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I was Catholic onceStep 7 of 7

A simple habit of prayer

Five minutes. Same time. Every day. Start there.

Start here

Watch this first

Fr. Mike’s Prayer for Beginners · Fr. Mike Schmitz

Give it 6 minutes, then come back and we’ll walk through it together.

Video: Fr. Mike’s Prayer for Beginners, Ascension Presents, published Jun 28, 2023. Checked 10 October 2026. Loads from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only when you press play. Watch on YouTube

Prayer is raising your mind and heart to God, and it grows by praying at set times.12 Start with the prayers you know, a Gospel passage, or silence, and keep going when it feels dry.3

Watch first Or start reading1 min read
The Virgin in Prayer, by Sassoferrato: Mary in a blue mantle, hands joined in prayer.

Sassoferrato, The Virgin in Prayer, 1640–1650. National Gallery, London. Public domain, source.

Journeys / I was Catholic once / Step 7 of 7

On this page

Quick answers to related questions

Keep reading

All 7 steps in I was Catholic once You’re on step 7
  1. 1. You are welcome back
  2. 2. What may have changed since you left
  3. 3. Hard questions and hurts, honestly
  4. 4. How confession works now
  5. 5. Back to Mass
  6. 6. “Is my situation fixable?”
  7. 7. A simple habit of prayer

Your bedroom, before your phone

Jesus says: go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father in secret.4

Prayer, the Church says, is raising your mind and heart to God.1

Not a performance. A conversation.

01The habit

Pick a time, not a mood

Church teaching

The Church says we can’t pray at all times if we don’t pray at specific times.2

Morning before your phone. Evening before bed. Same time, every day. Five minutes.

What do you say?

02The method

Three easy ways

Church teaching

Say the prayers you know, slowly. The Our Father is the summary of the whole Gospel.5

Read a Gospel passage and talk to Jesus about it. That’s meditation.6

Or just sit with Him in silence. That counts too.7

And when it feels like nothing?

03The honest part

When it feels dry

Church teaching

Everyone hits dryness. The Church calls it a real stage of prayer and says to keep going.3

Showing up is the prayer. Feelings come and go.

Five minutes tomorrow. That’s the whole assignment.

Your move

Try this, this week

  1. Set an alarm for the same five minutes tomorrow.
  2. Pray one Our Father slowly, word by word.
  3. Read Mark 1:35 and see when Jesus prayed.

You’ll need

  • Five minutes.
  • A Gospel, on paper or on your phone.

Remember A time, not a mood.

If this is hard

If prayer brings up grief or anger, bring that too. The Psalms are full of it.

How to talk to a priest

Only one thing to do

Your one next step

Set the alarm now, then try Evening Prayer here tonight.

Pray Evening Prayer tonight

Step 7 of 7 · I was Catholic once

Five minutes tomorrow.

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Short link: stoneandincense.com/go/ch7

Your real next step

This page can’t give you the sacraments. A parish can.

We’re just pointing. People walk with you. Find a Catholic parish near you, go to a Mass, or just ask a priest for ten minutes. You don’t need to have it figured out.

Take the next step What to say when you call

Notes

How we know · 7 sources for this page
  1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2559. vatican.va
  2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2697. vatican.va
  3. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2731. vatican.va
  4. Matthew 6:6, World English Bible. read the chapter
  5. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2761. vatican.va
  6. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2708. vatican.va
  7. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2709. vatican.va

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America Copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with Permission. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Scripture: World English Bible, Catholic edition (public domain), modern verse numbers; Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ. Early Christian writers: Ante-Nicene Fathers (1885, public domain). Video: “Fr. Mike’s Prayer for Beginners,” Ascension Presents, supporting material, not a teaching source.

Scenes marked “Imagine” are an invitation to picture the moment, not a historical record. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an errorCorrections.