Do you want to know the secret to profound prayer? You may already know the answer. Think back to the last time you watched an ocean sunset. Notice how words tend to fall away in the face of the beauty. Your breathing slows as the breaths deepen, inhale, exhale, and repeat. You stare in silent contemplation; your heart begins to open. The weight of your problems fade to the fore. My friends, saintly Christian prayer is a lot like that.  

***Note Bene: The readings from the Holy Mass are taken from the Latin Mass, which uses a different cycle of readings.