There are times when even  the thought of praying seems overwhelming. One does not have to be in a hospital recovering from a serious operation to fel that praying just now seems too difficult. One is too weary for anything.

Perhaps it was such a situation that the master of praying, St. Ignatius of Loyola, had in mind when he proposed a method of praying he called “A Measured Rhythmical Recitation.”

This is how it goes. With each breath, one prays mentally while saying a single word of the Our Father, or a word of another prayer that is being recited. So with each breath, there is said one word of a prayer. The mind, as much as possible, is directed to the meaning of the word, or to the person who is addressed in the prayer, or to one’s own helplessness and need, or in a simple comparison between the greatness of the person addressed and one’s own littleness.

While being conscious of a regular breathing in and out, one goes through the Our Father, or other prayer, word by word. When one prayer is finished, begin another and so on. The rhythmical breathing can be like a motor that keeps one going when breathing is about all that one can do.

It might not be the kind of praying that one would want to write about in a long letter to a friend. But it can help to unite oneself to God for an intimate moment in a time of very special need.

It could be that even the thought of going through a prayer word by word is beyond one’s strength or initiative. Why not just keep on repeating one word like the holy name of Jesus, or Mary, or Joseph, or your patron saint? Or one could repeat a brief invocation like “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.”

When we consider the idea of repeating a word of a prayer, we are touching upon a long tradition of deep Byzantine spirituality which is centered on the “prayer of Jesus.” This “prayer” refers to the invocation of the name Jesus, either alone or inserted into a more or less well developed formula like “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”

This form of praying a word or phrase is a method that is not only for those who are struggling to pray due to illness or weariness. It has proven to be highly developed form of praying. Whole books have been written on the “prayer of Jesus” in the Eastern Church and in its deeply spiritual monastic tradition.  Strong and vigorous men and women have used this method of praying to gain a deep intimacy with God—the purpose of praying.

It is helpful to keep reminding oneself that intimacy with God does not depend on one’s own initiative. Intimacy is a pure gift from God. We cannot make God give us this gift. We can do our best to set up the conditions and the atmosphere and the composure which are conducive  to intimacy with God. But what we might call conducive does not put God under any obligation to give us the experience of His living nearness.

The formula for success in prayer might be expressed as follows: do your part with trust that God will do His part when and if He wants to do so. No demands, no ultimatums, no attempts at coercion. God is more anxious to give Himself to us than we are to receive Him. All methods re helps towards overcoming our reluctance to opening our hearts to Him.

In speaking of praying as a relationship with God, it is conceivable that some feel more comfortable in directing their prayers nearly always to Mary with the purpose of asking her to intercede with God. There could be shyness or excessive inferiority complex which keeps one from praying directly to the Father or to the son or to the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing wrong with going to Jesus through Mary. It is highly recommended. We have been given canonized  and beatified saints and blesseds to help our praying. If one is reluctant to approach God directly in prayer, why not begin by asking Mary or your favorite Saint to be with you when you venture into the unfamiliar field of praying directly to God?  The unfamiliar could  soon become familiar with God’s help.