-
Some sayings of
the Fathers of Orthodox Christianity
-
(For information on how catholics value orthodox
spirituality see below.)
-
-
Spiritual
Beginning - Care for the inner self.
-
-
Come into
God's Presence. and Prayer
without Ceasing.
-
Death and
Heaven
-
Prayer of
Clement, Bishop of Rome
and Being devoted
to God
-
Prayer for
the New Millennium
-
Prayer when
death comes.
-
Blessed Columba
Marmion, O.S.B. on Prayer.
-
-
The Stations
of the Cross.
-
(You can also read these
stations without frames and graphics.
-
Shorter Meditation on the
stations of the Cross
-
and Newman's Longer
Meditations on the Cross.)
-
Also, you can view a version of
the Stations with
Black and White graphics and no frames,
-
Or just look at the black and white graphics.
-
-
Prayer before
Confession.
-
-
Tertullian: Prayer can
conquer God.
-
Prayer of St. John Gabriel
-
St. John Chrysostom: Prayer of
Longing.
-
Prayer to obtain final
perseverance and Various useful official prayers
-
-
The Psalms: The Prayer Book
of God.
-
A shorter introduction to the
Psalms is from My Daily Psalm Book,
-
a Prayer Guide for the Psalms,
part one, and part two.
-
The Blessing Psalter from the
Orthodox Tradition.
-
-
A Scriptural Prayer to Aid Prayer.
-
Bible Passages on Prayer
-
-
An Eight Day Meditation by John Cardinal Newman
and
-
A Short Road to Perfection. Also, Prayer for the Faithful Departed.
-
-
The Value of Morning Prayer and specific prayers useful at
morning prayer. Anglican Morning Prayers.
-
A Description of Traditional
Daily Catholic Prayers - Vocal Prayer. - The Sign of the Cross
-
A short form of daily prayer
(Episcopal).
-
The Value of Evening Prayer
-
Night Prayer from the Key of Heaven (Imprimatur
1924).
-
Evening Prayers from My Prayer Book,
1908.
-
-
Prayers for various needs from
the Lutheran Church
-
Why say Amen by Luther. and Luther on the Lord's Prayer
-
-
A
Personal Prayer
-
Abandonment
(an excerpt) by de Cassade
-
A brief description of how to contemplate.
-
A martyr because of the sign of the Cross.
-
The Rosary
-
Anglican Prayers for the Sick
-
The School of Prayer (from the Methodist
Church)
-
Scripture and prayer relative to
the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
-
-
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus
-
Litanies Listed, Described and
Explained
-
-
Prayer with the Saints
-
Prayer for Priests - Prayer for faithfulness to
religion.
-
St. Alphonsus de Liguori - prayers and spiritual texts
-
St. Augustine, Prayer is from
the heart.
-
-
-
Art as a Source of Meditation.
-
- "All the damned have been
lost by not praying; had they prayed, they would not have been lost." St. Alphonsus. See, Catechism of the Catholic Church
sec. 2744, and Admonitions.
Classic
Texts of the Catholic Tradition on Spirituality and Prayer:
1. The Confessions of St. Augustine is at New
Advent, also an extensive list of his other
works are available at their section on Fathers of the Church. More
material can be found at the Augustine site. Images of St. Augustine. (They also have a neat drawing.)
2. The Cloud of Unknowing is at the Christian Classics Electronic
Library. It is a classic text on
contemplative prayer.
3. The legacy of St. Francis of Assisi,
including the Little Flowers of St. Francis. There is a Franciscan Web Page. Be sure to look at the short biography of St. Francis. In addition, a large number of historical documents are
linked to the Franciscan Archive. You can see more about Francis at our page, St. Francis Preaches to the
Birds.
4. Juliana of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love.
5. St. Catherine of Sienna: The Dialogue. This includes a treatise on Prayer.
6. The Imitation of Christ. It has been asserted that this book has been the most
important text, other than the bible, in the Western Church in the last
five centuries.
7. St. John of the Cross: The Ascent of Mt. Carmel. John was a Discalced Carmelite.
8. St. Teresa of Avila: Interior Castle. Teresa was also a Discalced Carmelite.
9. St. Francis de Sales: Introduction to the Devout
Life. It has been reprinted by Tan Books. See Come
into God's Presence for an excerpt.
10. Br. Lawrence: The Practice of the Presence
of God.
11. St. Louis de Montfort: True Devotion to the Blessed
Virgin Mary. An audio tape of this book
is available from St. Ignatius Press.
12. Jean-Pierre de Caussade: Abandonment to Divine
Providence. You may view some quotes
from his work.
13. St. Therese of Lisieux: Story of a Soul. Her
autobiography is available commercially through amazon.com. you can
also view the online list of Carmelite Liturature.
14. The Rule of St. Benedict is a way of
life and prayer that has served great numbers of Christians through the
centuries. A general description of the rule is given by +Abbot Primate Jerome Theisen OSB.
The Rule of St. Benedict itself can be useful to modern lay people for insight into
the spiritual life. For example, see chapters 19 and 20 on reverence in prayer. The Rule is also available arranged for daily reading. (A brief general presentation of Monastic spirituality is at the Christ in the Desert Site. Also see below on
Lectio Devina.)
15. The Spiritual Exercises by St. Ignatius of Loyola. For more on the Spiritual
Exercises see below. St. Ignatius founded the
Jesuits. You can look at links to Jesuit Resources on the web. There is a short life of St. Ignatius on line, in
the 1913 version of the Catholic Encyclopedia.
16. The Catechism of the Catholic Church
has an extensive section on prayer. It can not be said that the
Catechism has been a classic for centuries but it draws on centuries of
teaching and prayer. At the official Vatican site, there is a table of contents and an extensive index.
-
See a list of online
classic texts at the Theological Library.
Other useful texts.
From the Russian Orthodox tradition: The Way
of the Pilgrim, which describes how to satisfy St. Paul's command
to pray constantly using the Jesus Prayer. For an excerpt see Pray without Ceasing. Search for
The Way of the Pilgrim at Amazon.com.
From the ancient eastern desert hermits and
monks there are the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. For example, Abbe Xanthios said, "A dog is better than I
am, for he has love and he does not judge." Also St. John of the Ladder
said, "Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but
stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you
will honor your patience." This saying is found in the Sayings of the Fathers. For a good commercial text see the compilation by Merton
called the Wisdom of the Desert. Finally there are Stories from the Desert Fathers at Seeking God.
-
- For links to material on Spirituality see that
section of Theology Library.. A discussion of prayer is in the Summa Theologica
of St. Thomas Aquinas.
-
- Be sure to look at the texts that are on-line
at Christian Classics Electronic Library. There are a number of interesting texts, such as Dante,
Milton, and G. K. Chesterton in addition to other protestant and
catholic authors.
-
- For a comprehensive list of Mystics and links
about them see Who's Who in the History of
Mysticism. and the Web site of Unknowing,
celebrating the English mystics.
-
- [For general book sellers online: In addition to Amazon.com,
another place to
look for books is Powell's in Portland, Or. They have a city
block sized store full of one million new, used and out of print books
in stock. You can browse their catalog online.
For out of print books see Trussel. Other major regional book stores
include Seattle's University Book Store, which serves the University of
Washington. Another good place to go is Barnes and Noble. You can look for other
stores on the Book
Web.] (Back to contents?)
-
The Saints
-
We can ask any person in heaven, any saint,
to join us in prayer.
-
This includes our relatives who have gone
before us.
We do not pray to the saints in the sense that
they have any power of their own. We ask them to pray with us to God,
just as I can ask you to pray with me to God. We do assume that they
can hear us, and, because they are with God, and lived very good holy
lives, we feel their prayers joined to ours will be powerful. God would
be inclined to listen to such good people who are close to him.
However, we do not think it is necessary or essential to pray to
saints. Our one mediator is Jesus who is the bridge between us and God.
He is really the essential conduit. However, we venerate saints, which is not to say that we give them adoration or
honor due to God alone. It means we honor them as people who
successfully cooperated with God's grace in this life and are among the
great cloud of witnesses in heaven. [See sec. 2683
of the catechism.]They succeeded in Christian life. They say to us that
we can succeed too if we persevere. They are fully totally human and
their lives give us hope for ourselves, that we too in our own time and
place can do God's will successfully.
-
For Catholic teaching on the saints see Cardinal Gibbons on prayer
to the saints. For traditional material see
the Council of Trent. For Papal documents issued on individual saints see Theology
Library. And the current Catholic
Catechism:
-
- "828 By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e., by solemnly
pro claiming that they practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to
God's grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness
within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints
to them as models and intercessors. 'The saints have always been the
source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the
Church's history.' Indeed, 'holiness is the hidden source and
infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary zeal.'" See
also the communion of saints.
956. "The intercession of the SAINTS. 'Being more closely
united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more
firmly in holiness.... They do not cease to intercede with the Father
for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through
the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.... So by their
fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped.'[LG 49; cf. 1 Tim
2:5 NAB; NCE.]
Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death
and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life.[St.
Dominic, dying, to his brothers.]
I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.[St. Therese
of Lisieux, The Final Conversations, tr. John Clarke (Washington: ICS,
1977), 102.]" Communion of Heaven and Earth.
-
- "1192 Sacred images in our churches and homes are intended to
awaken and nourish our faith in the mystery of Christ. Through the icon
of Christ and his works of salvation, it is he whom we adore. Through
sacred images of the holy Mother of God, of the angels and of the
saints, we venerate the persons represented." See Catholic Teaching on Relgious Art.
-
- To encourage veneration of the saints the church grants a partial indulgence if we pray the oration
(the opening prayer) given in the missal for the feast day of the
saint, or any other officially approved prayer invoking the saint. The
prayer must be said on the feast day.
-
Reading about the Saints can be very helpful to
the spiritual life. In addition to their written works, we can learn
from their lives. These are the people who were successful, often in
spite of great difficulty. There is
an
excellent page of material about saints and individual saints at The Theological Library Saints Page.
You can look up specific saints at the New
Advent Supersite. You can also try the
extensive listings at the Catholic Online Saints & Angels site. Take a look at the list of new Blesseds, who are only one step
from canonization. Note the page on lesser known saints, and saints canonized by Pope
JohnPaul II, and those he has beatified. There is a list of Patron Saints and a page of Saints for the Teenage Soul. Check
the material and prayers at the Feast
of All Saints web site. See also, Bible Passages on Mary, the
Mother of God.
- (The icon of St. Philip was obtained from The Icon Archive .)
-
American Saints
-
There are some very interesting new people now,
including Americans, such as Bl. Junipero Serra who founded the California Missions, and Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, a native American, Bl. Damien the Leper [i.e. Bl. Damien de Veuster], and St. Juan Diego to whom the
Blessed Mother appeared in Mexico. (See also the page on Our Lady of Guadalupe.) Among
those recently declared venerable is Pierre Toussaint, a black New Yorker from Haiti, who was freed from slavery
in NY in 1807.
|
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: Wife, mother,
convert, foundress
|
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini: missionary,
foundress
|
|
St. John Neumann: Redemptorist, Bishop of Philidelphia
|
St. Katharine Drexel: foundress, worked with
Native Americans and African Americans, begain Xavier University in New
Orleans. [image]
|
|
St. Rose Phillipine Duchesne: worked with
Native Americans
|
Sts. Isaac Jogues, Jesuit priest and Rene Goupil, surgeon: French missionaries to
Native Americans, killed in N.Y. state.
|
|
Bl. Mother Theodore Guerin: educator,
established schools in Indiana
|
Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos: Redemptorist
priest, preacher. "Father Seelos became known as the priest who always
smiled..."
|
Canadian Saints
-
-
This web site's home Parish Patrons: St. Gregory the Wonderworker, St. Yves, The Sacred Heart of Jesus
-
- There is a calendar of saints from the Orthodox Church. An excellent discussion of saints in the Orthodox Church that is part of the teaching of the Orthodox Church
which is presented by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America.
- [I
give references to the Orthodox Church throughout this site on prayer.
Some Catholics may wonder at this but should realize that we were
united for the first thousand years of Christianity and they are
"Sister Churches". In the recent document Dominus Jesus the vatican said: "The
Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the
Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds,
that is, by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, are true
particular Churches. Therefore, the Church of Christ is present and
operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full communion
with the Catholic Church..."
- And the Second Vatican Council taught: "Catholics
therefore are earnestly recommended to avail themselves of the
spiritual riches of the Eastern Fathers which lift up the whole man to
the contemplation of the divine.
- The very rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the
Eastern Churches should be known, venerated, preserved and cherished by
all. They must recognize that this is of supreme importance for the
faithful preservation of the fullness of Christian tradition, and for
bringing about reconciliation between Eastern and Western Christians."]
-
-
-
- Blessed
Mother Teresa: EWTN has material on Mother Teresa.
as does the Mother Teresa Site at St. Anthony Messinger Press. The Vatican has material on her Beatification, and a biography.
-
-
For a short simple introduction to various
styles of prayer each developed and used successfully by saints, look
for Lost In God by Terry Matz, published by Ligouri.
-
Click on the Icon for more on saints.
-
Conscious
Breathing and Mindfulness.
-
- We can be distracted, anxious, fearful,
depressed, or angry when we come to prayer. These things are not very
helpful. The problem comes from not paying attention to what our mind
is doing. We can move away from these feelings and the thoughts that
create them by coming into the present moment, by directing and
focusing our attention on what we are doing right now, in this moment
of life. Mindfullness is an effort to gain control of our attention and
direct it constructively. For example, we can say a tradional prayer,
like the Our Father, thoughtfully and mindful of what we are saying, or
just say the words by rote, "automatically" while the mind wanders. God
does know whether or not you mean the words you are saying. How would
you react to someone who is "just going through the motions"?
-
- From the Buddhist tradition, the art
of focused breathing and meditation through mindfulness is described in
The Miracle of Mindfulness, a Manual on Meditation, by Thich Nhat Hanh, a
Vietnamese monk living now in France. It is published by Beacon Press.
The methods he describes can be very useful, as a prelude to more
traditional Catholic prayer by getting rid of distractions, removing
tension, and focusing our attention on God. (This would be especially
helpful for meditation, and contemplation. See the
section below on getting started which gives a brief description of how to use controlled
breathing.)
-
- Another text by Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step,
published by Bantam Books, teaches the use of conscious
breathing, and mindfulness of the present moment, as a way to find
peace in each moment of life, to become peace, and thus sow peace. (Recall that peace is a fruit of the Holy
Spirit, Galatians 5:22, and a mind controlled by the Holy Spirit is
life and peace, Romans 8:6.) If you are
interested in Thich Nhat Hanh, more about him can be found at at Plum Village and Parallax Press. Remember
that for Christian prayer controlled breathing and mindfulness are not
ends unto themselves, but are optional methods to gain control of the
mind and emotions, and help us to focus on God. It is a way to remove
distractions, and "center" ourselves, to relieve anxiety and become
aware of the present moment wherein we can meet God.
-
- As you concentrate first on your breathing,
you let go of thoughts and fears. As you become aware of this present
moment allow your awareness to take in what you are experiencing around
you, the sights and sounds of life that you were ignoring. Then realize
that it is God who gives you breath, who provides the sun light, or
rain; it is his love that has made you and all that is around you.
Thank him.
- You can rest in Him for a time, or begin your
conversation. (Being Peace may be helpful.)
-
- St. Igatius of Loyola also suggest a way to pray using the rhythm of beathing.
-
- From a medical perspective, Herbert
Benson, MD., of the Harvard Medical School, encourages this as a Relaxation Response to stress. (Eighty percent of his patients
chose prayer as the way to elicit the relaxation response. Benson, Relaxation
Response, p. 21.) Johns Hopkins also recommends it for stress reduction.
-
- For those concerned about using controlled
breathing in meditation, recall the scriptural symbolism of breath and
wind.
- 1. God breathed into man the "breath of life".
Gen. 2:7.
- 2. God's prophet prophesied and the breath of
life and God's spirit came into dead dry bones. Ezek. 37:4-14 [especially verse 9].
- 3. The wind is God's servant. It is the
vehicle he rides when he comes. 2 Sam. 22:11, Ps. 18:10-11ff, Ps. 104:3. Ezek. 1:4.
- 4. At the descent of the Holy Spirit on the
Apostles, there was the sound of a great wind. Acts 2:2. See also, John 3:8, and footnote 4.
- Thus when you consciously breath, you can
envision God giving you the breath of life. Let it be the Holy Spirit
coming into to you to fill you and remake you as it did the Apostles.
See, Prayer and Blessing, a method, from the Anglican Communion.
- "The term 'SPIRIT' translates the Hebrew word
ruah, which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, WIND. Jesus
indeed uses the sensory image of the WIND to suggest to Nicodemus the
transcendent newness of him who is personally God's breath, the divine
SPIRIT. [John 3:8]" Catechism of the Catholic
Church, sec. 691.
-
-
- "We must remember God more often than we draw
breath." St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Catechism of the Catholic Church, sec.
2697. Perhaps
we could remember God at least as often as we draw breath, as a start.
The some teachers in the eastern Orthocox tradition joined breath with
the Jesus prayer in an effort to pray constantly, although they suggest
caution as well.
- "Breathing. Bishop Kallistos Ware says
that if we pray the Jesus Prayer for short periods, ten or fifteen
minutes at the beginning, then there is no problem matching the words
of the prayer to our breath. We are to breath naturally, without
playing with the rhythm of the breath. On the inhale, we can say, "Lord
Jesus Christ, Son of God." On the exhale, we can say, "have mercy on
me, a sinner." We are to breath and pray slowly and reverently and
attentively. " See Rossi's article on the Jesus
Prayer.
- "Join to every breath a sober invocation of
the name of Jesus and the thought of death with humility. Both these
practices bring great profit to the soul." Abba Evagrius on Prayer. See also Prayer without Ceasing.
-
- Pope JohnPaul II mentions this in his document
on the Rosary. "Sacraments and sacramentals are structured as a series
of rites which bring into play all the dimensions of the person. The
same applies to non-liturgical prayer. This is confirmed by the fact
that, in the East, the most characteristic prayer of Christological
meditation, centred on the words "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have
mercy on me, a sinner" is traditionally linked to the rhythm of
breathing; while this practice favours perseverance in the prayer, it
also in some way embodies the desire for Christ to become the breath,
the soul and the "all" of one's life."
-
As to living in the present moment, and not
worrying about the future, or desiring peace, these are very Christian
ideals. Jesus says not to worry about tomorrow; each day has enough
trouble of its own. Matt. 6:34. Jesus also said he wanted to give us peace and teaches
we should not let our hearts be troubled. John 14:27. Yet many people do not feel peace. Perhaps we block
this gift that Jesus wishes to give. Perhaps what is needed is to want
the gift, pray for the gift, and to try to receive the gift. (cf. Rom 14:10;
1Pet. 3:1 NIV or see generally
what the new testament says on peace.) See, Being Peace.
-
-
"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not
yet come.
-
We have only today. Let us begin." Mother Teresa of
Calcutta.
-
- (Catholics may wish to consult the recent
Vatican document on New Age issues. It says: "Christian prayer is not an exercise in
self-contemplation, stillness and self-emptying, but a dialogue of
love, one which "implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from
'self' to the 'You' of God". It leads to an increasingly complete
surrender to God's will, whereby we are invited to a deep, genuine
solidarity with our brothers and sisters.")
If you feel uncomfortable learning from a Buddhist monk, remember
that the Second Vatican Council opened the door to cooperation with
non-Catholic people, including non-christians. Review the document from
Vatican II on relations with non-Christian people. It
says: " Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical
insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men,
in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the
state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through
higher help, supreme illumination..." The in the next paragraph it
says: "The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in the
[non-Christian] religions. She regards with sincere reverence those
ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though
differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth,
nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.
... The Church therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and
collaboration with the followers of other religions,... they recognize,
preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as
the socio-cultural values found among these men." The Declaration on
non-Christian Religions, promulgated by Pope Paul VI, sec. 2. (The recent Vatican Document Dominus Jesus does not
negate what Vatican II taught or Pope Paul VI pormulgated. You can read
Dominus Jesus at the Vatican web site.)
Another source of insight from various traditions is found in World
Scripture. Note the sections on prayer
and meditation. (In
response to a concern from a reader that the World Scripture site is
sponsored by the Unification Church to obtain converts, I asked the
editor to comment. His
reply.)
-
-
-
Scripture
on Prayer
Ps. 141:2 Let my prayer be counted as incense
before you, and the
lifting
up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. [Ps.
140 in the Douay-Rheims.]
"The LORD is my strength and my shield; in
him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my
song I give thanks to him." NRSV. [Ps. 28:7 NAB Ps.
27 in DR.]
1. Jesus himself prayed to his Father.
He thanked God for having heard his prayer when he raised Lazarus (John 11:41). Jesus often when to a mountain to pray. [The mountain is a place of nearness to God.
Palestine is hilly so Jesus would go to a hill top to
find a quiet place to pray. In a mystical sense, God was "up" in the
heavens to he would go up to God.] He would even pray
all night as he did just before naming the Apostles ( Luke 6:12). We would follow his example and pray before a major
decision that God would grant guidance. He also prayed after the
feeding of 5,000 people ( Mark 6:42-46). We would follow his example and pray in thanksgiving that
God granted a request. He prayed before his crucifixion ( Matt. 26:36-39 ) and we should pray whenever we feel fear.
2. An essential ingredient of successful prayer
is faith. If your read the miracle stories in the gospel, you will find that faith is often mentioned. When Jesus
healed he often said your faith has healed you. Jesus strongly asserts the need for faith if prayer is
to be effective when he says in Matt. 17:20 and 21:21
that faith can move mountains. While a mountain is a metaphor, we often
have "mountains" in our lives that need moving. It is faith and prayer
that helps us overcome these problems.
Sometimes people feel they do not have that much
faith, and despair ever growing into that level of faith. And yet,
according to 1 Cor. 12:9, faith is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is
something we can ask God to give us. You could just ask "Lord grant me
the gift of deep unshakable faith" or the faith to move mountains. One
prayer I have used is: "grant me a gift of power in prayer for the sake
of good". Nevertheless, Jesus did grant requests for people of weak
faith; such was the case with the man who said "I believe, help my
unbelief" (Mark 9:24). (The mind and emotions are not the same. We might
be able to say that "yes God can do this", but find it
difficult to trust God will do this, or will respond. Trusting God is
something most of us need to work on. If our prayer fits within God's
objectives, will accomplish good, and is in line with what he has
promised, then we should trust Him.) For stories on the power and
action of God, see Walking on Water from the Resurrection
House of Prayer.
3. Jesus promises that prayer will be
granted in Matt. 21:22, and Matt. 7:7-12. Notice however that Jesus does not say that God would give
what ever we ask. He says God will give good things. In Luke the
promise is to give the Holy Spirit (Lk 11:13). Therefore, no matter what happens with our request, the
one benefit that comes is greater involvement with God, and the growth
of God's presence in us. In John 16:24 Jesus says we should ask in his name and if we do it will
be granted. Why? That our joy may be complete.
- Phil. 4:6 "Do not worry about anything, but
in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known to God."
4. When prayer does not seem to be working,
when we do not receive what we ask, recall that we must not ask
wrongly, seeking merely our own pleasure (James 4:3), or passions as the NAB puts it.. John teaches that we
receive what we ask if we keep the commandments (1John 3:22). Some sound advice comes down to us from the Desert
Fathers, monks and hermits living in north Africa after about 300 AD.
-
- "Abbe Zeno said, 'If a man wants God to hear
his prayer quickly, then before he prays for anything else, even his
own soul, when he stands and stretches out his hands towards God, he
must pray with all his heart for his enemies. Through this action God
will hear everything that he asks.'" See Matt. 5:44.
-
- A good scriptural analysis of why prayer is not
granted can be found at Unanswered Prayers: The Most Common Reasons, by Rev. Dale A. Robbins, M.Div. (who is ordained
for the Assembly of God Church).
-
- "The reason why sometimes you have asked and
not received, is
because you have asked amiss, either
inconsistently, or lightly, or
because you have asked for what was not good
for you, or because
you have ceased asking." St. Basil, quoted
from Daily E-Pistle Wednesday August 23, 2000.
5. St.
John Vianney, the patron of parish priests, once confided to a young
priest the secret of his success. He said it was both prayer and
fasting. He went on to say that the devil can be beaten with the
curtailment of one's food, drink and sleep. This is what helped him to
save people from the power of sin. The scriptural reference is Mark 9:28: "And he said to them: This kind can go out by nothing, but
by prayer and fasting." (Douay-Rheims version). (Most translations omit the word "fasting" in Mark 9:29, but acknowledge that it is in some manuscripts. See footnote 7 in NAB.) See these passages in NIV on fasting and prayer. (And remember, Matthew 17:20 on the importance of faith.)
- Prayer is good with fasting and
alms, more than to lay up treasures of gold. Tob. 12:8. NAB.
-
-
- The fasting adds nothing to God, but demonstrates
to us and God how serious our prayer is. Any christian sacrifice is a
joining with the sacrifice of the Cross, and by joining our prayer to
the Sacrifice of the Cross perhaps the power for good that was
unleashed will help our prayer.
-
- Restriction of food and drink has a very long
tradition and is regularly recommended by ancient writers. Gregory of
Sinai calls the belly the "queen of passions" and "the colleague of the
demons". He suggests that "the practiser of silence [a monk or one who
prays] should always be starved, never allowing himself to eat his
fill." If he over eats he becomes drowsy and cannot pray "with purity
and firmness". Translated by Kadloubovsky and Palmer, Writings from
the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart, Farber and Farber, pp.78-79.
John Vianney would eat one or two boiled potatoes when he got too
hungry.
-
- "I shall speak first about control of the
stomach, the opposite to gluttony, and about how to fast and what and
how much to eat. I shall say nothing on my own account, but only what I
have received from the Holy Fathers. They have not given us only a
single rule for fasting or a single standard and measure for eating,
because not everyone has the same strength; age, illness or delicacy of
body create differences. But they have given us all a single goal: to
avoid over-eating and the filling of our bellies... A clear rule for
self-control handed down by the Fathers is this: stop eating while
still hungry and do not continue until you are satisfied."
- St. John Cassian in Sayings of The Fathers.
-
-
-
-
6. Jesus also taught that we should be persistent
and not give up hope. (Luke 18:1)
This is especially important when our prayer seeks
to change someone or get them to act in some way. God gave us free will
and so he is self-limited. He will not over ride that free will.
Instead, he can teach, encourage, cajole, even plead, but he will not
force us to do something. Therefore, we need to be patient and
persistent in our prayers. Remember that St. Augustine's mother, a
saint herself, prayed for a long time for her son before he finally
heard God and changed. I sometimes think that in the story of the
persistent widow it is God who is the widow and the reluctant judge is
the person we are praying for. God keeps trying to get him to do what
is right and good, but he is stubborn. Never-the-less God's patience
and persistence can win in the end. Our job is to keep praying while
God keeps trying to solve the problem.
Also remember that God has a better sense of
timing than we do. He knows when the right moment will come. There are
bound to be factors operating that we know nothing about, negative
consequences that could occur should God act at the wrong time. This is
where faith in the sense of trust in God is essential. We must believe
that He really does know what He is doing (or not doing).
7. St. Paul teaches us to rejoice always, pray
without ceasing , and give thanks under all circumstances. 1Thes. 5:16-18. Paul also says we must not return evil for evil (1Thes. 5:15), and Jesus commands us to pray for our enemies (Matt. 5:44).
-
Giving thanks is very important in prayer.
For example, the word "thanks"
is used more than 25 times in the Psalms in the NIV. "Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6 (NIV). "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and
thankful." Col. 4:2 (NIV).
-
- You can reviewe references to thankfulness in Naves
[or look up: one of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed, Luke 17:15,16; and before taking
food, by Jesus, Matt. 14:19; Mark 8:6,7; Acts 27:35.]
-
- For much more extensive examples of scripture and
prayer see Bible Passages on Prayer.
-
For an online Catholic translation of the bible,
look and the New American Bible (NAB) or for another Catholic translation of the Bible, check out
the Douay-Rheims version, which is several hundred years old, but was in
common use until after Vatican II.. You can also a look at the Latin Vulgate text or search for a passage in the Latin Vulgate at Bible Gateway. [In addition, there are catholic editions of
the RSV, and the NRSV. The Jerusalem Bible is
also a Catholic resource. The contemporary English version has a Catholic
Edtion.]
- For non-Catholic translations of the bible, you can look at
the various versions at Bible Gateway. (Back to contents?)
-
- Click on the image to see a larger version.
-
How to pray.
-
Catholics usually begin their prayers with The Sign of the Cross.
- 1.
Liturgy. The mass and sacraments are the
greatest prayers and are the essential public prayers used with the
other members of the Body of Christ. However, our personal prayer life
away from the liturgy will have a great effect on how much benefit we
will receive from liturgy.
-
- "A soul given to prayer profits more from the sacraments and
other means of salvation than another whose prayer is without constancy
and intensity. One may recite the Divine Office, assist at Holy Mass
and receive the sacraments, but if the soul does not give itself
faithfully to prayer its progress will often be mediocre." Blessed Columba Marmion, O.S.B.
-
- A. The Mass and Sacraments are the official prayers of the Church. They are more than
just public or officially mandated prayers. They are points of
interaction with God. He is truely present and acting in specific ways.
For example, in the sacrament of penance God forgives, in baptism He
overcomes the separation caused by original sin and integrates a person
into his people. In the Sacrament of the sick, He acts to heal
spiritually, emotionally, and even physically.
-
- The mass, however, is the normal public worship
of the church in which He becomes genuinely, truely, even physically
present, under the forms of bread and wine, in addition to being
present in His Word and in the person of the priest who leads the
community in worship. [CCC 1088] But that is not
all, for the very events of salvation are made available to those
worshiping. [See CCC 1363-1367.] Because of
this all our prayer and "[a]ll other liturgical rites and all the works
of the Christian life are linked with the eucharistic celebration, flow
from it, and have it as their end." The General Instruction to the
Roman Missal.
-
-
- The Liturgy of the Eucharist
and Sacrament are all forms of prayer and bring us the presence of
God in a unique and powerful way. As the Second Vatican Council taught:
-
- "Christ is always present to his Church,
especially in the actions of the liturgy. He is present in the
sacrifice of the Mass, in the person of the minister (it is the same
Christ who formerly offered himself on the cross that now offers by the
ministry of priests) and most of all under the eucharistic species
[i.e. under the appearance of bread and wine]. He is present in the
sacraments by his power, in such away that when someone baptizes,
Christ himself baptizes. He is present in his word, for it is he
himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church.
Finally, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he himself
promised: Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in
their midst.
Indeed, in this great work which gives
perfect glory to God and brings holiness to men, Christ is always
joining in partnership with himself his beloved Bride, the Church,
which calls upon its Lord and through him gives worship to the eternal
Father.
-
- It is therefore right to see the liturgy as
an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ... Accordingly,
every liturgical celebration, as an activity of Christ the priest and
of his body, which is the Church, is a sacred action of a preeminent
kind. No other action of the Church equals its title to power or its
degree of effectiveness." Vatican
II: Constitution on the Liturgy.
-
- For more on liturgy you can look at The
Sacrifice of the Mass, Catechesis, Meeting Christ in the Liturgy, Antiphon, a liturgical journal, or you can look through the links at
the Theological Library , the Benedictine's Liturgy index, and the Resources for Catholic Educators, Liturgy. There is now a on-line copy of the General Instruction for the Roman Missal which states the rules each priest and parish must follow
in its celebration of Eucharist. You can also check the MCITL Liturgy Library and Catholic Liturgy.com. For more
on why to worship at mass, see: Power of the Mass . To prepare for mass, you can read the daily or Sunday lectionary
selections at the NCCB/USCC site which uses the New American Bible.
-
- You may also find it helpful to look at the
homilies the New Malleray Abbey has online. Go to their home page and click on the
Sharing the Word Index for Homilies and Spiritual Talks presented this
year. A resource I often find valuable is the Center for Liturgy Sunday Web
Site at St. Louis University. They also have
extensive additional links on Liturgy.
-
-
-
See also Stations of
the Cross below. Also for Lent, Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics.
B. The
Liturgy of the Hours is a
form of prayer dating back to the earliest history of the church. It
consists primarily of scripture, especially the Psalms, and provides
different material for several parts of the day, and it all changes
daily. You cannot very easily get bored with repetition. This form of
prayer has been used in Monasteries, and by clergy and religious, from
ancient times down to the present day. It can be used by anyone. Link
to Universalis to receive a better explanation and to find the Liturgy of
the Hours for today. Look at the end of the Office of Readings for a non-scriptural text taken from church tradition. The General Instruction of the
Liturgy of the Hours, an official document,
is online. A good explanation of this prayer is found at Liturgy of the Hours site from
the Archdiocese of New York, and you can view an outline of the structure of each
hour. For those who would like to download the texts to use in family
and group prayer, go to the Liturgy of the Hours Apostolate.
The Grail translation of the Psalms is very good, and is used in the official Breviary. For
some history and description of the Breviary see this 1950 article. A good place to look is the Daily Office using the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. The liturgy of
the hours uses the Psalms extensively so you may want to read over an
introduction to the Psalms: The Psalms: The Prayer Book
of God.
-
2.
Closely related to the use of the Liturgy of
the Hours is Lectio Divina, which means divine or sacred
reading. The goal is praying with scripture, learning how to savor the word of God, encountering God in
His Word, and becoming changed by it. This is an important aspect of
monastic spirituality. Useful material can be found at the Benedictine
page About Lectio Divina. In Lectio Divina And the Practice of Teresian Prayer
Sam Anthony Morello, OCD. He says:
-
- "[L]ectio divina is prayer over the Scriptures. The
monastics of the early
- and medieval church developed this into a fine art.
-
- The elements are four: 1) lectio itself, which means
reading, understood
- as the careful repetitious recitation of a short text of
Scripture; 2)
- meditatio or meditation, an effort to fathom the meaning
of the text and
- make it personally relevant to oneself in Christ; 3)
oratio, which means
- prayer, taken as a personal response to the text, asking
for the grace
- of the text or moving over it toward union with God; and
4)
- contemplatio, translated contemplation, gazing at
length on something.
- The idea behind this final element is that sometimes, by
the infused
- grace of God, one is raised above meditation to a state
of seeing or
- experiencing the text as mystery and reality; one comes
into
- experiential contact with the One behind and beyond the
text. It is an
- exposure to the divine presence, to God's truth and
benevolence."
- (Copyright Washington Province of
Discalced Carmelites, ICS Publications.
- Permission is hereby granted for any
non-commercial use, if this
- copyright notice is included.)
- For an explanation of the four elements mentioned
above go to The Carmelite Web site
description of lectio divina. They also have
an annual calendar of material on Sunday readings. Be sure to take a look at Carmelite Literature on the Internet.
-
- See a good introduction of Lectio Divina
from St. Andrew's Abbey. There are articles on Lectio Divina at About Lexio Divina from the Order of St. Benedict. The page Prayer, the heart of Monastic Life
gives insight into Benedictine approach to prayer. You can also try the
Lection Divina Home page. Fr. Thomas Keating has a descrption of this
form of prayer as it applies to contempation and centering prayer. For
a very short and simple statement on how to use this method to get more
out of scripture see Praying with Scripture
and Holy Reading, which is from a Presbyterian
Parish.
-
-
- "Someone else asked Antony: "What must I
do in order to please God?" The old man replied: "Pay attention to what
I advise you: wherever you go, always have God before your eyes;
whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the Scriptures."
-
- Antony's response is two-fold. One pleases
God if one has God always before one's eyes, that is to say, if one
lives constantly in the presence of God - which is the concept the
Fathers of the Desert have of continual prayer; and this is possible if
one allows oneself to be guided by the Scriptures. Antony is not
speaking here of reading or meditating on the Scriptures, but of truly
doing everything according to the testimony of the Scriptures...
- What is above all important for the
Fathers of the Desert, is not to read the Bible, but to live it.
Obviously, in order to live it one must know it. And like all
Christians, the monk learned the Scriptures in the first place by
hearing them proclaimed in the liturgical assembly. He also learned by
heart the important parts of Scripture in order to be able to ruminate
them all day long. Finally, certain ones had access to manuscripts of
the Scriptures and were able to read them privately. This private
reading was merely one form among others, and not necessarily the most
important, of allowing oneself to be constantly challenged by the word
of God. " Lectio Divina as school
of prayer among the Fathers of the Desert, Armand VEILLEUX, o.c.s.o.
-
- An extensive list of materials on the bible
can be found at Electronic New Testament
Educational Resources by Felix Just, SJ an assistant
professor of New Testament Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Look
at his page on the Lectionary for tables on
lectionary readings and links to useful websites on the readings. To
find bible passages you can use for lectio divina, see The Parables of Jesus, The Miracles of Jesus, and a list of synoptic gospel parallels at Matthew, Mark and Luke. Also see the daily readings for mass at Readings from the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops site.
For daily meditation and inspiration, there is a Verse of the Day online. You can
see the lectionary readings using the NAB from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. CIN (The Catholic Information
Network) has the Daily Word Page along with some commentary on-line. There is the Catholic Calendar with lots of information on the day's liturgy; see also Sunday Homilies Catholic
Scripture Study .You could also look at the
daily verse and the monthly Johannine Hour at the Taize Community. Morning and
Evening Prayers are available through episcopalnet.org.
3.
As you saw above St. Paul teaches that we should
pray constantly (I Thes. 5:17). There
are a couple of ways to try to
do this: the
Prayer of the Heart, the suggestion in the side bar, or the prayer in
#4 below. [See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sec. 2757.]
Prayer
of the Heart. " This simple invocation of faith [i.e. the
repetition of the name of Jesus] developed in the tradition of prayer
under many forms in East and West. The most usual formulation,
transmitted by the spiritual writers of Sinai, Syria, and Mt. Athos, is
the invocation, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us
sinners." It combines the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 with the cry of the publican and the blind men begging for
light. By it the heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior's
mercy. " Catechism of the Catholic
Church, section 2667. "The invocation of the
holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. " Sec. 2668. A good description of the Jesus Prayer and bibliography
can be found at the St Vladimir's Seminary in the
Article by Albert S. Rossi. Also an
explanation can be found at the Jesus Prayer originally printed in Orthodox Life, and The Jesus Prayer. See also, Writings from the Philokalia on
Prayer of the Heart, Farber & Farber. This is a true classic
from the Orthodox Tradition. See, Prayer without Ceasing. Search
for the Pholokalia at Amazon.com.
For
information on how Catholics value orthodox teaching see above.
-
-
"Those who have truly decided to serve the
Lord God should practice
-
the remembrance of God and uninterrupted
prayer to Jesus Christ,
-
mentally saying: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of
God, have mercy on me,
-
a sinner." St. Seraphim of Sarov, Sayings of the Fathers.
-
[I have used this prayer often over the years. It
is very good when you don't have something else to talk about. One
variation I have used is to add a prayer intention, like: "Lord Jesus
Christ have mercy on us sinners. Please heal and help Mom and Dad." You
would then repeat this over and over. I have found it to be very
effective when used with heart felt sincerity. As you repeat your
prayer, conscious concern can become trust that God is listening and
will act. This also complies with the Lord's command to be persistent
and not give up hope. (Luke 18:1)] For additional links see the Jesus Prayer section of Prayer, Meditation and
Contemplation.
-
- 4. A prayer used
in the Western Tradition is: "O God come to
my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me." This is said by
everyone who prays the Liturgy of the Hours at the start of each hour.
Abba Issac, one of the Desert Fathers, said
to St. John Cassian:
- "The formula was given us by a few of the oldest
fathers who remained. They communicated it only to a very few who were
athirst for the true way. To maintain an unceasing recollection of God,
this formula must be ever before you. The formula is this: 'O God, come
to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.' Psalm 40:13 NIV. Ps 69:2 DR.
- Rightly has this verse been selected from the
whole Bible to serve this purpose. It suits every mood and temper of
human nature, every temptation, every circumstance. It contains an
invocation of God, an humble confession of faith, a reverent
watchfulness, a meditation on human frailty, an act of confidence in
God's response, an assurance of his ever-present support. The man who
continually invokes God as his protector is aware that God is ever at
hand.
- I repeat: each one of us, whatever his
condition in the spiritual life,
- needs to use this verse." (Emphasis
added.) Quoted by Basil Pennington in his book, Centering Prayer.
For more of what Abba Isaac said relative to contemplation, see A
Scriptural Prayer to aid prayer.
-
- This icon and others was found at the Icon
Archive, now the OCF Icon Archive.
5. For most traditional Catholics,
the one method of prayer we were taught was the Rosary;
however, more and more people do not know how to use this prayer. Historical material on the Rosary is at its entry in the
1913 Catholic Encyclopadia. You can learn how to pray the rosary for your personal devotion or to satisfy
curiosity. Be sure to look at the Power of the Rosary, and review the papal documents on the Rosary,
and Paul VI's Marialis Cultus; also look at the Cathechism's (sec. 2678) mention of the rosary. The Marian Magisterial Documents may
also be useful. To assist you in this prayer, there is a downloadable Virtual Rosary with all the
prayers in proper order with an image to help with meditation on the
proper mystery of the Rosary. (They have programs for Windows, Mac, and
Palm Pilot.) For those who think the rosary is only a pre-Vatican II
prayer form look at the Rosary Since Vatican II. Pope John Paul II urges the use of the rosary as a prayer for peace. Also be sure to look at the Holy Father's new document on
the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariæ, which includes his suggestion of the new mysteries of
light. For a large list of links on the Rosary see Rosary Links.-
- The Rosary is on our site with explanation, meditations and additional
prayers from the Key Of Heaven (a 1906 prayer book).
-
-
Bible Passages on Mary, the
Mother of God.
-
- Be sure to look at the Popular Devotions Page of the Theological Library. For background information on
the use of beads in prayer see the Catholic Encyclopedia entry. A
nontraditional form of the rosary is the Ecumenical Rosary which has
non-Catholic Christians in mind, a Christ centered approach. Also,
there is a Scriptural Rosary. See the Vatican II statement on popular devotions.
- Fifteen promises to those who
recite the rosary.
- [The editor would like to introduce a note of caution. A popular
devotion is something that is not required for salvation, even if
recommended by Mary in an apparition such as Fatima,
but it can be encouraged as very beneficial. Also, a number of possible
appearances of Mary that have occurred, however they are not all
approved, and not all "messages" are to be considered genuine. Even
those that have approval are private
revelation and not required for Cathollic faith. See the Catholic Catechism sec. 67. To
discover if an appear
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