Prayer

"Feel often during the day the need for prayer and pray. Prayer opens the heart, till it is

capable of containing God himself. Ask and seek and your heart will be big enough to receive Him and keep Him as Your Own."

- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

What are we talking about

tonight?• Part I – Beginning a prayer life– What is prayer and why should I pray?– Getting ready for prayer

• Part II – Ways of Praying– Overview of the Spiritual Life– Meditation – Lectio Divina– Aids to the Spiritual Life– Prayer resources– Q&A– Catholic Cool Stuff

What is Prayer?• “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a

simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” - St. Therese of Lisieux

• "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." – St. John Damascene

• Prayer is spending time with God

Why do we pray?• God is infinite, perfect love, all-good, all-

knowing, and all-powerful – we should want to spend time with Him

• Our souls are made to need God– Our happiness and salvation depend on Him

• We need His grace and help in our lives

• The world needs God’s help

Why do we pray?• If God knows everything, then why pray?

– Prayer is more than just asking God for stuff– Prayer is spending time with the one who made us for

Himself…the one for whom our soul longs to be with.– God does sometimes wait to give us something until we ask

• Why does God wait to give blessings?– He wants a relationship with us– He wants us to participate in His plan of salvation as

members of one family– If God just did everything for us, we would probably be

extremely ungrateful and spoiled brats

Three Main Levels of

Prayer• Vocal Prayer – speaking to God– Formal prayers or spontaneous prayers– Goal: a conversation with God

• Mental Prayer or Meditation– Using your imagination to enter into the mystery of

Christ– Scripture, spiritual reading, lives of the Saints

• Contemplation – simply being in the presence of God– “I look at Him and He looks at me”

Overview of the Spiritual

LifeAscetical Life Mystical Life

Dar

k N

ight

of

the

Sens

es

Dar

k N

ight

of

the

Soul

Hea

ven

Purgative Way

Christ’s 30 years of fulfilling all righteousness

Illuminative WayPreaching of the Gospel

Unitive WayPassion, Death, and Resurrection

Con

vers

ion

Human effort & ordinary graces

Supernatural prayer not possible without supernatural grace

Levels of Prayer1. Vocal Prayer2. Meditation3. Affective Prayer4. Prayer of

Simplicity

Levels of Prayer1. Infused

Contemplation2. Prayer of Quiet

Levels of Prayer1. Prayer of Union2. Prayer of Conforming

Union3. Prayer of Transforming

Union

Purifying Water•Getting out of Sin•Growing in Faith•Starting a prayer life•Charity to others•Sacraments•Purity

Illuminating Light•Infused Knowledge - intense•Responding to the voice of God•More heroic charity•Living your vocation fully•Penance – carrying the cross•Inebriations of Divine Love

Consuming Fire•Soul is captivated by God•Spiritual Ecstasies•Mystical touches from God•Wounds of love•Heroic charity•Heroic suffering in love

Vocal Prayer• Prayer is lifting our minds and hearts to God

– Revealing ourselves to Him who wishes to reveal Himself to us

• RAPT– Repentance – sorrow for sin– Adoration – praising God for His goodness– Petition – asking God for help– Thanksgiving – gratitude for all His blessings

• Review of Day with God

Meditation – Lectio Divina• Lectio – reading the text• Meditatio – praying over the text

– Using your imagination to picture the scene– Studying the text, connecting it to other passages,

etc.– Reading a good commentary

• Oratio – talking to God about the meditation– Resolutions – how will you be different

• Contemplatio – resting in the presence of God

Quotes on Prayer• “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any

two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Heb. 4:12

• Seek in reading and you will find in meditating; knock in mental prayer and it will be opened to you by contemplation. Guido the Carthusian (Mt 7:7)

• CCC 2708 – “Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.”

The Goal of Meditation• To encounter Jesus Christ

– Not just moral exhortation, but Him personally– To understand His personality & hear His voice

• Questions for meditation– What is going on in Christ’s heart? In others?– What jumps out at me? Why?– How does this relate to my life?

Matthew 14:22-33• Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to

the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear."

• And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Advancing in Prayer• Holiness of Life – We pray as we live

– Confession– Get out of sin & occasions of sin– Purity & Chastity– Charity & Radical Generosity

• Spiritual Reading & Holy Friendships– Filling our minds with holy things– Recollection / Silence

• Responding to God’s call

Other Prayer Ideas• The Liturgy of the Hours

– Christian Prayer or Shorter Christian Prayer

• Prayer Intention Box or Bowl• Family Rosary• Lead a family meditation or vocal prayers• Husband & Wife Adoration time

Prayer Resources• Scripture Commentaries

– Ignatius Catholic Study Bible – www.ignatius.com– A Father Who Keeps His Promises by Scott Hahn– The Navarre Bible– www.getfed.com– In Conversation with God– Divine Intimacy

• Prayer websites– www.catholicexchange.com - daily Mass Readings– www.catholic.org/prayers

Questions

Catholic Cool Stuff -

Devotions• The central form of worship for Catholic is?– The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

• Devotions are other forms of prayer that help our relationship with God– Adoration & Benediction– The Stations of the Cross– Novenas– Litanies– Retreats, pilgrimages, and religious processions– Scapulars– Divine Mercy Chaplet– Fasting & Meatless Fridays in Lent– First Fridays

Adoration of the Blessed

Sacrament• Spending time in worship of Jesus in the

Eucharist

• Monstrance

• Benediction– Cope– Humeral Veil

The Stations of the Cross• Started by St. Francis of Assisi in the 1200s• 14 depictions of Christ’s suffering and death

– Walking with Christ, carrying His Cross

• Prayed every Friday during Lent

Novenas• Nine consecutive days of prayer

– The 9 days of prayer from the Ascension to Pentecost

• Novenas are short prayers to God Himself or a particular saint asking them to pray to God for some particular purpose or person– During the novena, our hearts should be changing

• We must avoid Catholic superstition– God can say no– St. Jude novena – Catholic spam

Divine Mercy Chaplet• Created by St. Faustinus in the 1930s from

visions she had of Jesus– Devotion to the Mercy of God

• 1. Our Father, Hail Mary, and Apostles Creed

• 2. Eternal Father…• 3. For the sake of His

sorrowful passion…Have mercy on us and on the whole world