chrysostom Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 ...it just feels special, somehow. Is it the quietness of my own soul because I've finished the work of the day? Is it the lack of light helping to put away distractions? Is it the lack of sleep (in some instances) accomplishing what fasting does? Is it the fact that the Agony in the Garden happened at night and so our hearts are more disposed towards consoling Jesus when we join him in this way? What do you think of all this? :pray: :pope2: :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandelynmarie Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I'm going to say the quietness & even the tiredness play a part. I believe our defenses are down when we are tired & that allows Him to act upon us...we are more receptive to Him :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Credo in Deum Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I used to begin my day with an hour of adoration and end it with an hour of adoration. I especially loved doing adoration at night. I liked to look at it as visiting my dad and telling Him about my day and the problems I faced or the good things I've experienced. I think I enjoyed my adoration more at night because my disposition was one of openness. My day was done, my anxiety low, and my mind was calm. I think we miss a lot of what God is trying to show us because we are so worried about the day and how it's going to go and what we're going to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veritasluxmea Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 In general, nighttime prayer is so different from daytime prayer, whether adoration or compline. I wonder if it has something to do with a connection to the last four things. I've always found it to be peaceful in a serious way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Therese Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I concur, Chrysostom :) I even find the lack of light a little romantic, when its just the Lord, the candles, and me. But I think the lack of light helps add to the stillness, and that stillness before Him is something that I think we all (knowingly or not) crave just a little bit. We always feel the need during the day to be DOING, and this is fitting to an extent, for it is important to work... but in the stillness of the night when its just Him and me? I can just be. I have to admit though, often at the end of the day, my soul is NOT quiet. I actually wrote a poem-prayer once that stemmed from the fact that I just wanted to be still with Him, and so I asked Him to calm the interior storm... and the poem was composed in just such a late-night prayer session, the little Eucharistic chapel we were blessed to have upstairs near the novitiate dorms in the Motherhouse of my former community. I always found that He would readily calm that storm late at night before Him. What you say about the Agony in the Garden is also something that resonates with me. I wrote a poem about that too but have no intention of spamming you with all my literary dabblings... just wanted to get across that I think we might be on a bit of a wavelength here, because its something I've thought about often enough that I put it in verse once. Your comment about fasting... not sure what to make of that. I mean, sometimes, it doesn't feel even remotely sacrificial to be with the Lord late at night when I'm sleep deprived, because its just so good to be there. SOMETIMES I get the distinct impression that He would rather I go to bed than linger longer, out of prudence and justice towards the duties of my state for which I need to be awake and capable the following day. Very occasionally I know that I need to sit there with Him longer, even though I'd really rather fall into bed... and I suppose it is at those times when it might feel a little bit like fasting. So thinking it through - maybe you're right! What Brandelynmarie says about our defenses being down - I think spot on... and better to let HIM rule our hearts when those defences are down than to leave the door open for the evil one... I wonder to what extent whether a person is a morning person or a night owl effects their receptivity to grace during these times? Veritas - your proposed connection with the last things is FASCINATING. Thank you, I think that's going to be the cud upon which I chew in prayer today :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Therese Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Oh, another thing. When I first said "yes" and finally embraced my calling to religious life, it was late at night, in a candle-lit chapel, alone with Our Lord long after Compline, since the Vocations Director had earlier yielded the chapel to me perhaps sensing that I needed that time with Him. Incidentally, I was interrupting HER alone time with Him by just being there. She used to say, in drawing an analogy to lay life, that it was like the kids had been put down to bed and she could just be with her spouse at that time... which is why the candles were all lit in the first place :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandelynmarie Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 ^^^^ Love this. :love: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 My diocese has young adult retreats - and the highlight for almost everyone is the lottery for adoration time slots on the last night. Some people win the 3 AM slot. I once had two back-to-back hours. I think it's no wonder that throughout the ages, many saints in religious orders have asked their superiors to send time in adoration at night. Someone mentioned the stillness - couldn't agree more. You're body is finally tired enough to let the heart pray. Kind of different from the early morning adoration - then I'm just tired and going to fall asleep, nodding off in my pew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Therese Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Kind of different from the early morning adoration - then I'm just tired and going to fall asleep, nodding off in my pew. Ahhhh. The famous "St Joseph Meditation"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Ahhhh. The famous "St Joseph Meditation"... I'm not familiar with that expression... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Ahhhh. The famous "St Joseph Meditation"... I'm not familiar with that expression... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spem in alium Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I don't really have much to add here, as I don't generally have many opportunities to pray before the Lord at night, but I wanted to say I love this thread! I really do feel the Lord's presence in the darkness and the stillness of the night. I always dearly love going to Mass on Holy Thursday and staying to adore before the Altar of Repose. Something about the dark and the silence, with only a handful of people around you and the only light coming from the candles...it definitely speaks to my heart, and there's something quite mysterious about it. Early morning prayer is also special for me. I'm often the first one up at home, and I usually wake up before the sun rises, so I make an effort to try and spend some of that time in prayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Therese Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I'm not familiar with that expression... St Joseph received direction from God while sleeping ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 St Joseph received direction from God while sleeping ;) I should have realized that :) I usually think of the story of Bishop Sheen who once fell asleep in his holy hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maximillion Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 We had 24/7 (as it is called now) Adoration and yes, you guessed, there was always competition for the night time slots! As novices we were each permitted on slot per week on the night rota. Like Spem I have always been an early riser and soon was given responsibility for ringing the waking bell and setting the coffee pot on the stove before Matins. Creeping about the convent praying when all else save the Sister at Adoration were sleeping was lovely. I don't have access now except during a retreat, but I do have a walled garden/ex-cemetery full of monks right here beside me where I often pray in the dawn. Concur with what everyone else has said about night time prayer, and would add that in dire straights, in the wee hours I have been so sustained knowing there are Religious and others praying for me at those times........such a privilege. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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