Prayer

Prayer “Come to me, all you weary and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28 What is Prayer? Communication with God. It’s talking to God with mind and heart, and often with the voice. It is a response to God’s invitation to seek Him.

Christians pray in the name of Christ- Through baptism we are one with Christ and His Church, and therefore all our prayers are offered with His to the Father in the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the focal point of our prayer. We strive to have a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus through prayer. “By groping about after Him they might search for and find God, for He is not far from any of us.” Acts 17:27 Everyone Must Pray- God calls everyone to pray. He wants to engage us in a personal relationship with Him. Even if we don’t hear the call, God continues his invitation to each human heart. “If you pray, you will be certainly saved; if you do not pray, you will be certainly damned.” St. Alphonsus Ligouri Everyday, we should pray at least 10 to 15 minutes.

Prayer

Why Pray? Because God created us to know, to love, to serve Him and be with Him in the next, our deepest desire in our heart is for God. -When we experience the things of the world—we desire God above all else. St. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself O God and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” -All of us long to rest in God. -God the Father sent His Son into the world to draw us back in communion with Him and to be our source of compassion and mercy for our troubled hearts.

Jesus is our Example of Prayer

Prayer

The apostles saw very often Jesus praying. He went into the desert to pray. He prayed before He chose His 12 apostles. He prayed before He raised Lazarus from the dead. He prayed for His apostles at the Last Supper (the long discourse), which was His priestly discourse. He prayed often times in a quiet out of the way place and took His disciples away to places to pray. As a Jew, Jesus prayed the Psalms. All the apostles did this at the Last Supper. Jesus offered prayer in simple language, calling His Father, “Abba”, which means “Daddy”. He prayed to conform His will to His Father’s during the agony in the garden. He prayed for Peter that He would not fail. He commended the publican who prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” He prayed on the Cross, asking His Father to forgive. He showed us the importance of praying to His Father and to pray with faith emphasizing that importance of faith in order to receive what we wanted. “Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” Matt. 21:22 He encouraged prayer of repetition, “Ask and you shall receive, knock and the door, shall be opened.”

Prayer “He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." Lk 11:1-3 The Apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray and so Jesus gave them the perfect prayer, the Our Father. The Our Father “This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Matt. 6:9-15

Prayer from the Heart

Prayer

-Whether we recite formal written prayers or pray spontaneously, we should pray from the heart. -Praying from the heart it to talk to God with love and attention. -To pray mechanically without thinking what we are praying is not praying with the heart. -It also means that we are honest with our self. -We don’t hide from God anything. He sees & knows all things. -We should also quietly listen to God and allowing Him to come into our heart. -When we pray with the Heart we pray with our whole being, telling God our sorrows, our joys, our feelings, being very open to God and expressing what we desire, our fears, anxieties, our disappointments.

Pray throughout the Day Ask Jesus to be with you when you are working, shopping, resting, talking to others. Our Lord is always with us, but He especially desires that we become aware of His presence and constantly invite Him into everything we do. “By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit; and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints.” Ephes 6:18 “Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess. 5:17-18

Prayer

Is the Rosary Babbling? “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matt. 6:5-8 The purpose of the different beads on the rosary is to count the various prayers as they are said. The prayers of the rosary are meant to occupy our whole being, body and soul, while meditating on the truths of the Faith. Any prayer is vain, however, if said mechanically without devotion. Simply to repeat prayers is not the vain repetition condemned by Christ (Mt 6:7), since He Himself repeats His prayer in the Garden three times (Mt 26:39, 42, 44) and the Psalms (inspired by the Holy Spirit) are often very repetitive (Ps 119 has 176 verses and Ps. 136 repeats the same phrase 26 times). Psalm 136:1-26 Praise the LORD, who is so good; God's love endures forever; Praise the God of gods; God's love endures forever;. . . Praise the God of heaven, God's love endures forever. Matthew 26:39 He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.“ Matthew 26:42 Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, "My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!“ Matthew 26:44 He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again.

Prayer

Gift of Prayer -Prayer is a gift from God and it is something we learn. -It is combination of our own work and the work of God within us. -Prayer establishes a real communion with God and a real relationship with Him. -If we begin to do what we can and ask Him for help, He will help us. -“Lord teach me to pray, help me to pray, help me to have a good relationship with you.” -Developing a prayer life can only happen if one makes time for the Lord everyday. Method of Prayer by St. Alphonsus Ligouri (ACTS) Adore- Call to mind God’s presence before us. I love you, I adore you. I praise You. I worship You. I bless You. Confess- Tell God sins, then make an Act of Contrition (Sorrow) Thanks- Give thanks to God for everything. Supplication -Pray for others and for our self and Pray with the Heart

Prayer Why Do We Have to Keep Asking? Why Aren’t Some of Prayers Answered? Not Appreciate- If we got what we wanted right away, we would not appreciate what we received. We would take God’s goodness for granted. Not the Right Time- If we obtain the answer too soon, we may later squander what God has given us and so it would be it would be better for us a later date. He teaches us to persevere. Asking for the Wrong Things- We don’t see the fullness of what would happen if our prayer was answered, but God sees how will we react to the answered prayer. “You ask and you do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:3). May Be Harmful to Us- Sometimes we ask for things that would be harmful to us spiritually. These seemingly “good” things could possibly cause us to lose our salvation. For example, if we tell God, if we win a million dollars in the lottery, we will give it all to charity. But what we don’t see is that even if we would win, it could cause us to develop pride, which can cause us to fall away from God. God can also something better in mind for us, other than what are asking. Lack of Humility-Sometimes we feel that we know what’s best and proceed to tell God what we need. Even worse, we get angry when He doesn’t answer fast enough or in the way that we want. We need to ask God for what we need with love, reverence, and humility, not forgetting that we are creatures and He is God. It’s a Mystery, Sometimes We Just Don’t Know- God is love and does nothing but loving things for us. We have to trust that if our prayer isn’t answered, God has in mind what is best for our salvation and He does not permit the prayer to be answered out of love for us and others. Lack of Faith- When the disciples came to Jesus and asked why they were unsuccessful in casting a demon out of a boy, the Lord’s response was blunt and to the point – “Because of your little faith” (Matthew 17:20). According to Jesus, “whatever you ask for in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Matthew 21:22). Does that mean that every time God doesn’t grant our request it’s because our faith is lacking? No, but it could be a contributing factor and should be addressed. We can always pray: “I do believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

Prayer

Where to Pray? 1. At Home in Inner Room. 2. Prayer Spot (home altar). 3. Inner Room of the Heart. 4. At Church before a Tabernacle. 5. At Holy Mass. 6. To God, who is in heaven. 7. To God who is within us through baptism. 8. Adoration Chapel. 9. Before Meals. (in restaurants too) 10. With the Family. (especially Rosary) 11. With Each other: “Two or there are gathered in my name I am with you.”Matt 18:20 12. Everywhere.

Prayer For Whom Should We Pray “First of all, I urge supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men— kings, and for all those in positions of authority.” 1 Tim. 2:1-2

Ourselves Our Family Relatives Friends Neighbors Enemies Pope Bishops Priests Government Leaders Lawmakers Sick Dying Sinners Unbelievers Souls in Purgatory

Prayer

Ask Others to Pray for Us Prayer Chains Rosary Groups Friends Family Saints in Heaven – Friends of God, who are with God Blessed Virgin Mary - (Greatest of All Saints) Novenas Novenas to a Particular Saint or directly to God 9 days of Prayer for a Particular Intention 54 Day Rosary Novena

Prayer

Three Kinds of Prayer Vocal Prayer with the voice out loud or silently Meditation (thinking about, pondering, using your imagination). 1. Place yourself in the presence of God. 2. Ask to help you to meditate. 3. Imagine a scene about God or a truth of the faith you wish to meditate on & place yourself in the scene. 4. Thank God for meditation. Contemplation Infused Prayer given by God, which we cannot produce our self, only open our self up to it. Person becomes freely absorbed in God producing a real awareness, desire, and love for Him. This often gentle or delightful encounter can yield special insights into things of the spirit and results in a deeper and tangible desire to love God and neighbor in thought, word, and deed.

Mass the Greatest Prayer Prayer to God is worship. The greatest prayer is the Mass because the Mass is the sacrificial worship of God, as we offer our self and our sacrifices in union with Jesus’ offering of His sacrifice to the Father.

Rosary is meditation AND vocal prayer. Most powerful prayer after the Mass.

Prayer

Problems in Prayer Distractions in Prayer: Gently turn back to God 1. We are tired and can’t focus 2. Devil tries to distract us. 3. Others Distract us 4. Noise Distracts us. 5. Emotions Dryness in Prayer No consolation. We don’t feel like praying. To help us grow in faith and hope: we pray when we don’t feel like it. We believe, though we do not feel. God hides to help us to draw closer to Him but also at times to help us to give up serious sin. We feel abandoned by God and want to draw closer to Him, we realize that our sins keep us from Him. In times of dryness of prayer, we should pray more, use other things to help us to pray, such as the bible, prayer books, meditations, etc..

Prayer

Avoid: Centering Prayer- Focus becomes self and not God, avoids personal conversation with God. Centering prayer may be hazardous to your spiritual health! Is centering prayer an ancient form of authentically Christian prayer? The origin of centering prayer was described by its inventor, Thomas Keating, as “the outgrowth of a retreat given by a Zen Buddhist master.” Keating said, "There was nothing comparable in the Christian tradition.“ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger cautions that "not everyone is equally suited" even to forms of Eastern meditation which are authentically Christian, stating that such forms "can even become an idol . . . can degenerate into a cult of the body and can lead surreptitiously to consider all bodily sensations as spiritual experiences”. Yoga as Prayer- Stretching exercises are in themselves good, but not when associated with and practicing a non-Christian religion. Eastern Prayer (empty one self out) Get rid of distractions. But, where is God?

Prayer

Eucharist and Prayer Holy Communion- There can no greater union with God here on earth. Their can be not greater personal relationship with Jesus as in the Eucharist. We are one with Jesus in Communion. Adoration Chapel- We can spend time with Jesus in adoration. If we want to learn how to pray, if we want to grow in holiness quickly come to Jesus in the adoration chapel. Spend one hour with Jesus every week or every day if possible. Tabernacle- When ever we come into Church our focus should be on Jesus in the tabernacle.

Prayer Master Pieces on Prayer St. Teresa of Avila – The Interior Castle St. John of the Cross- Dark Night of the Soul Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay Deep Conversion- Deep Prayer Fr. Thomas Dubay Opening to God, A Guide to Prayer Thomas Green

The Church’s Prayer: Liturgy of the Hours – The Office—The Breviary

(morn, noon, even, night) Praying the Psalms

Votive Candles

Prayer

In Judaism, a perpetual light was kept burning in the Temple and the synagogues not only to insure the ability to light other candles or oil lamps in the evening but also to show the presence of God (cf. Ex 27:20-21 & Lv. 24:2-4). Later, the Talmud prescribed a lit lamp at the Ark, where the Torah and other writings of Sacred Scripture were kept, to show reverence to the Word of God. (This practice probably influenced our own tradition of having a lit candle near the Tabernacle to indicate the presence of and to show reverence for the Blessed Sacrament.) As in early Christian times, we light a candle before a statue or sacred image of our Lord or of a saint. Of course, we do not honor the statue or the image itself, but whom that statue or image represents. The light signifies our prayer offered in faith coming into the light of God. With the light of faith, we petition our Lord in prayer, or petition the saint to pray with us and for us to the Lord. The light also shows a special reverence and our desire to remain present to the Lord in prayer even though we may depart and go about our daily business. When you enter a Catholic church, you might see a shrine, small side chapels or side altars with statues or icons and rows of votive candles. The word “votive” comes from the Latin “votum” meaning “vow,” and these candles (which are blessed) are, when lit, used to symbolize our prayers, vows of prayer or simply our honoring God or one of His Saints. They are lit by people outside of Mass (before or after, or during a simple visit to the church) — usually for a special intention. It’s a very Catholic thing to say to someone that you will “light a candle for them,” meaning that you will pray for them and ritually symbolize those prayers by the lighting of votives. We light the candle while praying for our intention or offering our thanks and then leave the flame burning as a sign of our prayers. You will also see a little coin box or basket nearby for donations to pay for the candles.