Pray every morning, pray every evening, and eat your meals at the same time every day is a rule of life at the Holy Cross Monastery near Beaumont, Texas, and is a way life every Christian should consider, said Brother Michael Gallagher, OSB during his recent presentation, Living Into Benedictine Spirituality in the 21^stCentury, at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Frisco.

“The practice leads the belief, not the other way around,” he said. “If you don’t have a rule of life, you will fall back into old patterns. An established practice helps us not forget who we are and why we are here.”

Gallagher said one way to pray is to read a passage from Scripture, and “let a word jump out at you.” Let yourself be vulnerable and then mediate on that word. Ask what does that word mean to you today? Then ask yourself, “I think God is asking me to _?” And then fill in the blank.

Gallagher led the presentation with the Rev. Peter Funk, who said to give up control to God completely and to practice silent, meditative prayer focusing on a mantra and breathing. “It’s hard to shut down, so get the body completely still, and pray with a word when you get distracted,” he said. “Practice and make it part of your day every day.”