Search Results for: prayer
Catechism: Prayer as a battle against evil
Catechismal References to: Battle CCC 2612 In Jesus "the Kingdom of God is at hand." He calls his hearers to conversion and faith, but also to watchfulness. In prayer the disciple keeps watch, attentive to Him Who Is and Him Who Comes, in memory of his first coming in the lowliness of the flesh, and in the hope of his second coming in glory. In communion with their Master, the disciples’ prayer is a battle; only by keeping watch in prayer can one avoid falling into temptation. CCC 2725 Prayer is both…
Catechism: Prayer in the fullness of time
Catechismal References to: Fullness CCC 2598 The drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the Word who became flesh and dwells among us. To seek to understand his prayer through what his witnesses proclaim to us in the Gospel is to approach the holy Lord Jesus as Moses approached the burning bush: first to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear how he teaches us to pray, in order to know how he hears our prayer. CCC 2599 The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin also learned…
Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer
Catechismal References to: Christ’s prayer CCC 2759 Jesus "was praying at a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’" In response to this request the Lord entrusts to his disciples and to his Church the fundamental Christian prayer. St. Luke presents a brief text of five petitions, while St. Matthew gives a more developed version of seven petitions. The liturgical tradition of the Church has retained St. Matthew’s text: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy…
Catechism: Christ’s titles – master of prayer
Catechismal References to: Christ’s titles CCC 2601 He was praying in a certain place and when he had ceased, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ In seeing the Master at prayer the disciple of Christ also wants to pray. By contemplating and hearing the Son, the master of prayer, the children learn to pray to the Father. CCC 2607 When Jesus prays he is already teaching us how to pray. His prayer to his Father is the theological path (the path of faith, hope, and charity)…
Is prayer effective?
Is Prayer Effective: Nearly all Christians, and even non-Christians, pray on a regular basis. Yet, few understand the nature of prayer and many even doubt its effectiveness. The problem with prayer is most misunderstand the reason for prayer. Very often, the reason for prayer is confused with the benefits of prayer. This confusion can result in misguided prayers and ineffective prayers. While it may seem legalistic to assume there is a “right way” and a “wrong way” to pray, we have to understand that prayer serves a purpose. If one does not understand the purpose of prayer, it is reasonable to assume…
Catechism: Contemplative Prayer
2709 What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: “Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.”6 Contemplative prayer seeks him “whom my soul loves.”7 It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our…
Catechism: The Holy Spirit as the master of prayer
Catechismal References to: Holy Spirit in the Economy of Salvation CCC 741 The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with sighs too deep for words. The Holy Spirit, the artisan of God’s works, is the master of prayer. (This will be the topic of Part Four.) CCC 2625 In the first place these are prayers that the faithful hear and read in the Scriptures, but also that they make their own – especially those of the…
Catechism: Prayer of faith
Catechismal References to: Faith as an act of belief CCC 2570 When God calls him, Abraham goes forth "as the Lord had told him"; Abraham’s heart is entirely submissive to the Word and so he obeys. Such attentiveness of the heart, whose decisions are made according to God’s will, is essential to prayer, while the words used count only in relation to it. Abraham’s prayer is expressed first by deeds: a man of silence, he constructs an altar to the Lord at each stage of his journey. Only later does Abraham’s first prayer in words…
Catechism: Prayer and the heart
Catechismal References to: Heart CCC 2562 Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain. CCC 2588 The Psalter’s many forms of prayer take shape both in the liturgy of the…
Catechism: Prayer of the Hour of Jesus
Catechismal References to: Christ’s prayer CCC 2746 When "his hour" came, Jesus prayed to the Father. His prayer, the longest transmitted by the Gospel, embraces the whole economy of creation and salvation, as well as his death and Resurrection. The prayer of the Hour of Jesus always remains his own, just as his Passover "once for all" remains ever present in the liturgy of his Church. CCC 2747 Christian Tradition rightly calls this prayer the "priestly" prayer of Jesus. It is the prayer of our high priest, inseparable from his sacrifice, from…