Did you ever make an Hour of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and wonder if there was a more fruitful way? I’m not suggesting that prayer is all about technique. Adoration is just that: adoration! But the founder of the Daughters of St. Paul, Blessed Fr. James Alberione, developed a method of prayer (for many different forms of prayer) that honours Jesus, the Divine Master, Truth, Way and Life and corresponds to the whole person: mind, will and heart. 

Jesus is the Truth for our mind, the Way for our will, and the Life for our heart. Often, theology and philosophy will speak of human beings as creatures distinguished by reason (mind) and free will, but they forget the heart! Man is made in the image of the Triune God, and his three (not two) faculties mirror that.

Sometimes people spend the entire hour doing only spiritual reading or intercessory prayers, thinking and talking to God about their life, or just silent contemplation. Well and good! But Fr. Alberione’s method is very helpful for giving our mind, will, and heart a complete spiritual workout,.

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The fourth section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is on personal prayer (aside from the section on worship). As Catholics, we have many rich forms, styles, traditions and customs of prayer. It’s good to keep in mind the various purposes or “ends” of prayer. A good acronym for the ends of prayer is A.L.T.A.R. Adoration, Love, Thanks, Asking, Reparation. The Truth, Way, Life method incorporates all of them.

We don’t want to make prayer a utilitarian drill. But Fr. Alberione, a very practical man, emphasized “progress” in the spiritual life. He believed in “confession for progress,” “meditation for progress,” etc. One of his mottoes was: “A little progress every day.” Didn’t St. Ignatius call his 30-day retreat “The Spiritual Exercises”? (Of course, Ignatius had been a military man, but I digress.)

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So what is this method? It starts with a simple dividing of 60 minutes into three 20-minute segments. (Prayers and hymns can transition each section into the next, especially if the Hour of Adoration is being prayed aloud in a group.) For the first 20 minutes, we honour Jesus Who is the Truth for our mind. Engage in spiritual reading, preferably the Scriptures. Read slowly and reflectively. Reread sections that strike you. Talk to Jesus about what you are reading. In the second 20 minutes, we honour Jesus who is the Way for our will. Make an examination of conscience (perhaps related to what you just read). This is also a good time to journal. Make an act of contrition and a resolution. The last 20 minutes honours Jesus who is the Life for our hearts. We pray for graces for ourselves and the world. Any form of intercessory prayer may be used, preferably the Rosary. Intentions can be placed for each decade. It’s appropriate for the beginning and end of the Hour to feature Eucharistic hymns or hymns of praise.

Fr. Alberione always referred to the Hour of Adoration as “the Visit.” To him it was very intimate and familiar. On his deathbed he said: “I visited You every day, Jesus—now…Paradise!”

“Our Visit with Jesus is: the creature meeting the Creator; the disciple before the Divine Master; the poor one appealing to the Rich One; the thirsty one drinking at the Font; the blind person searching for the Light; the friend who goes to the true Friend; the wayward heart who finds the Way, the unenlightened one who finds Wisdom; the ‘nothing’ who finds the All; the seeker who finds life’s Meaning.” –Fr. Alberione

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Don’t care for the Truth, Way, Life method? Or find that sometimes you really do just need silent contemplation or Scripture reading for the full hour? Go for it. Fr. Alberione always advised us to let the Lord lead us in prayer and not be too tied to any method. The Truth, Way, Life is meant to be a scaffolding, a launching pad and a touchstone to return to, in order to grow deeper in prayer (and not neglect crucial aspects of our prayer life). Father would be the first to say: If the Lord is speaking to you in prayer, don’t tell Him he has to fit into a time slot or structure.

Sr. Helena Raphael Burns, fsp, is a Daughter of St. Paul. She holds a Masters in Media Literacy Education and studied screenwriting at UCLA. HellBurns.com  Twitter: @srhelenaburns  #medianuns