There are a few basic prayers that every Catholic should know by heart, such as the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Apostles Creed, the Glory be to the Father, the acts of Faith, Hope, Love and Contrition. Many of our great truths are woven into these prayers, therefore not only do we pray but we keep these central truths before our minds.
The Simplicity of Prayer
People often find it difficult to pray because they have an exaggerated notion of prayer, not really understanding what it means, and erroneously believing that it consists in very lofty thoughts, which must be expressed in elevated words and sentences. The opposite is the truth. How simple are the Our Father and the Hail Mary! How unaffected the thoughts and the words of the centurion, the leper, the blind man, and others mentioned in the Gospel, who sought help from our Lord and were heard.
Neither is it necessary for a prayer to be long to be perfect. Prayer need not be said in any particular place or at any special time, nor need it be said kneeling or standing. We may turn our hearts to God at all times, in all places, and in any posture of body, whether it be in the street or in the church, and this could be devout prayer.
Group Prayer
In the sacrifice of the Mass we can adore God, expressing to Him our love and loyalty. We can thank Him for His favors and ask to obtain pardon of our sins and the remission of their punishment. We can ask for graces and blessings for ourselves and others.. We do all this when we come together on Sunday as God’s priestly people, set apart to offer the Sacrifice of Calvary and to raise our voices to God as a group in prayer. There is a special value attached to prayer recited in groups. Our Lord said that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them”.
Aspirations
Short prayers or aspirations help us to bring our ordinary actions to the supernatural level. For example, when doing a work we could say: “Jesus, this is for love of You, save souls”, or Jesus and Mary I love you, save souls”. We can make up our own prayers to suit our life style. We could say while waiting for the red light to change, “Precious Blood of Jesus save me”, while taking a shower, “cleanse my soul as I cleanse my body”. Sacred Heart of Jesus I place all my trust in you” is a beautiful prayer.
Distractions
Often we are distracted and can’t concentrate when we pray. God is not displeased when our mind wanders. Many distractions arise from natural causes, such as worry, anxiety or bodily affliction. Other temptations may come from the devil. The effort made to overcome the distractions makes our prayers even more pleasing to God. We should not let problems such as these discourage us from trying to think lovingly about our Lord and asking Him for help.
Importance of a Life of Prayer
When we come into God’s presence, let us arouse ourselves to have a lively faith in the power of Christ, our head and our elder brother. Let us lean on Him, Saint Teresa says, God is extremely pleased to see us find Jesus as our intermediary with Him. The inward joy of being a child of God grows, and we have confidence that it will reach its fullness one day in heaven. For the soul that gives itself faithfully to prayer is detached more and more from created things, and so enters more fully unto the life of God.
Let us then seek to be among those who keep united to God by a life of prayer, and let us ask our Lord to grant us the blessing of this precious gift. If we faithfully ask, and if we respond in the measure to which we are called, we can be assured that we can live more and more according to the spirit of our adoption. We can be children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, for the glory of God our Father.
