You do not need a store-bought "prayer journal"
Laura DeMaria
I am going to make a hot take here, as 2023 is around the corner and I keep getting emails from Catholic companies selling 2023 prayer journals or other similarly-themed 2023 spiritual notebooks.
I suppose I am a bit of a curmudgeon on this, but I think: you don’t need it. Yes, there are many beautifully illustrated and devout-looking journals out there, and I am sure they help some people. But is it really necessary? No.
Why am I a curmudgeon on this? Because I see the having, or the not having, of a professional prayer journal as a roadblock to an actual prayer life. It is like one who buys weights, exercise outfits, and a subscription for an exercise program, but never actually works out. You’ve got the stuff, but are you actually showing up?
I have never used anything other than spiral-bound notebooks, either for regular journaling and note-taking, or keeping a prayer journal. Sometimes I even just use my phone. But every article, and any other thing, I have ever written, more often than not has had its start in a simple spiral-bound notebook.
My larger point is: don’t overcomplicate it. You do not need a rose-covered book with loopy calligraphy of inspiring Scripture to commune with God. Rather, the harder part is the showing up. Can you do that, first? Can you show your commitment with nothing - no crutches, no journals - other than dependence on God for the grace of prayer time with Him?
That’s my curmudgeonly hot take. If you are someone who has been deeply helped by a pre-populated prayer journal or the like - God bless you, truly. If you’re someone who thinks your prayer life can’t happen without it, and an exact plan about how each day is going to go in your prayer - you can, and you will.
My last Catholic Stand article of the year comes out the last day of the year: December 31. It is a short meditation on what went right this year: reasons for hope at the end of the year. Then I’ll be back with the Morning Air Show on Tuesday, January 10 at 7:10 am eastern to discuss.
May you have a blessed Christmas season, and a blessed new year!