I believe we can draw three practical conclusions from the life and teachings of Francis and John on prayer: we can pray longer, more often, and in silence. First, we can pray longer. Can we dedicate more time to prayer?

It seems that we, the people of the Twenty-First Century, are incredibly preoccupied. We relentlessly think of ourselves. We live in little “ego bubbles,” only concerned about me, my life, my family, and my problems. In these bubbles, we are rarely happy and free.

If we claim to be followers of Jesus, then there can be no compromising the teachings he gives us today on nonresistance, turning the other cheek, and loving one’s enemies. Jesus is very aware of the fact that violence never truly solves anything.

We worry about a lot of things. Jesus mentions three: food, drink, and clothing. But we tend to get anxious over more than these things. I remember when both my daughters were first born. I would sometimes be unable to fall asleep because I was intensely worried about whether they were breathing!

Throughout the Easter season we have been walking with a mystic guide, namely the medieval German Dominican Meister Eckhart. He did not exist in a vacuum nor did he become one of the greatest mystics in Catholic tradition apart from his times.

Who am I? This is likely one of the most profound religious questions we can ask. The other is, Who is God? These two questions are linked. They are two sides of the same coin. It is said that St. Francis of Assisi prayed through a whole night these two questions: “Who are you, O God? And, who am I?”

In a retreat called, “The Rediscovery of Life,” Anthony De Mello relates the following story: “There was a lion that grew up in a flock of sheep and so he had no consciousness that he was a lion. He didn’t know he was a lion.

Abba Poemen said to Abba Joseph, “Tell me how to become a monk.” He said, “If you want to find rest here below, and hereafter, in all circumstances say, ‘Who am I?’ And do not judge anyone.” Abba Poemen wants to become a monk, a holy person.

A spiritual awakening occurs when we see reality as it is, present and aware in the now. The contemporary spiritual teacher, Francis Dale Bennett, describes his own spiritual awakening: “At one point, right in the midst of Mass, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck the crown of my head and sent a strong energy current through my whole body, from head to feet ..."

Deacon Edward J. McCormack joined the formation faculty at Theological College and serves as the Director of Human Formation and the Coordinator of Retreats and Conferences .