Jesus, Make Me Fully Alive - 30 Holy Hour Reflections

What inspired you to write the book Jesus, Make Me Fully Alive - 30 Holy Hour Reflections?

My college kids at the Newman Center inspired me! A few semesters ago, the students started using the phrase “living like zombies” to describe most students on campus. Everyone on campus seemed to be living their lives “half alive, half-dead.” Fear, anxiety, depression, comparison and self-reliance prevented so many students from living to their potential. But as students got involved at the Newman Center, frequenting the sacraments, joining bible studies, growing in authentic friendship, they became more and more alive! It was a tangible witness of the promise Jesus Christ gave us in John 10:10: I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance.

The transition from the "zombie life" to being "fully alive" all begins with our relationship with Jesus Christ. When young people learn how to pray and enter into a living relationship with Jesus, they can’t help but become more of themselves! This book is a guide on how to develop a consistent prayer life as a young person, and how easy it can be! 

Father Anastos, who is the target audience for this book and why?

Short answer: It’s for everyone! The book is to help anyone grow in a deeper prayer life and to be consistent in their prayer for 30 days. Longer answer: I wrote the book specifically for high schoolers, college students and young adults. Many of the references, analogies and stories (for example: Justin Bieber, Instagram reels, artificial intelligence, to name a few) are geared toward a younger crowd. That being said, if you are a parent or grandparent, this book is absolutely for you, but also make sure to get a copy for your kid/grandkid!

Can you give us a personal example that is in the book of how adoration made a difference in your own prayer life?

I began to spend time in adoration when I was in college. And as a college student, I was always feeling restless, always looking for the next thing that would satisfy me. And there’s a lot of things in college that you can run after to try to be satisfied! But the more and more I was seeking worldly pleasure, the more and more I became restless. It was only when I went to adoration, where the restlessness faded away. I was fulfilled! Jesus was the one who satisfied! Here’s a little excerpt from the book where I speak about adoration:

"For obvious reasons, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is the very best place to make a Holy Hour. Going to adoration is like being in front of a nuclear reactor. If you are in front of a nuclear reactor you can’t feel anything, but the radiation is slowly changing you at an atomic level. In adoration, you may not feel anything, but the RADIATING love of Jesus Christ is transforming you! Of course, Jesus is present wherever we pray, from the bathroom to the classroom, but there is no better place to experience the true and substantial presence of the Risen Lord than in adoration! So, if there is an adoration chapel close by, or a parish that offers adoration, please consider this as your place to make your Holy Hour.”

You mention imaginative prayer and spiritual journaling in the book. Can you give us brief examples of both?

It can be SO hard for beginners to spend time in prayer just “sitting” there. Two methods of prayer that really help my college students receive from Jesus is imaginative prayer and spiritual journaling. Imaginative prayer is based off of an awesome saint: St. Ignatius of Loyola. Long story short, God created us, even our imagination! God loves to use our imagination in our prayer to reveal himself. St. Ignatius of Loyola would invite people to imagine themselves in Gospel scenes, picturing how Jesus is, what he does, what he says, as well as what we do in the scene and what we say to Jesus! The book goes into depth on how to practice imaginative prayer. Spiritual journaling is that practice of writing down our thoughts and desires during or after we pray. When we write down our prayer to Jesus, and share grace moments on paper, it reminds us that God never abandons us! We can look back at our journal during a really hard and stressful week, and read about how Jesus has been faithful to us in the past, reminding our hearts, “Wow, Jesus is real! He’s never abandoned me!”

When someone uses this book for reflection, what do you hope it will do for their spiritual life?

I hope that this book will strengthen the “prayer muscles” of everyone who reads it. The more and more we practice prayer, the more and more our prayer muscles recognize Jesus! The more and more we recognize Jesus, the more and more we become fully alive! 

Anything else you would like to add?

Holy Hours are not just for priests and religious and popes. Holy Hours are for you. Jesus Christ is waiting for you in the Eucharist! He desires you to be FULLY ALIVE!

Father Tim Anastos is a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the assistant chaplain at the St. John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He serves as a eucharistic preacher for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Father Tim releases “Reel Homilies,” one-minute reflections on the Sunday Mass readings through the lens of Church tradition, pop culture and self-improvement, with Spirit Juice Studios.
 

Where to purchase:

The book can be found on AMAZON and AVE MARIA PRESS.