A Review of ‘Prayer Everywhere: The Spiritual Life Made Simple

“The Lord cannot be at work in me if I am only allowing him the time I spend doing pious or prayerful things.  I must open the whole of my life to Christ and intentionally make him a vital part of everything I do.”–Father Gary Caster

Reading Level

Grades 11+

Review and Comments

I’ll be honest, after having kids I have found prayer difficult.  I find little time to myself and am constantly interrupted.  I even have trouble making it through a rosary without falling asleep!  Then, as an attempt to make up for my distraction/frustration/exhaustion, I try to find a new devotion/method/motivation to kick myself back in gear.  Slowly I see myself becoming a Martha and less of a Mary and the downward spiral continues.

Enter Father Gary Caster’s book, Prayer Everywhere (which was obviously sent to me by the Holy Spirit).  Through his simple suggestions and wonderfully entertaining anecdotes, I was reminded about the simplicity of prayer which I’d forgotten.  Devotions aside, prayer is ultimately about our relationship with Jesus and it need not be complicated.

Father Caster’s chapters are relatively short making it easy for a quick read here and there if you are very busy, but each chapter is filled with reminders of how simple it is to incorporate prayer into our daily lives.  His chapters focus on setting up your day for prayer and reminding us of what prayer is.  He reminds us of ways we can speak with Jesus, of ways we can use scripture, and the ways the sacraments lead us to prayer.

This book is so practical, but the greatest parts are when he includes his personal stories.  They add to his teaching and make it seem so much more simple to have that relationship with God.  My favorite story was one he told about his parents.  Their love for each other was amazing until their dying day.  I love his view of their death and the story left me in tears.

Father Caster has a gift for teaching.  His book was a joy to read and helped this mama in a “prayer rut” feel a sense of peace when I finished reading.  I’d love to read more from Father Caster (you can see some of his other books below) and I hope lots of people can get their hands on this book.

I was given this book by Franciscan Media in exchange for an honest review.

Resources

  • You can watch a series of videos with Father Gary Caster discussing the book on YouTube.  Start with the video below: