susanna. He has produced Inner Life Tapes which are also available from ST PAULS / Alba
House. Deeply influenced by the Church's ancient monastic tradition his spirituality is
predominantly Franciscan and his mystical theology Carmelite.