Perseverance with Prayer

by Francesca Santelli

As a sophomore at DePaul, I am still transitioning. That sounds weird to many seeing that I have been here in Chicago for over a year, but I don’t mean the type of transition where I am getting used to my surrounding area, but I am still transitioning mentally and spiritually, and I wanted to share some thoughts I have been having recently. 

I was a cradle Catholic, which basically means that since the day I was born, my amazing family has taken me to mass, and has helped me grow in my faith. That is all good and fun and I will forever be grateful that I was brought up this way, but there are still times in my life where I hit a brick wall when it comes to my prayer life. 

I spend most days on social media telling others how amazing it is to love and be loved by Jesus, which do not get me wrong that is one of my favorite things to do. But somedays, weeks, even months I feel as though I am just going through the motions of mass, and daily prayer. 

One thing that I STILL struggle with knowing, is that it is okay to be in these spots in our lives. If God constantly wanted us to have these HUGE JESUS moments He would make it that way! But the reality of having a relationship with Jesus is that our actions and the way that we live our daily lives affect our relationship with him. The more we fall into sin, or neglect to nurture our relationship with him, the further away from him we get. BUT GUESS WHAT! His love is always there whether you are on a “Jesus high”, or you are struggling to get out of bed to attend mass. His love is redemptive, His love is great because He is LOVE. 

You might be asking yourself “Why is she ranting about how great God is” well….thank you for asking! The paragraph above is what gets me through those rough prayer ruts, that is what helps me continue to attend mass and work on my relationship with Jesus every single day. 

Work. That is what it takes to get out of the prayer rut in your life. Just like an everyday relationship it takes work, it takes sacrifice, and it takes time. You have got Him on your side already, that is half the battle. 

When all else fails, know who you are and whose you are. You are a son or daughter to him, he already loves you even when you feel like you are not loved or cared for. 

Blessings from your fellow sister in Christ,

Francesca Santelli