PRAYER

• The mystery of our faith, which is professed in the Creed, celebrated in the liturgy, and lived out in our lives, places each of us in a vital personal relationship with God.

• This relationship is expressed through prayer

• Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and people in Christ

• Prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with His Son Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit

• Prayer is the habit of being in the presence of God and in communion with Him

• The universal call to prayer goes back to the Old Testament

• Abraham and Jacob – prayers of trust in God’s faithfulness

• Moses – responds to God’s initiative for the salvation of his people

• The Israelites – flourished in God’s presence

• The prophets summoned the people to conversion of heart and interceded for them

• The Psalms constitute the master work of prayer in the Old Testament

• The Son of God, who became the Son of Mary, prayed often

• He learned to pray from His mother (Magnificat)

• He prayed in the words of His people, in the synagogue at Nazareth and the temple in Jerusalem

• By the time he was 12, Jesus’ prayer became filial – from a son to a Father (“I must be in my Father’s house”)

• Jesus prayed in solitude as well as with his friends

• In the gospels, the evangelists preserved the constant attitude of thanksgiving in Jesus’ prayers- He began many prayers by giving thanks to the Father- He preceded miracles by giving thanks

• In His adult life and ministry, Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit, praying before important moments:

~ His baptism by John~ the selection of the Twelve Apostles~ Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah~ His Transfiguration

• When His “hour came”, Jesus prayed to the Father

• Jesus fulfilled the work of the Father completely

• His prayer, like His sacrifice, extends until the end of time

• Jesus’ seven last words (His last spoken phrases) on the Cross were prayer:

1. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do

2. Today you will be with me in paradise3. Woman behold your son4. I thirst5. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?6. It is finished7. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit

• In teaching us to pray, Jesus:- insists on a conversion of heart- teaches us filial boldness, giving thanks before we receive His gifts- calls us to watchfulness- Calls us to urgent prayer (Lk.11:5-13)-Calls us to patience (Lk. 18:1-8)-Calls us to humility (Lk. 18:9-14)

• By entering into the holy name of the Lord Jesus we can accept from within the prayer He teaches us, the Our Father (The Lord’s Prayer)*

The Prayers of Mary:• At the Annunciation – “I am the handmaid of the Lord;

let it be done to me according to your word.”

• Fiat – Her wholehearted “yes” to God; to be wholly God’s because He is wholly ours

• At the Annunciation – her Magnificat, or canticle of praise

• At Cana, speaking directly to her Son

• At the foot of the Cross

• The Holy Spirit instructs the Church in the life of prayer, inspiring new expressions of the same basic forms of prayer: Adoration, Petition, Thanksgiving and Contrition

• Prayers of adoration, blessing and praise

- The form of prayer which recognizes most completely that God is God, giving Him glory simply because HE IS.

• Petition and Intercession

- In the New Testament, words of supplication acknowledge that we need God above all

• Contrition- the first movement in prayers of petition is asking for forgiveness

• Thanksgiving

- an attitude of gratefulness characterizes the constant prayer of the Church

- Our central act of worship is receiving the Eucharist, a word that means thanksgiving

- Every prayer and act can be an offering of thanks

* Challenges to prayer:

- temptation not to pray- distractions- lack of faith- discouragement when we feel our prayer is not answered

• According to Matthew 6:9-13, a disciple said to Jesus: “Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.”

• In response, Jesus entrusted to his disciples, and to the Church, the fundamental Christian prayer, the Lord’s Prayer

• OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN- We can invoke God as our father because the Son of God made man has revealed Him to us.

- In His Son, through baptism, we are children of God

- “Who art in heaven” does not refer to a place, but to God’s majesty and presence in the hearts of the faithful.

• The Seven Petitions refers to the requests made to God the Father in the Lord's Prayer

• The first set of petitions carries us toward God (Thy name, Thy kingdom, Thy will…)

- “hallowed be thy name” – we enter God’s plan, the blessing of His name by all

- “Thy kingdom come” – the Church looks to Christ’s return and prays for growth of the kingdom of God in the ‘today’ of our own lives

- By asking “Thy will be done”, we ask God to unite our will to that of his Son, to fulfill His plan of salvation

• The second set of petitions present our concerns to God (give us… forgive us… lead us… deliver us…)

- In saying “our daily bread” we refer to the earthly nourishment needed as well as to the Bread of Life, the Word of God, the Body of Christ

- In saying “forgive us” we beg God’s mercy for our offenses, mercy which can enter our hearts only if we have learned to forgive others, with the example and help of Christ

- When we say “lead us not into temptation” we are asking God not to allow us to take the path that leads to sin

- When we say “but deliver us from evil” Christians pray to God with the Church to show the victory, already won by Christ, over the evil that manifests itself in this world.

• AMEN – So be it – we end this and all prayer with this affirmation, ratifying what is contained in this prayer that God taught us.