Prayer in the age of the Church

556. What is the prayer of praise? 

        
             Praise is that form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It is a completely disinterested prayer: it sings God’s praise for his own sake and gives him glory simply because he is.

Prayer in the age of the Church

556. What is the prayer of praise? 

        Praise is that form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It is a completely disinterested prayer: it sings God’s praise for his own sake and gives him glory simply because he is.

Prayer in the age of the Church

555. When is thanksgiving given to God?     

         The Church gives thanks to God unceasingly, above all in celebrating the Eucharist in which Christ allows her to participate in his own thanksgiving to the Father. For the Christian every event becomes a reason for giving thanks.

Prayer in the age of the Church

554. In what does the prayer of intercession consist? 

          Intercession consists in asking on behalf of another. It conforms us and unites us to the prayer of Jesus who intercedes with the Father for all, especially sinners. Intercession must extend even to one’s enemies.

Prayer in the age of the Church

553. What are the different forms of the prayer of petition?  

        It can be a petition for pardon or also a humble and trusting petition for all our needs either spiritual or material. The first thing to ask for, however, is the coming of the Kingdom.

Prayer in the age of the Church

552. How can adoration be defined?   

         Adoration is the humble acknowledgement by human beings that they are creatures of the thrice-holy Creator.

Prayer in the age of the Church

551. What is “blessing”?   

            The prayer of blessing is man’s response to God’s gifts: we bless the Almighty who first blesses us and fills us with his gifts.

Prayer in the age of the Church

550. What are the essential forms of Christian prayer?    

      They are blessing and adoration, the prayer of petition and intercession, thanksgiving and praise. The Eucharist contains and expresses all the forms of prayer.

Prayer in the age of the Church

549. How does the Holy Spirit intervene in the Church’s prayer?       

         The Holy Spirit, the interior Master of Christian prayer, forms the Church in the life of prayer and allows her to enter ever more deeply into contemplation of and union with the unfathomable mystery of Christ. The forms of prayer expressed in the apostolic and canonical writings remain normative for Christian prayer.

Prayer in the age of the Church

548. How did the first Christian community in Jerusalem pray?       

          At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles it is written that in the first community of Jerusalem, educated in the life of prayer by the Holy Spirit, the faithful “devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

Prayer is fully revealed and realized in Jesus

547. Is there a prayer of Mary in the Gospel?       

     Along with the prayer of Mary at Cana in Galilee, the Gospel gives us the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) which is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church, the joyous thanksgiving that rises from the hearts of the poor because their hope is met by the fulfillment of the divine promises.


         

Mary's Magnificat prayer

                                             

Prayer is fully revealed and realized in Jesus

546. How did the Virgin Mary pray?

           Mary’s prayer was characterized by faith and by the generous offering of her whole being to God. The Mother of Jesus is also the new Eve, the “Mother of all the living”. She prays to Jesus for the needs of all people.


                                             

Virgin Mary praying

                                               

Prayer is fully revealed and realized in Jesus

545. Why is our prayer efficacious?

  Our prayer is efficacious because it is united in faith with the prayer of Jesus. In him Christian prayer becomes a communion of love with the Father. In this way we can present our petitions to God and be heard: “Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).

 

 

 

A family that prays with God

Prayer is fully revealed and realized in Jesus

544. How does Jesus teach us to pray? 

        Jesus teaches us to pray not only with the Our Father but also when he prays. In this way he teaches us, in addition to the content, the dispositions necessary for every true prayer: purity of heart that seeks the Kingdom and forgives one’s enemies, bold and filial faith that goes beyond what we feel and understand, and watchfulness that protects the disciple from temptation.

Jesus and His Kingdom

Prayer is fully revealed and realized in Jesus

543. How did Jesus pray during his passion? 

         The prayer of Jesus during his agony in the garden of Gethsemane and his last words on the cross reveal the depth of his filial prayer. Jesus brings to completion the loving plan of the Father and takes upon himself all the anguish of humanity and all the petitions and intercessions of the history of salvation. He presents them to the Father who accepts them and answers them beyond all hope by raising his Son from the dead.

Jesus praying in garden of Gethsemane

Prayer is fully revealed and realized in Jesus

542. When did Jesus pray? 

           The Gospel often shows Jesus at prayer. We see him draw apart to pray in solitude, even at night. He prays before the decisive moments of his mission or that of his apostles. In fact, all his life is a prayer because he is in a constant communion of love with the Father.

Jesus praying