On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
It seems like there are a lot of suggested ways to pray. How do I know which one Catholics are 
supposed to use?
Prayer’s an interesting thing. Some people find much comfort and solace in praying the rosary or the Divine Mercy chaplet. Others like to use the lectio divina practice of incorporating scripture and contemplation into prayer. Some find it helpful to use daily aids such as Living Faith (full disclosure: I write for this fine devotional), the Magnificat, or Word Among Us to prompt a dialogue with God. And of course, many people find less solitary pursuits, such as small-group sharing and communal prayer, help them the most.
After a while, for one reason or another, you may find it helpful to change up your prayer life. I’ve gone from spontaneous prayer to the rosary and back again. A daily guide is almost always in there too. For the past six months or so, I’ve found my time closest to God often comes in my 15-minute walk from work to public transit as I say the Jesus prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”). I focus every ten prayers or so on a different significant word. While it’s traditionally not a Roman Catholic prayer, John Paul II praised the author, Gregory Palamas, a monk who lived more than six centuries ago, and called him a saint.
The most important thing, I think, is to have a prayer life, whether it’s formed prayer, spontaneous prayer, individual prayer, or group prayer. God really wants to hear from us in whatever way is easiest for us to reach Him.
