By Eleanor O’Hagan
Staff Writer
Audience members were encouraged to make time for private prayer and to have courage despite spiritual dryness at a School of Prayer talk on March 20 in Christ the King Chapel.
Kate Lesnefsky, the event’s speaker, pointed to Saint Theresa of Avila as an example of persistence in prayer.
“God is carving out the interior castle,” Lesnefsky said, adding that God is working in the soul even in times of spiritual emptiness.
Lesnefsky spoke about her own experience in comparing her prayer life to that of others. She said God helped her understand that each person has a unique way of approaching and being approached by God.
In loving her own children, Lesnefsky said she was given a “glimpse of how much the Lord loves each of us.”
Lesnefsky added that this unique and immeasurable love God has for each person is why the individual should continue to approach God and not be afraid in times of dryness, knowing that God will fill the emptiness.
“He (God) wants to be there the most,” Lesnefsky said “Jesus wants to be in the interior castle of your soul.”
Lesnefsky concluded her talk by encouraging students to be the unique person God created them to be.
“He wants you to be who you are actually in reality,” she said, adding that the temptation to compare one’s prayer life to someone else’s or to simply mimic another person’s way of prayer is not what God desires.
“Being reminded of saints who encountered seasons of spiritual dryness is extremely encouraging” said senior Emily Salerno-Oswald, referencing parts of Lesnefsky’s talk. “I liked that Kate and Bob (Lesnefsky) said to have courage in the emptiness.”
The semester’s final School of Prayer event will be held on March 27 at 9 p.m. in Christ the King Chapel. The event’s speaker will be Brian Kissinger.