Happy New Year, Friends!
Today we're tackling a fascinating topic, and one that could possibly help you achieve some New Year's Goals: Praying for Your Temperament.
This episode started as a conversation pre-recording a few months ago... sharing how novenas appeal to some people but for others they are impossible to stick with. "I wonder if that's a temperament thing..." lead us to Google which lead us to discover Meg Hunter-Kilmer's blog series on a book called "Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types" by Chester P Michael. Apparently it IS a temperament thing.
But before we get to THAT, a funny backstory of how Meg came To My House to record this episode... Nancy and I found her blog series, thought it was fascinating, and I offered to reach out via Instagram to ask her to be a guest on the podcast. Throughout 2019, Meg kept popping up on my feed via various Catholic folk with the hashtag 'hobo for Christ,' so I had been following her for several months and her posts had been hitting home for me (especially this one). I was happy to have an excuse to DM "Heyyy Meg!" After a bit of back and forth, we realized Meg was actually booked for a couple retreats and speaking engagements around my neck of the woods in early December, so she offered to come in person to record. How cool is that? If you're wondering about her mission and work, we go into it for the first bit of this episode.
BACK to temperaments...In the book, Chester breaks down the human population based on their Myers-Briggs personality types and divides them into four categories: Ignatian, Augustinian, Thomistic, and Franciscan
Why is this important? Well, the Church has a few ways that we are 'required' to pray. We all need to go to Mass every Sunday and Our Blessed Mother has asked us to pray the rosary daily, but beyond that, we're free to pray in the way the feels most comfortable to us. Additionally, if you're married and you've been struggling to pray together (*raises hand*), it could be a temperament thing. Have a listen here and read though Meg's blog for suggestions of how to work through these differences in prayer styles.
Hoping this helps you achieve a more prayerful (and hence peaceful) New Year!
Your sisters in the small things,
Nancy and Katie
Connect with Meg via her blog, on Facebook, or on Instagram
Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types is available on Amazon right here