If you are new to the idea of an intentional daily spiritual practice, the whole idea might be a bit overwhelming. Just start. Start small; see what brings you comfort and what drains you. Stick with the former and drop the latter! As my mentor the late John Veltri, SJ would say “Pray as you can, not as you can’t!”

A regular routine spiritual practice takes time to develop, and everyone’s will be different. But here is a place where you might start. It looks like a lot of activity each day, but it’s essentially a matter of lifestyle change: your spiritual practice gradually becomes the way you frame and structure your day.

It need not be a time-consuming burden either! Most of these components do not exceed 5-10 minutes each.

So let’s build our daily spiritual practice bit by bit. Here are the components I propose. Click on each for further information.

1. At waking: offer some form of rededication and intentionality prayer

2. Engage is some form of foundational practice

3. Perform a periodic determination of your spiritual well-being (“discernment of spirits”)

4. Engage in some form of Christian formation practice

5. Engage in some “Christification” task

6. Have a practice at your fingertips during times of stress or anxiety

7. At the close of the day: conduct an Awareness Examen