Prayer and the Spiritual Life
Large-scale prints of these pictures were exhibited in Notre Dame de France, the ‘French Church’, Leicester Square, London from 23rd June – 5th September 2005. The original title of the Exhibition was ‘Journey into Prayer: The Spiritual Life in Pictures’. To see photos of this exhibition click here. To see larger versions of each picture, click on the thumbnail picture within an exhibition.
 | We face God’s glory and repent of our sins ‘You must repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out’. (Acts 3:19). OIL-S:2670 |
 | Through faith and baptism we receive new life through Christ’s saving sacrifice on the Cross ‘We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son’. (Rom 5:10). OIL-M:1137 |
 | If our souls are cluttered with sin and resentment there is little room for Christ ‘If we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us from everything that is wrong’. (1 Jn 1:9). OIL-M:823 |
 | Whenever we pray God pours His grace upon us ‘The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us’ (Rom 5:5). OIL-M:601 |
 | We are lifted up to the Father when we pray through Christ ‘He raises the poor from the dust, he lifts the needy from the dunghill, to give them a place with princes, and to assign them a seat of honour. (1 Sam 2:8). OIL-M:1000 |
 | Regular prayer allows us to join the praise and thanksgiving of heaven ‘What you have come to is the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival’ (Heb 12:22). OIL-M:76 |
 | The Church is the Body of Christ and we should not separate ourselves from it ‘Stand firm, then, brothers, and keep the traditions that we taught you whether by word of mouth or by letter’ (2 Thess 2:15). CWC:4096 |
 | We walk in the Sacred Tradition, guided by the Holy Scriptures and the Teaching of the Church ‘All scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be holy’ (2 Tim 3:16). OIL-M:1386 |
 | At every Mass we reach up and meet the Father through the sacrifice of Christ our head ‘If anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is just; he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and not only ours, but the whole world’s’ (1 Jn 2: 1-2). OIL-S:1685A |
 | When we pray to Mary she leads us closer to Christ her son ‘His mother said to the servants “Do whatever he tells you” ‘(Jn 2:5). OIL-M:1088A |
 | We approach God in the present moment, and not by losing ourselves in past or future ‘Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Mt 6:33-34). OIL-M:1282 |
 | Our daily duties are like a golden string that shows us God’s will and leads to Heaven ‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour’ (Mt 16:27). OIL-M:1445 |
 | True prayer should lead us to love God and to serve our neighbour ‘In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me’ (Mt 25:40). CWC:5930 |
 | Even in the darkness of our sufferings Christ is always close to us ‘If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying’ (Rom 12:11-12). OIL-M:1088 |
 | A single prayer in Christ’s name can help many others and be more effective than we realize ‘There should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving…’ (1 Tim 2:1). OIL-M:1108 |
 | In the life of union with God, the Father can lift us high in contemplation ‘Yahweh has leaned down from the heights of his sanctuary, has looked down at earth from heaven’ (Ps 102:19). OIL-M:1406 |
 | If we allow Him, the Holy Spirit will transform us and make us holy ‘…Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit’ (2 Cor 3:16-18). CWC:2153 |
 | Christ shines through us upon others when our lives are entirely his ‘You are the light of the world…your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in Heaven (Mt 5:14,16). OIL-M:195 |