The Perfect Prayer

A Devotional Journey Into the Mass

If you're unhappy because the Mass has become for you routine - or even boring and tedious - these pages are for you. They teach you eight simple ways to make your every Mass a joyful time of piety and intense devotion.

Explaining the spiritual meanings behind the signs and symbols, words and actions of the Mass, author Christopher Carstens teaches you spiritually-enriching ways to enter the church building, make the Sign of the Cross, pray the Opening Prayer, listen to the Readings, prepare your soul at the Offertory, participate in the Eucharistic Prayer, receive Communion, and even respond to the Dismissal.

Soon - with the help of author Carstens wise suggestions - you will be surprised to find each Eucharistic Celebration a fountain of peace for you, a profound refreshment for your soul.

Among other things you'll learn from these pages:

• The meaning of the "sacramental principle": if you don't understand it, then Mass is almost surely flat for you.
• How each element of the Liturgy has a sacramental quality about it, and can be for you a grace-filled encounter with Jesus.
• How to transform your prayers at Mass into a conversation with God.
• Why silence - both within the liturgy and outside of it - is a necessary element of that conversation with God.
• There's a proper spiritual way to make the Sign of the Cross (do you know what it is?).
• How the Creed can be for you the highpoint of the Liturgy of the Word.
• Why, during the collection, you should also explicitly offer Christ your heart.
• The best way in the Mass to participate in Jesus' saving work: do you know what it is?.
• What you should desire in order to receive the Eucharist most efficaciously (and what that desire presupposes in you).
• Coming and going through the church doors: what, each time, it should mean for you spiritually.

Plus, at the end of each chapter, a list of action items for the next time you go to Mass, and much, much more to awaken in you the bright spirit of joyful devotion that we are all called to have at Mass.

The Hidden Power of Silence in the Mass

In this game-changing book, Fr. Boniface Hicks, O.S.B., reveals how you can actively listen and open yourself to receive God's personal love for you in the Mass, where our Lord waits to quench your deepest longing and heal your wounds. Drawing from the wisdom of the saints, modern-day spiritual giants, and his own penetrating reflections, you will learn how to quiet your mind, stretch your heart, and become childlike in the sense of experiencing the sacred mysteries with wonder and awe.

The Mass, as most Catholics are aware, consists of words and gestures through which the Church worships the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. But as far fewer Catholics know, the periods of silence are more than pauses or empty spaces, as Fr. Hicks explains. They are beautifully textured with prescribed prayers spoken quietly by the priest, meaningful images such as incense and chalice veils, and expectant faith ready to surrender or receive from God in particular ways. Learning how to attune our hearts to these silences can greatly increase the fruitfulness of our reception of grace at Mass.

In these soul-enriching pages, you will explore the various textures of silence in general, the ways in which silence affects your interior life, and how silence can draw you into more intimate prayer. You will also find:

• How our Lady is the supreme model on how to cultivate active and receptive silence
• The secret to settling slowly into silence, relaxing, and entering into an inner dialogue with God
• Tips on how to commune with God in your heart and on practicing lectio divina
• What St. Benedict teaches on developing silence in prayer, speech, activities, and thoughts

Fr. Hicks further guides you through each of the nine silent (secreto) prayers of the priest, the silent gestures in the Mass, such as the use of incense and the unveiling of the chalice, and the intentional periods of silence, including during the Liturgy of the Word and after receiving Holy Communion.

You will discover the pattern through which divine life came to earth and how the fire of Christ's merciful love comes to the soul. Moreover, you will come to understand how your physical silence at Mass fosters your spiritual silence and becomes an "act of love" through self-offering, adoration, communion, and resting in the inexpressible mystery.

Each chapter includes reflection questions designed to foster group discussions so parish members can reflect on and grow together in the way they pray during Mass.

Through such intimate encounter, you will learn to enjoy praying at Mass with your whole heart, mind, and soul and will arrive at a more conscious, active, and fruitful participation in the sacred liturgy.