In the Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraph 2558- 2565, we see that prayer is
- Raising up our mind and heart to him with reverent attention and devotion
- A vital and personal relationship of the children of God with their Father
There are two important elements of prayer. First of all, prayer is focusing our mind and heart to God. Secondly, it is a personal relationship. This means, whenever we give our attention to God and create an intimate relationship with him, we are actually praying.
These questions most probably cross our minds:
How do I give my full attention to God in the midst of my busy schedule?
What does having a relationship with Christ mean?
“God turned my sorrow into a joyful dance and he had taken away my sorrow and surrounded me with joy.”
Years ago, I did not know how to express my emotion in the right way. The only way I knew was to cry and isolate myself from people. I have been through a few episodes in my life where I experienced various strong emotions such as anger, fear, and hopelessness. On those days, I did not recognize the leading of the spirit.
I attended the School of Mission in New Zealand a few years ago. It was a five-month discipleship formation run by the ICPE Mission. There I discovered a new way of praying. It was a way of expressing my emotions, of communicating to God what was happening in me, the start of a journey of a new found freedom in dancing and acting
Now, I always praise him in prayer through body movement. I love to express myself in dance as my body is also the temple of the Holy Spirit. My thoughts turn from self focus to God focus and I began to experience the peace of his presence in me. Through it all, God was growing my faith and building my character, while showing me that His grace is sufficient.
I would like to share these seven steps which I discovered on how to connect prayer with song and dance movement:
1) Choose a song – you can choose worship songs, songs from your favourite artist, or any energetic music.
2) Ask yourself what you are feeling when you are listening to the song. Before you begin to experiment with movement, take some time to listen to the music and connect your feelings. Begin to notice what physical sensation runs through your body, what stories or moments in your life that comes to mind, and what feelings emerge as you listen.
3) Find a comfortable place and position – you can either stand or sit.
4) Translate your emotion into dance – slowly move your body and express your feelings through movement.
5) Allow God to be your guide – God, you and I dance.
6) Here I am – surrender your emotions to God and allow him to speak to you
7) Reflect and pray – take some time to reflect and pray for the grace you need from God.
That is how I do it, and I realize that I am slowly changing. I become more aware of God’s goodness and love. I find my purpose through dance. I have had many victorious moments with Christ through dance prayer. I even had opportunities to create dance videos and share with others how I experience God’s love through song/dance movement.
________________________
Joan Jomitol works as an Administrative Officer and is passionate about empowering and helping people in need.
