"Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed”

The Lord did not content himself to teach us to pray only with his words, but he also gave us his example. We often see him in prayer; he gives us the example we must follow. In order to follow Him we should establish more intimate relationship, we must learn to speak with Him, that is to practice the Christian meditation.
In the common, the meditation is a personal practice of concentrating the mind on objects, images, thoughts (or any object). Although they can be healthy for the body, we does not treat here about methods or philosophies useful to achieve particular physical conditions or used to withdraw yourself from the world, aiming to basically ignore the outside.
The Meditation we are talking about is for us something more, because it is the silent personal prayer with which the person of Faith gets to communicate directly with God. Christian Meditation, for many incomprehensible due to its character of personal prayer and direct conversation, is a loving response to God's love, is spiritual growth which then allows us to take action and get better in relation to the world and our neighbour, to ease the pain, to help in the needs, to push to progress in the Faith.

Someone could tell me that a layman who lives immersed in the world and has to keep countless commitments and relationships doesn't have time for such a practice.
This is a silliness. Please do not tell that one isn't able to find 15 minutes of time a day to preach briefly sitting or standing in silence before the tabernacle, where there's the Blessed Sacrament Jesus Christ that makes us feel more of his presence. This usually makes it easier to concentrate and think of Him, but If one cannot find a Church it's still possible do pray wherever.
However the surrounding silence it is essential to be able to feel His presence, to stand before the Lord with a spiritual book that will give us some ideas, to say Him hello, to sit down and talk about our problems and needs, about what is most interesting for our spiritual and material life, for us and for our family. Let's remember that God's ways are not usually ours, and it is useless to expect that He shall solve for us what we can do ourselves. The right intention is essential to pray well.

Then usually a prayer has 3 moments:

• invoking God's presence and giving Him thanks
• the inner story of what concerns us, the recognition of where we think we have been wrong
• ask for help and support. First let's ask Him to increase our Faith
  

Lino Bertuzzi

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Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 1:29-39. 

On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. 
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. 
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.  When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.  The whole town was gathered at the door. 
He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. 
Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. 
Simon and those who were with him pursued him  and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you." 
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come." 
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.