Anyone who has tried to pray or meditate knows it can be quite difficult. It seems simple: get quiet. Speak to God. Listen. Repeat. Yet anyone who has ever tried to silence his or her mind has probably struggled to do so. There seems to be so much chatter inside our heads. We try to stop thinking, but we just can’t. This doesn’t happen only during prayer. How many times have you been at a movie, a concert, or listening to a friend and, even though you want to pay attention to what’s going on in front of you, your mind starts to wander . . .

Most of the time we can’t get rid of all the things racing around in our minds—that’s totally normal. Just try to notice when your focus slips off the meditation, and gently bring yourself back to the scene before you. The Stations [of the Cross] provide a time for you to spend with Jesus in conversation and presence, so try to focus as much as you can. You don’t want Jesus thinking about other things if he’s spending time with you, right?

Excerpted from Station to Station