Physical pain can make prayer feel impossible. Our mind is focused on wishing it would stop. We feel discouraged and fearful being out of control — thinking how healthy we were a short time ago, and wondering when we’ll feel good again.
And deep down, we’re a little resentful and angry because it feels unfair.
Praying when it’s hard
St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) wrote this in a letter to an ailing sister who worried that illness was blowing up her prayer life:
"Do not be distressed about having to stay in bed and not being able to meditate, for to endure the scourging of our Lord is no less a good than to meditate. No, it is undoubtedly better to be on the cross with the Lord then to be only looking at Him. But I know very well that there on your sick bed, you cast your heart a thousand times a day into the hands of God, and that’s enough.”
Find a way
St. Francis assures us that if pain preempts our regular prayer life, it’s okay to repeatedly cast our heart to God.
Everyone does that a little differently, so it’s worth experimenting to see what way works for us. The point is to not let pain discourage us from connecting with God, so that our pain can unite with Christ’s suffering for the salvation of the world.
Here are three ideas:
Contemplate an image of the crucifix. A tried and true way to remind ourselves that the sinless one endured torture, humiliation, and shameful death for us personally to buy our one-way ticket to heaven. If we call Jesus our friend, are we also willing to climb up on the cross with him when he invites us?
Play an audio that makes it easier to cast our heart to God. A meditation, scripture, spiritual audio book, or music can help keep our heart’s focus on Christ, where it belongs.
Thank him for the gift of this pain that we can use as “spiritual money” in Christ to release souls from purgatory, save souls from hell, strengthen priests who are tempted, or any other intention the Holy Spirit puts on your heart. Our spiritual work in this way will have infinite value.
“We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”