I have yet to meet any Mum who declares motherhood as being easy and non-challenging. Even though our individual circumstances may be different, having little ones can often be demanding even if they are good natured and relatively trouble free!
So just HOW can you fit God and prayer into each busy day?
Simply put, I have come to realize that the busier I am each day, the MORE I have to pray. This may sound strange but spending that one on one time with God has been so important and beneficial in helping me live each day cheerfully.
I am a Mum of three little people – my oldest being 3. Life is exciting but busy; there is no two ways about that, even if it is just getting through the ordinary, average day!
My main struggle I found was lacking peace and calmness. Getting so caught up caring for the kids, housework and preparing meals meant that I found no time to pray. I lacked a lot of serenity when dealing with situations and as a result got frustrated with the kids, with myself and could easily slip into a bad mood.
This is when I began a daily routine of fitting prayer into my day. It has helped me immensely! Each day I aim to attend daily Mass, spend some time in Mental Prayer, and pray the Angelus at midday. I also try to fit in 15 minutes to read a good Spiritual book and prayer the Rosary. All very achievable, let me show you how!
Mental Prayer: it does not matter when or where you choose to do some mental prayer, the important thing is that you try to give God the best time of your day. This might be when you are feeding your baby or watching your kids playing outside (as mums, we will often have to carry on caring for the children, regardless). If you have never done mental prayer before, click here to read this helpful article which demonstrates how to do so. I do recommend to try at least 15 minutes a day to begin with as this allows you to begin building that personal relationship with our Lord.
Holy Mass: most mornings, I will try to get to mass with my children. This takes a bit of effort and practice, but once you have a routine set in place it really isn’t so difficult. Starting my day with mass gives me so much strength to keep peace with my children for the rest of the day. There are days when the children misbehave at church and this can be quite challenging at times. I overcome this by focusing on why I have chosen to be at Mass and give that time to God in thanksgiving for life, my family etc. Here is a helpful article on bringing young kids to mass.
Angelus: 12 noon! The Angelus (a beautiful prayer to Our Lady) is traditionally prayed around this time. Time for a break to stop whatever I am doing for just 2 minutes – that’s all it takes! No matter what is happening or who is having a tantrum, this prayer brings me a lot of peace.
Holy Rosary: I try to pray the rosary when I take the kids out for a walk or when they are playing outside. This way, it is generally quieter and I can concentrate and reflect on the different decades. If this is not possible, I will pray the rosary either on the way to Mass or driving to the shops. It only takes about 15 minutes and I strangly found that instead of my usual noisy passengers, the kids seem to be more settled in the back seat (not sure why!). I also know of other Mums who try to pray the rosary with their husbands after their children are asleep, which is lovely!
Spiritual Reading: there are plenty of fantastic spiritual reading books out there! Some of my favorites include: ‘Interior Freedom’ and ‘Time for God’ by Jacque Phillip; ‘Christ is Passing By’ by St Josemaria and ‘Where there is Love there is God’ by Mother Teresa. I will usually read after I put the kids to bed at night as the house is nice and quiet!
Originally posted 2014-03-17 22:08:04.
Thank you for these great tips. I really want to try to get to daily Mass, but our local one is at 12.05, right on lunch and nap time! I’ll have to check out the Mass times of other nearby churches. I confess the thought frightens me as I have two very energetic, noisy boys and I’ve heard older people make nasty comments even at Sunday Mass about how we shouldn’t be bringing them. So discouraging.
I do try to take moments of mental prayer but need to put in more effort, same for rosary. I think I’ll have to review the way my days go and see how I can for it in. I’m sure it will make my days run much better!
Thank you Jacinta! That is fantastic you would like to get to daily Mass, it is definitely an effort and some days during mass (especially when the kids are being disruptive) I think to myself “What am I doing here?” Then throughout the day I do feel like I receive strength and a lot of grace to be more patient with kids/ husband. I do feel a little embarrased too when my children are noisy but as long as they are not crying or tantruming during mass, a few noises are completely normal! Also, I know that even though some parishioners may seem agitated, majority do love children coming to mass. In fact, MANY have come up to me afterwards and just encouraged me to keep coming because they know what an effort it is to bring young children. Good luck, I will remember to pray for you while I am at Mass with my kids! 🙂
Thanks for the encouraging article! I confess I haven’t been great with prayer these days… even with just one toddler the day gets so packed. But you’re so right that the busier you are, the more you have to pray. I’m realising now – as I’ve returned to full-time work and everything is so demanding – how important it is to consciously retune and refocus.
It saddens me to be back at work full-time and struggle to get out of the office for lunch, let alone daily Mass. It’s a thing I miss so much about being home.
Hi Joy, I remember with even with one toddler, life can be very busy because they are demanding little people! I too do find it great to stop and refocus consciously each day as this helps me to keep perspective and stay on track! Otherwise, I personally find myself getting so overwhelmed with issues of little importance. I know my husband also tried to get to mass during his lunch break at work but this was often tricky. Some days he manages to catch the train in before work and attend mass in the city. Hope you manage to find something that works out for you! Some days I when don’t actually make it for Mass, I pop into a church during the day to do a quick visit to our Lord and say a few prayers before the Blessed Sacrament.