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= Session Title =
= Prayer =
This section used in [[RCIA_Stuff]]
[[File:Grace_Family_Circus_small.jpg]]
== Opening Prayer ==
== Opening Prayer ==
*
== references/sources ==
*


== Content ==
* The Lord's Prayer
=== Topic 1 ===
*  


== Closing Prayer ==
== references/sources ==
*  
* [http://old.usccb.org/catechism/text/partfour.shtml CCC Part IV] (esp. 2558)
 
* The [http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/documentcontents/index/2/subindex/39/documentindex/2 General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours]
== Terms ==
* [[Jesus_of_Nazareth,_Ratzinger | Pope Benedict XVI. Jesus of Nazareth]]
* [[Glossary#XX | XX]]
* [[The Catholic Vision]]
 
* [[The Catholic Way to Pray]]
== Cultural Applications ==
* [[Compendium Catechism of the Catholic Church]]
== Homework for next session ==
* [[The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything]]
* [[Prayer made easy]]
* [[Prayer Primer. Thomas Dubay]]
* [[the_prayer_we_offer_vaghi | The Prayer We Offer, Vaghi]]


[[Category:Catechesis]]
=== Web resources ===
[[Category:RCIA]]
* [http://www.catholic.org/prayers/ Catholic Prayers]
 
* [http://ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/prayer-online/ Ignatian Spirituality.com]
= Session Title =
* [http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm Divine Mercy Chaplet]
This section used in [[RCIA_Stuff]]
* [http://www.sacredspace.ie/ Sacred Space]
== Opening Prayer ==
* [http://old.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt4sect1.shtml  CCC Part IV on prayer ]
*
* [http://www.magnificat.com/ Magnificat]
== references/sources ==
* [http://www.universalis.com/n-web.htm Liturgy of the Hours at Universalis]
*  
* [http://www.giveusthisday.org/ Give us This Day] Daily Prayer for Today's Catholic booklet
* [http://wau.org/ The Word Among Us] Daily Meditations
=== Scripture ===
* The Lords Prayer  [http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/11 Luke 11:1f] 
* [http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/15 John 15:1-8] The Vine and the Branches
* [http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7  Matthew 7:7-11] The Answer to Prayers


== Content ==
== Content ==
=== Topic 1 ===
*
== Closing Prayer ==
*
== Terms ==
* [[Glossary#XX | XX]]
== Cultural Applications ==
*
[[Category:Catechesis]]
[[Category:RCIA]]
Meeting 8 – Prayer
Sources
CCC Part IV (esp. 2558)
The General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours
Pope Benedict XVI. Jesus of Nazareth
Content
CCC-2558  “a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God”
Other descriptions (USCC – 463)
Augustine: True prayer is nothing but love.
John Vianney: the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.
Fran. de Sales: Everyone needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we
are busy, then we need an hour.
Damascene: the raising of one’s mind and heart to God
Newman: being alone in a dark room with the beloved


What do these terms mean?
=== What prayer is not===
Personal – persona, between persons, between you and the Holy Spirit
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4PQ30VkBk the Lords Prayer]
The person is the joining of body and soul… of mind and flesh… so don’t
* Discussion about why this not prayer and how it relates to the way we pray.
check your intellect at the door. Prayer is not where passion takes over (contrary to what the movies say).
=== What prayer is ===
* '''a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God''' [http://old.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt4sect1.shtml CCC-2558]
* '''Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.'''  But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God." [http://old.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt4sect1.shtml CCC 2559]
* "the breath of the Holy Spirit - Blessed John Paul II
* "... a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven; it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy" - Therese of Lisieux:
* True prayer is nothing but love. Augustine:
* the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself. John Vianney:
* Everyone needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy, then we need an hour. Francis de Sales:
* the raising of one’s mind and heart to God - Damascene
* being alone in a dark room with the beloved Newman:
* "Our hearts are restless, O God, until they rest in you." - St. Augustine
* There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus - Blaise Paschal
* a conversation with one whom you know loves you." - St. Teresa of Avila
* it is a call to walk with God as Noah did. [[the_prayer_we_offer_vaghi | Vaghi]]
* In this life we can come into God through prayer, traditionally defined as the "lifting of the mind and heart to God". Whenever we think of or speak with God, we are praying.


Prayer is also, therefore, fundamentally connected with the human will.  We don’t pray just when we “feel” like it.  It is a duty, it is work…. As much as it is a place of comfort.
=== What do these terms mean? ===
* Personal – persona, between persons, between you and the Holy Spirit. The person is the joining of body and soul… of mind and flesh… so don’t check your intellect at the door.  Prayer is not where passion takes over (contrary to what the movies say).
* Prayer is also, therefore, fundamentally connected with the human will.  We don’t pray just when we “feel” like it.  It is a duty, it is work…. As much as it is a place of comfort.
Prayer is, in this context, also fundamentally sacrificial… connecting the holy work we do with the dialogue we have with the Trinity.
Prayer is, in this context, also fundamentally sacrificial… connecting the holy work we do with the dialogue we have with the Trinity.
* Vital – vita, life giving e.g. St. Ignatius Loyola – praying in recovery at the castle > founding of Society of the Jesus aka the Jesuits
** St. Philip Neri – praying about leaving Rome for the Holy Land > brought about the conversion of Rome.
** St. Elizabeth Ann Seton – starting her little school gave life to a revolution of education.
** ?Personal example? Forgiveness for family… teaching lessons about mercy
* Thus, prayer is not a matter of boring legal prescription.


* Prayer is always in Christ (en kristo)- Since we are entirely dependent on God, we must acknowledge an d express this sovereignty of the Creator, as the devout people of every age have done by means of prayer.  Prayer directed to God must be linked with Christ, the Lord of all, the one Mediator through whom alone we have access to God.  He unites to himself the whole human community in such a way that there is an intimate bond between the prayer of Christ and the prayer of all humanity.  In Christ and in Christ alone human worship of God receives redemptive value and attains its goal. (GILOH - 6)


Vital – vita, life giving
* The excellence of Christian prayer lies in its sharing in the reverent love of the only-begotten Son for the Father and in the prayer that the Son put into words in his earthly life and that still continues without ceasing in the name of the whole human race and for its salvation through the universal Church and all its members. (GILOH – 7)
e.g. St. Ignatius Loyola – praying in recovery at the castle > founding of
SJ’s
      St. Philip Neri – praying about leaving Rome for the Holy Land >
brought about the conversion of Rome.
      St. Elizabeth Ann Seton – starting her little school gave life to a
revolution of education.
?Personal example?
Forgiveness for family… teaching lessons about mercy
Thus, prayer is not a matter of boring legal prescription.
 
Prayer is always in Christ (en kristo)
Since we are entirely dependent on God, we must acknowledge an d express this sovereignty of the Creator, as the devout people of every age have done by means of prayer.  Prayer directed to God must be linked with Christ, the Lord of all, the one Mediator through whom alone we have access to God.  He unites to himself the whole human community in such a way that there is an intimate bond between the prayer of Christ and the prayer of all humanity.  In Christ and in Christ alone human worship of God receives redemptive value and attains its goal. (GILOH - 6)
 
The excellence of Christian prayer lies in its sharing in the reverent love of the only-begotten Son for the Father and in the prayer that the Son put into words in his earthly life and that still continues without ceasing in the name of the whole human race and for its salvation through the universal Church and all its members. (GILOH – 7)


From Pope Benedict XVI  
* From Pope Benedict XVI
“Christian mysticism….is not in the first instance immersion in the depths of oneself, but encounter with the Spirit of God in the word that goes ahead of us.  It is encounter with the Son and the Holy Spirit and thus a becoming one with the living God who is always both in us and above us….The fact that Luke places the Our Father in the context of Jesus’ own praying is significant.… Jesus thereby involves us in his own prayer; he leads us into the interior dialogue of triune love; he draws our human hardships deep into God’s heart, as it were.  This also means, however, that the words of the Our Father are signposts to interior prayer, they provide a basic direction for our being, and they aim to configure us to the image of the Son.  The meaning of the Our Father goes much further than the mere provision of a prayer text.  It aims to form our being, to train us in the inner attitude of Jesus (cf. Phil. 2:5).”
<blockquote>“Christian mysticism….is not in the first instance immersion in the depths of oneself, but encounter with the Spirit of God in the word that goes ahead of us.  It is encounter with the Son and the Holy Spirit and thus a becoming one with the living God who is always both in us and above us….The fact that Luke places the Our Father in the context of Jesus’ own praying is significant.… Jesus thereby involves us in his own prayer; he leads us into the interior dialogue of triune love; he draws our human hardships deep into God’s heart, as it were.  This also means, however, that the words of the Our Father are signposts to interior prayer, they provide a basic direction for our being, and they aim to configure us to the image of the Son.  The meaning of the Our Father goes much further than the mere provision of a prayer text.  It aims to form our being, to train us in the inner attitude of Jesus (cf. Phil. 2:5).”</blockquote>
Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, 131-132.
''Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, 131-132.''


The ultimate prayer en kristo is the Our Father… located at the end of the Sermon on the Mount as the summation of Jesus’ teaching on prayer and Christian living. (c.f. Mt. 5)
* The ultimate prayer en kristo is the Our Father… located at the end of the Sermon on the Mount as the summation of Jesus’ teaching on prayer and Christian living. (c.f. [http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5 Mt. 5])
n.b. the Our Father is fundamentally related to the living and learning of the virtues, themselves at the heart of the moral life.
n.b. the Our Father is fundamentally related to the living and learning of the virtues, themselves at the heart of the moral life.


In other words – only Christ prays perfectly, so pray in union with him
* In other words – only Christ prays perfectly, so pray in union with him
Girls - Exemplified in the Garden…  
** Girls - Exemplified in the Garden…  
Boys-  and in the praetorium/via dolorosa.
** Boys-  and in the praetorium/via dolorosa.


Listen to Christ in Jn. 17.  Can you find a “personal and vital  
* Listen to Christ in Jn. 17.  Can you find a “personal and vital  
relationship” at work here?
relationship” at work here?
Continuing to follow the model of the passion and death, we see that  
*Continuing to follow the model of the passion and death, we see that  
prayer is always part of our response to God. …The passion and death were Christ’s ultimate response to the love of the Father (again, exemplified in Jn. 17)
prayer is always part of our response to God. …The passion and death were Christ’s ultimate response to the love of the Father (again, exemplified in [http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/17 Jn. 17])


Christ’s prayer also shows the marks of prayer
* Christ’s prayer also shows the marks of prayer
Humility  
** Humility
Lk 18:9-14  prayer of the Pharisee vs. Tax Collector
*** Lk 18:9-14  prayer of the Pharisee vs. Tax Collector
Watchfulness (eschatological awareness)
** Watchfulness (eschatological awareness)
Mk 13:33 - Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come
*** Mk 13:33 - Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come
Lk 21:36 - Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man
*** Lk 21:36 - Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man
Perservering confidence in God’s goodness  
** Perservering confidence in God’s goodness  
Lk 18:1-8 – the widow who persistently made her case to the judge  
*** Lk 18:1-8 – the widow who persistently made her case to the judge  
Jn 16:23 – whatever you ask of the Father in my name he will  
*** Jn 16:23 – whatever you ask of the Father in my name he will give you.
give you.
** Conforms to the nature of God  
Conforms to the nature of God  
*** Mt 6:5-8 – pray with your Father in the room of your heart
Mt 6:5-8 – pray with your Father in the room of your heart
*** Jn 4:23 – the time is coming when all will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth
Jn 4:23 – the time is coming when all will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth
* Prayer is always, in some sense, communal
Prayer is always, in some sense, communal
** It is the Body of Christ that prays
It is the Body of Christ that prays
** Prayer speaks to the longing of all human hearts
Prayer speaks to the longing of all human hearts
** Integrates as part of man’s social identity
Integrates as part of man’s social identity
* Prayer engages in five primary actions (often-times they are mixed together)
Prayer engages in five primary actions (often-times they are mixed together)
** Adoration
Adoration
** Petition [that God should do something]
Petition [that God should do something]
** Intercession
Intercession
** Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
** Praise
Praise




* Prayer involves both speaking and listening.
* How God Speaks
** All of God's creation
** Sacred Scripture
** Through other people. Their words and actions can convey a divine message
** Through our experiences, even our dreams
** Most intimately, God speaks to us through our thoughts...


Meeting 8 – Death and the Last Things
=== Five Forms of Prayer ===
# Blessing/Adoration
#* A blessing is a sacramental that asks Gods favor and grace upon a person or object. A blessing is usually imparted by an ordained minister but also can be given by a lay person. The words of a blessing may be accompanied by outstretched hands. the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of water.
#* Catholics adore God alone. This adoration of the divine is called ''latria''. We do not adore the Blessed Virgin Mary and other saints who, though holy, still are merely human beings. The honor or veneration we give to the saints is called ''dulia''; the honor we give too Mary, the Mother of God, is called ''hyperdulia''
# Petition
# Intercession
# Thanksgiving
# Praise


Sources
=== Varieties of Prayer ===
Newman, Bl. John Henry.  The Dream of Gerontius, NY: St. Paul’s, 2001.
These are not mutually exclusive categories but rather different "varieties" of prayer.
Content
* Vocal
* Personal
* Traditional formulas such as the Our Father
* Prayers composed by saints and other people
* Our original compositions
* Spontaneous
* Singing
* Meditation, that is, thinking about God or the things of God.  
* Contemplation, the highest form of prayer, a wordless prayer in which we simply rest quietly in God's presence, basking in God's love. Intuition more than reasoning is involved.


Ecclesiology Overview
=== Jesus, Teacher of Prayer ===


1 Ecclesiology
* He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples. [http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/11 Luke 11:1f]  The Lords Prayer
Church as Sacrament and Communion
* '''Our Father''': We dare to address God as Jesus did, familiarly, as OUR Father. Because the Father,  Son, and Holy spirit are, one, we are addressing the whole Trinity. The Our signifies our communion with all other believers.
Saints, Hierarchy, Religious, People of God  
* '''Who art in heaven''': Where God is, there is Justice and perfect happiness. Heaven is our homeland and already exists in the hearts of the just.
* '''Hallowed be thy name'''. "Hallowed" means holy or "blessed". A person's name stands for the person himself or herself. In this statement we glorify God and ask that everyone live in a way that hallows God.
* '''Thy kingdom come''': God's kingdom or reign is one of peace, justice, and love. We pray that it will spread throughout the world. We pray for the final coming of Christ and the fullness of the kingdom.
* '''Thy will be done''': We pray that people will follow God's all-wise plan.
* '''On earth as it is in heaven''': in heaven angels and saints constantly do what is pleasing to God.
* '''Give us this day our daily Bread''': Bread stands for what we need to live. We depend on the good God for all of our necessities. This bread can also signify the Eucharist.
* '''And forgive us our trespasses:''' We ask God to forgive our sins and failings.
* '''As we forgive those who trespass against us:''' A dangerous petition because we are asking God to forgive us to the extent that we forgive others.
* '''And lead us not, into temptation:''' We ask God to help us discern what is wrong and to keep us safe from whatever may lead us to sin.
* '''But deliver us from evil:''' We petition God to protect us from evil, or the Evil One.


Acts 1- 8:1
=== Ok, I want to pray, now what? ===
CCC 748-781, 796-798, 871-887, 897-913, 946-959
* Remember that our prayer life is a journey. We must constantly refine and grow in our prayer.
2 Eccles.  
* Overcoming the challenges to prayer
Sancification of World –
**  Perhaps the most basic reason why many find it hard to believe in the efficacy of prayer is that often prayers don't seem to be answered. In such a case, it may be that we have not prayed very well. If we routinely mouth a formula, it is not prayer at all. If we pray without trust in God, our prayer will not be heard; for trust is the essence of prayer. But even if our prayer is all that it should be, the answer to it may not be evident. God ''always'' answers sincere prayer but not always in the way that we anticipate. He answers according to his own wisdom. Those who pray in humility and faith ofter receive very literal and obvious answers.
Sin and Penance/Reparation for Sin
** A more subtle reason why some do not believe in the power of prayer is the modern reluctance to believe that God intervenes to alter the course of Nature
The role of the consecrated religious
** The Lord of nature can arrange that nature itself, by its own workings, provides what we request.
Acts 8:1-15:1
* Select a time(s) to dedicate to prayer.  e.g. first thing in the morning, last thing in the evening or both
CCC 781-796, 823-829
* Select a place to pray e.g in a secluded room of my house or at an available chapel. It should be a place that is quiet and without distractions e.g. not on the metrorail on the way to work.
3 Eccles.  
* Select an approach or multiple approaches e.g. Liturgy of the Hours, a daily prayer book or web site.
Prophecying/Proclamation
*
The Magisterium
* Constantly reevaluate your prayer life and commitment to '''grow'''.
Acts 15-22:1
CCC 888-892
4 Eccles.  
Governing and Social Teaching
Dimensions of social teaching
Acts 22-28(concl.)
CCC 857-65, 813-822, 830-856


=== Liturgical Prayer ===
* Mass
* Liturgy of the Hours - Divine Office


Meeting 9: Ecclesiology – The Church as Sacrament and Communion; The Saints, Purgatory, and Structure of the Church Militant
=== Scriptural Prayer ===
* Lectio Divina
=== Catholic Devotions ===
* Devotions to Mary and the Saints
* The Rosary [http://www.theholyrosary.org/ The Holy Rosary.org]
* Divine Mercy Chaplet
* Stations of the Cross
* Eucharistic devotions
* [http://www.rcdom.org.uk/documents/EXAMEN.pdf Examin]


Sources
== Closing Prayer ==
Pray the [http://www.catholicity.com/prayer/divinemercy.html Divine Mercy Chaplet]in the Chapel


Acts 1- 8:1
== Terms ==
CCC 748-781, 796-798, 871-887, 897-913, 946-959
* '''adoration''': our response of praise to God as we stand in awe of his great power, majesty, and goodness.  Source [[The Catholic Way to Pray]]
* '''aspiration''': a one-line prayer. Also called ejaculation.
* '''Benediction''': a Eucharistic devotion in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in a monstrance and we are blessed with it.
* '''blessing''': 1) a prayer calling on God to bestow gifts on a person or to ask God to mark a certain object or place, such as a house, with favor and divine protection; 2) can also set apart a place or object as a means of grace, for example rosaries are blessed; 3) can mean the act of God bestowing grace and favors, as when we say that God blesses us; 4) We can bless God, which means to praise God. canticle: a sung prayer.
* '''centering prayer''': a silent prayer that focuses on God dwelling in the center of us. When attention wanders away from God, we use a word or phrase to come back to God. In essence, centering prayer is resting in God, enjoying God's presence.
* '''chaplet''': a prayer form that uses beads, such as the rosary.
* '''communal prayer''': prayer that is prayed together.
* '''contemplation''': the highest form of prayer, a prayer without words. We are totally rapt in God's presence.
* '''contrition''': We express sorrow for sin, ask forgiveness, and intend to avoid sin in the future.
* '''Divine Office''': see Prayer of Christians.
* '''Eucharistic devotions''': special prayers in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, such as visits to the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction.
* '''examination of conscience''': a review of our life to notice where we have cooperated with God's grace and where we haven't. It is part of preparation for the sacrament of Reconciliation and recommended tobe made each night.
* '''exposition''': making the sacred host visible for adoration by setting it in a monstrance.
* '''grace before/after meals''': In grace before meals we ask God to bless us and the food we are about to eat. In grace after meals we thank God for our food.
*''' holy hour''': an hour spent in prayer usually before the Blessed Sacrament.
* '''indulgence''': the canceling of the debt of satisfaction owed for sin by certain prayers or practices. It can be partial or plenary (complete).
* '''intention''': in prayer, it is some cause for which we offer intercessory prayer, such as world peace.
* '''intercessory prayer''': we ask for something on behalf of another person. Jesus is our intercessor because he constantly prays to the Father for us.
*''' Jesus prayer''': "Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." It is repeated over and over and can be synchronized with breathing.
* '''journaling''': writing one's thoughts and prayers, sometimes daily. This practice makes us more reflective and can produce a richer prayer life.
* '''labyrinth''': a circular path that leads to the center of a circle. As we walk the labyrinth, we pray on the way to the center, which stands for God, and on the way out into the world again.
* '''lectio divina''': sacred reading, a method of prayer that leads to union with God in contemplation. The four steps are:
*# read a passage and stop when a word or phrase catches your attention,
*# reflect on your "word,"
*# respond to God in prayer, and
*# rest in the presence of God. See page 51.
* '''litany''': a long prayer invoking God, Mary or a saint under many titles.
* '''liturgy''': the public worship of the Church: the Eucharist, the sacraments, and the Divine Office.
* '''Liturgy of the Hours''': see Prayer of Christians.
* '''mantra''': a prayer word or phrase that is repeated continually.
* '''May crowning''': a Marian devotion in which a statue of Mary is crowned. This usually occurs in May because it is her month.
* '''meditation''': mental prayer in which we ponder God and the mysteries of our faith.
* '''mental prayer''': prayer that occurs silently in our minds as opposed to vocal prayer, which is said out loud.
* '''novena''': praying a prayer for nine consecutive days or nine hours. The practice is derived from the nine days that Mary and the disciples prayed waiting for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost.
* O-antiphons: nine short prayers that invoke Christ using Old Testament titles. They are prayed in the liturgy on the days right before Christmas. See page 97.
* '''octave''': eight days of prayer.
* '''petition''': prayer asking God for something such as healing, a safe journey, or forgiveness. Jesus encouraged this kind of prayer.
* pilgrimage: a journey to a holy place, such as the Holy Land or a shrine, for religious purposes.
* '''prayer service''': a celebration with a religious theme that incorporates Scripture, prayers, quiet time for reflection, and hymns.
* '''procession''': walking in honor of God usually within a liturgical or devotional service. For example, there are processions within the Mass, and on Good Friday people may process outside with a cross or statue of Christ.
* '''Prayer of Christians''': also called the Liturgy of the Hours and the Divine Office, the official daily prayer of the Church in which the entire day is sanctified. Priests and some religious are obliged to pray it, and all Christians are invited to pray it. There are seven times or hours when these prayers are prayed.
* '''psalms''': the 150 prayer-songs in the Bible's Book of Psalms. They are the Jewish prayer book, and have been adopted by Christians. The psalms, which are Hebrew poetry, express the whole gamut of stances we have toward God: praise, lament, contrition, and thanksgiving.
* '''Raccolta''': a book that is collection of indulgenced Catholic prayers and practices. It was last published in Rome in 1898.
* '''retreat''': a period of time when we withdraw from everyday life and activities to focus on God and our relationship with God. A retreat can be a half day or as long as thirty days. Usually it has various prayer activities, including time for quiet prayer, talks by a retreat director, the celebration of the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Penance.
* '''rosary''': a Marian prayer in which we meditate on mysteries in the life of Christ while praying Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes on a circle of beads. Mary asked us to pray the rosary in her appearances at Lourdes and Fatima.
* '''sacramental''': a blessing or an object that has been blessed and whose use brings graces through the merits of Jesus and the prayers of the Church.
* '''scapular''': an indulgenced sacramental, two small pieces of cloth connected by strings that are worn around the neck. It shows devotion, usually to Our Lady, and is worn continually. After a person has been invested in a cloth scapular by a priest, a scapular medal may be substituted for it.
* '''Stations of the Cross''': Way of the Cross a devotion in which we remember Jesus' passion as we walk from station to station and pray. Each of the fourteen stations has a cross and art depicting one event of the passion.
* '''spiritual bouquet''': a gift of prayers and good works. It usually lists the numbers of prayer and good works that are being offered for the recipient.
* '''spontaneous prayer''': informal prayer, vocal prayer that is not written down, prayed by rote using a formula prayer, or rehearsed.
* '''Taize prayer''': the Taize method of praying originated with an ecumenical community of monks in Taize, France. It mainly consists of chanting short prayers over and over alternating with periods of quiet prayer.
* '''thanksgiving''': a main purpose of prayer. We express our gratitude to God for all his loving acts of creation and redemption.
* '''triduum''': three days of prayer, such as the Holy Week Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday/Easter Sunday.
* '''veneration of a relic''': relics are parts of a saint's body, something a saint has used, or material that has been touched to a saint. These are displayed in a case called a reliquary and people may venerate them in a ritual of prayer.
* '''Viaticum''': the Communion that a dying person receives
* '''vigil light''': votive candle, a candle that is lit for an intention. A prayer is said and a donation is made. The flame represents the prayer rising to heaven.
* '''vocal prayer''': prayer prayed aloud.
* [[Glossary#XX | XX]]


Ratzinger, Joseph.  Called to Communion.  San Francisco: Ignatius, 1996. Ch. I and V.
== Cultural Applications ==
Weigel, George.  The Truth of Catholicism. NY: Harper Collins, 2001. Ch. III.
== Homework for next session ==
 
Make up a personal plan for the next step in your prayer journey. e.g. I will get a subscription to Magnificat or I will go to [http://www.sacredspace.ie/ Sacred Space]each morning before breakfast.  Then, make a personal commitment to take that first step
Content
[[Category:Catechesis]]
 
[[Category:RCIA]]
Church as a Sacrament of Union
What is a sacrament?
CCC – an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to
the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit.  The sacraments are seven…”
 
Born of the Crucifixion
The moment of highest union between God and man… as God experienced human death
Union symbolized by pouring forth of water and blood from the side of
Christ (Jn. 19:31-35)
Anticipated at Last Supper…  Last Supper occurred in light of the crucifixion.
Completed/Perfected at Pentecost (Acts 2)
The union is a nuptial union
Eph. 5:21-32
Union by sacrifice and love leads to the giving forth of life.
By the union effected through his Church, Christ liberates man from slavery to sin and death. (cf. Ratzinger V)
(images of Michaelangelo’s slaves)
Church as Communion
By theosis, we enter communion with God… and through that relationship we enter communion with each other.
(this is the real understanding of  “community” in Church… the goal is always closer union with God)
 
a matter of descendant analogy, not ascendant anology
 
Began with the qu’hal on Mt. Sinai
Continued in the temple liturgy (I Kings 8:1-7, 1-13)
Tearing of the Temple Veil on Good Friday (Mk. 15:33-39)
Pentecost – beginning of the new qu’hal, the ecclesia
Peter preaching in the Temple (Acts 2:14-ff; 3)
The Four Marks of the Church (seen in Roman Canon below)
One
There is only one Church instituted by Chirst (more to come in later meeting on ecumenism)
“Catholic” with a big “C”
Holy
Church in heaven, purgatory, on earth
The “levels” of renaissance art
catholic
universality of the Church (catholic with a little “c”)
graces won on behalf of all, through the sacrifice offered in the one
Church
Apostolic
Founded on the faith/Tradition of the Apostles
This is why Acts and the Pauline letters are so important
“Sent” into the world to engage the world as the Apostles did
(end of Matthew’s Gospel)
 
To you, most merciful Father, we
make humble prayer and petition,
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our
Lord:
that you accept and bless these gifts, these offerings, these holy and unblemished sacrifices,
which we offer you first of all for your holy catholic Church. Be pleased to grant her peace, to guard, unite and govern her throughout the whole world, together with your servant N. our Pope and N. our Bishop, and all those who, holding to the truth, hand on the catholic and apostolic faith.
 
Remember, Lord, your servants N. and N. and all gathered here, whose faith and devotion are known to you. For them and all who are dear to them, we offer you this sacrifice of praise for the redemption of their souls, in hope of health and well-being, and fulfilling their vows to you, the eternal God, living and true.
 
In communion with those whose
memory we venerate, especially the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ, and blessed Joseph, Spouse of the same Virgin, your blessed Apostles and Martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, [James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and
Jude: Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian] and all your Saints:through their merits and prayers, grant that in all things we
may be defended by your protecting help.
 
Therefore, Lord, we pray:
graciously accept this oblation of our service, that of your whole family;order our days in your peace, and command that we be delivered from eternal damnation and counted among the flock of those you have chosen. [Through Christ our Lord. Amen.]
 
Be pleased, O God, we pray, to bless, acknowledge, and approve this offering in every respect; make it spiritual and acceptable, so that it may become for us the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
On the day before he was to suffer he took bread in his holy and venerable hands, and with eyes raised to heaven to you, O God, his almighty Father, giving you thanks he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT: FOR THIS IS MY BODY WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.
In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took this precious chalice into his holy and venerable hands, and once more giving you thanks, he said the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT: FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT; WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.
 
Therefore, O Lord, we celebrate the memorial of the blessed Passion, the Resurrection from the dead, and the glorious Ascension into heaven of Christ, your Son, our Lord, we, your servants and your holy people, offer to your glorious majesty, from the gifts that you have given us, this pure victim, this holy victim, this spotless victim, the holy Bread of eternal life and the Chalice of everlasting salvation.
Be pleased to look upon them with serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.
 
In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God: command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us who through this participation at the altar receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing.
 
Remember also, Lord, your servants N. and N., who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace. Grant them, O Lord, we pray, and all who sleep in Christ, a place of refreshment, light, and peace. [Through Christ our Lord. Amen.]
To us also your sinful servants who hope in your abundant mercies, graciously grant some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, [Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia] and all your Saints, admit us, we beg you, into their company, not weighing our merits but granting us pardon, through Christ our Lord.
 
Cultural Component:
Orchestration of the Creed and Te Deum
 
HW – Read
LG V
CCC 781-796, 823-829
Weigel - The Truth of Catholicism, Ch. VII, X
 
Meeting 10: Ecclesiology – Church as sanctifier, sin, forgiveness and redemptive suffering
 
Sources
 
Acts 8:1-15:1
II Cor. 4:7-11
Lumen Gentium, Chapter V.
CCC 781-796, 823-829
Cerfaux, Lucien.  Christ in the Theology of St. Paul.  NY: Herder and Herder, 1967. pp.
336-339.
-----.  The Christian in the Theology of St. Paul.  NY: Herder and Herder, 1967. pp. 130-
135.
Escriva, St. Josemaria.  The Way.  NY: Scepter, 1982.
Pratt, Fernand, The Theology of Saint Paul.  Westminster: The Newman Press, 1950. 
vol. II, pp.344-345.
Weigel, George.  The Truth of Catholicism. NY: Harper Collins, 2001. Ch. VII, X.
 
See also: Raztinger, Joseph.  The Meaning of Christian Brotherhood.  San Francisco:
    Ignatius.
 
Content
 
The People of God are chosen, insofar as they are called… in their universal vocation to holiness. (LG,V) 
In imitation of the Trinity, we are called to be a communio personarum
Following the teachings of Christ, summed up (in this case) in the command, “be
perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt. 5:48)
 
There is a corporate dimension to this… we are saved as individuals, yes, but also and always as a body… because we are only saved by incorporation into Christ…and this is holiness.
The three facets to how the People of God live their call to holiness are the Triple Munera
Priestly – Sanctifying
Prophetic – Teaching
Royal – Governing
 
On the sanctifying office of Christ –
On entering the People of God through faith and Baptism, one receives a share in this people’s unique, priestly vocation: “Christ the Lord, high priest taken from among men, has made this new people a kingdom of priests to God his Father. The baptized by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy priesthood.” (CCC 784)
 
One body with Christ as head… one ministry that flows through him, with him, and in him.  NOT of our own accord.
The holiness of the Church on earth is real but imperfect… to be fulfilled in heaven among the saints.
She is holy in her Lord and Creator, in her mission, and in her sainted
members.
 
Thus, the sanctification of the world is
something that happens only in Christ,
and only over time.
How does this sanctification happen?
Per se, in the sacraments, especially the mass.
 
Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy
Charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbors in their bodily and spiritual needs (2447).
The spiritual works of mercy include instructing, advising, consoling, comforting, forgiving, and patiently forbearing.
Corporal works of mercy include feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, sheltering the homeless, and burying the dead (2447). (CCC – Glossary)
Daily prayer and the sanctification of daily life
-mention St. Josemaria Escriva and his text, “The Way”
- discussion of lay movements and 3rd Orders
All of these are priestly functions, done as such by the priests/religious and
followed during the course of daily life by the laity.
 
Keeping the saints as our guides
Pick patrons
On Redemptive Suffering
“Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his
glory?” (Lk. 24:26-27, 44-45) (CCC 572-ff)
-Jesus own interpretation of the Old Testament on the road to Emmaus.
All of us partake in the suffering of Christ as part of our priestly ministry for the remission of sins/death.
II Cor 4:7-11
But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power
may be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not strained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.  For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
Cerfaux, Christ in…, pp. 336-339
Pratt, The Theology of… v.II, pp. 344-345.
 
Acts 14:22
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."
 
Rm. 8:16-18
The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.  I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
 
Cor. 2:1-5
When I came to you, brothers, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not
come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.  I came to you in weakness  and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive (words of) wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
 
Thess. 2:14; 3:1-3
For you, brothers, have become imitators of the churches of God that are
in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you suffer the same things from your compatriots as they did from the Jews,
 
This is why, when we could bear it no longer, we decided to remain alone in Athens and sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one be disturbed in these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.
 
II Thess. 1:5
This is evidence of the just judgment of God, so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering.
Philip. 1:29, 3:8-11
For to you has been granted, for the sake of Christ, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.
 
I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and (the) sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
 
Suffering
Accepting what we receive in life
Voluntarily taking on suffering
Examples from among the saints
Daily practices
 
Lent – a time dedicated to redemptive suffering
Constitutes part of our daily life… and so part of our apostolate… including the apostolate of married people
Aims at joy… to be both received… and handed on…
 
Sanctification – a public mission (for the good of the world) done in private (“close your door and pray”)
 
Meeting 11: Ecclesiology – Prophecying and Proclamation, The Magisterium
 
Sources
 
Acts 15-22:1
CCC 888-892, 904-907, 2030-2040
DV 7-ff
Pastor aeternus (Vatican I)
 
Marmion, Bl. Columba.  Christ the Life of the Soul.  Bethesda: Zaccheus Press, 2005. pp.
107-130.
 
Content
 
(Before beginning, how’s the search for a patron saint going?)
 
 
Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
-Jn. 8:31-32
 
Because Jesus himself is the fulfillment of prophecy and of the prophets, so the Church is
prophetic and so she has a responsibility to prophecy (i.e. preach) to the nations… for the
truth will set us free.
Recall, people may understand things by reading them, but they believe them by hearing
them from those they know.
Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word
of Christ.  (Rm. 10:17)
 
We pass on our faith to others, faith in the PDR of Christ and all that logically
follows (i.e. Church teaching)
Christianity is nothing else than the acceptance – with all its remotest doctrinal and practical consequences – of the divinity of Christ in the Incarnation. (Marmion pg. 181)
 
Everyone’s responsibility:
Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, ‘that is
the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life.’  For lay people, ‘this evangelization … acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world.’
This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is one on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ the word, either to unbelievers … or to the faithful.
 
(CCC, 905 – quoting LG, 35 and AA 6, AG, 15)
How did it all begin?
Begins with the Apostles as fulfillment of the prophets (DV, 7)
Starts as personal, oral tradition… then put to paper in the inspired books.
Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours. (II Thess. 2:15)
 
Submission to the Church
This submission to the Church is strictly speaking what distinguishes a Catholic from a protestant.  For example, the latter may believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist; but if he believes in it, it is because he has found this doctrine in the Scriptures and in Tradition, by his own efforts and his personal lights.  The Catholic believes it because the Church, which stands in the place of Christ, teaches it to him.  … The protestant does not submit to any authority, he is dependent only on himself.  The Catholic receives Christ, with all that he has taught and founded.  Christianity is in practice, submission to Christ in the person of the Sovereign Pontiff and the pastors united to him…  (Marmion 111)
 
I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers. (Lk. 22:32)
 
Preserved today in the bishops and faithful
To be publicly defended
Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ: may mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.  Beloved, although I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel a need to write to encourage you to contend for the faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones. (Jude 1-3)
Scripture and Tradition
Demands of us both prayer and study.
To aide in all of this, Christ endows the Church with the Magisterium (teaching office)
CCC Definition - The living, teaching office of the Church, whose task it is to give as authentic interpretation of the word of God, whether in its written form (Sacred Scripture), or in the form of Tradition. The Magisterium ensures the Church's fidelity to the teaching of the Apostles in matters of faith and morals (85, 890, 2033).
 
This is part of the Church not only giving the life of Christ to her children, but also nourishing them in it.
Nourishing the people of God is always the starting point of the prophetic office (pastorally speaking).
Such is the office of the Bishops with input from the pastors, theologians and “spiritual authors” (i.e. saints and mystics)
Ordinary vs. Extraordinary
Bishops
Pope
 
Infallibility (Review construction and content of Pastora Aeternus
[Vatican I]).
 
Meeting 12: Ecclesiology - Governing and Social Teaching  (Dimensions of Social Teaching, Ecumenism)
Sources
 
Acts 22-28(concl.)
CCC 857-65, 813-822, 830-856
 
Pont. Council for Justice and Peace.  Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. 
Vatican City: LEV, 2005.  pp. XXI – XXIII, 1-10.
Anderson, Karl.  A Civilization of Love.  NY: Haper One, 2008.
 
Dulles, Avery.  Outstanding Christian Thinkers: John Henry Newman.  New York:
Continuum, 2002.
Ramsey, Boniface.  Beginning to Read the Fathers.  London: SCM Press Limited, 1998.
Ratzinger, Joseph.  Called to Communion.  San Francisco: Igantius, 1996. pp 77-ff.
Wuerl, Lawler & Lawler (Ed.), The Gift of Faith.  Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 2001.
pp. 148-ff.
 
See also – Ratzinger, Joseph.  Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World
Religions.  San Francisco: Ignatius, 2003.
 
Give them an examen, to help prepare for Scrutinies
 
 
 
Content
 
Back to basics:
One Lord, who assembled the Church as the new quahal / ecclesia of the People of God and left us his presence in the one Eucharist, which he offered and continues to offer through his representatives, the bishops. (Ratzinger 77-ff)
 
From the beginning, the Church has been a “top down” family, with Jesus at the top… Jesus was not elected by the Apostles, he chose them.  Thus, our frame of reference must always be Christ governing his Church.
The traditional concept of Christ “governing” the Church can never be
separated from his identity as the Good Shepherd.
So, to maintain the unity of the Church, in and under Christ, the bishops have a
responsibility (and authority) to govern the Church in his name.
 
Further – this new quahal/ecclesia is intended for all who accept it.  (cf. Gal.
3:28)… thus it must be public, liberated, and accessible to all.  Within this universal purview, the Church proposes her teaching as a guide for the governance of all peoples.
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (MT. 28:19-20)
 
Finally – The Church’s governing role is part of the governing role of Christ himself, by which he redeems/re-makes the world… restoring the world to the image and likeness of God… his image and likeness
In this way we participate in exercising dominion over all the earth (see. Genesis)
Social Teaching – the “how” of the regal office
Began to be enunciated as such in the 20th century by Pope Leo XIII
Just a few examples
Leo XIII
Arcanum – on marriage family and the phenom. of divorce
Rerum Novarum – on the rights of workers and the dignity of work
Pius XI
Casti Conubii – the chastity before/in marriage
Quadragesimo Anno – on the reconstruction of social order 40
years after Rer. Nov.
Paul VI
Humanae Vitae – on marriage, human life, abortion, and
Contraception
John Paul II
Centessimus Anno – on the 100th anniversary of Rer. Nov.
Evangelium Vitae – on human life issues
Laborem Exercens – on the dignity of human work
Solicitudo Rei Socialis – on the Church’s Social Teaching
Familiaris Consortio – on family life
Utilizes universally recognizable natural law reasoning
Handout: Wuerl et. al. (ed.). The Gift of Faith. pp. 148-ff.
 
Review handout of introductory texts from The Compendium of the Social
Doctrine of the Church.
Review Compendium Table of Contents for survey of the scope of Social
teaching.
What about the other churches?
The Church Fathers highlighted unity as the principal mark of the Church (cf.
Ramsey)
 
Unity of faith – and thus of doctrine fed into the bishop’s governing office
Faith in Christ demanded an adequate and unified answer to the question, “Who is Christ?”
See – Christological controversies of the first five centuries
Unity of Love – unified by and in the loving salvific act of Christ
Thus, to violate the unity of the Church was considered a sin against both
faith and charity.
The other Christian communities are split between three groups:
Non-Latin Catholics
Eastern Orthodox Churches
Western ecclesial communities (protestant reformation)
 
Note: difference between Church and ecclesial community
Comment on the development of spiritual ecumenism
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Meeting 13: Moral Theology I – The Search for Happiness, Virtues, the Structure of the Decalogue
 
Sources
Mt. 19: 16-ff
John Paul II.  Veritatis Splendor.  June 8, 1993.
CCC – 1691-1876
US Catholic Catechism for Adults, chapter 23
 
Pinckaers, Servais.  Morality, the Catholic View.  South Bend: St. Augustine’s Press,
2001.
----------------------.  The Sources of Christian Ethics.  Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2001.
Wuerl, Lawler & Lawler (Ed.), The Gift of Faith.  Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 2001.
pp. 148-ff.
 
Content
 
Begin with asking about basic conceptions of morality… “What do you think when you
hear ‘moral theology’.”
 
Mt. 19:16-ff  The encounter between Jesus and the rich young man
GS 22 – only in the mystery of Christ does the mystery of man become clear
Jn. 8:32 – the Truth will se you free
Jesus is the Truth
The truth and its demands of us (i.e. moral theology) are intimately
linked to freedom in heaven.
VS 17 – Human freedom and God’s Law are not in opposition; on the
contrary, they appeal to one another.
“Catholic moral teaching is not a mere code of prescriptions and prohibitions.  It
is not something that the Church teaches merely to keep people obedient, doing violence to their freedom.  Rather, Catholic morality is a response to the aspirations of the human heart for truth and goodness.” (Pinckaers, Morality… p.1)
 
“Christian ethics is the branch of theology that studies human acts so as to direct them to a loving vision of God seen as our true complete happiness and our final end.  This vision is attained by means of grace, the virtues and the gifts, in the light of revelation and reason.” (Pinckaers, Sources of… p.8)
“branch of theology” – like all theology, morality is aimed at becoming
more like God in Jesus Christ.  While described as a branch, morality cannot be seen apart from the other categories of theology (e.g. liturgy, scripture, dogma)
 
“human acts” – the physical matters! 
 
“vision of God” – understood as a state of being (i.e. beatitude in heaven)
 
in bold – moral theology incorporates every dimension of human life
as reflected in the story of the rich young man
grace – at work in him called him to Christ… only by grace
can we hope to come to the end of our pilgrimage by following Christ.
Virtues – see below, focus on habitual dispositions
Gifts – pneumatological dimension
Revelation and reason – working hand in hand as we incarnate our faith.
Parsing out Mt. 19:16-22
Now someone approached him and said,
 
From the very outset, we see that the dialogue of moral theology is deeply
personal (persona-based)… What draws us to Christ?
Prevenient grace
Reason
Revelation (hearing the word of God)
Personal encounters with others
 
"Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"
action is necessary
man as unity of spirit and body
goal: eternal life
happiness/beatitude
the great human questions: death, evil, meaning in life
direct link b/t human activity and afterlife
anatomy of the human act (object, intention, circumstance)
 
He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good.  If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, " 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother'; and 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" 
Importance of revelation
Living of the natural law
Structure of the commandments (1-5, 6-10 // rel. to God and to
man)
All goodness comes from God
 
The young man said to him, "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?"
Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
The big picture… it’s about being totally generous… total outpouring, just
as the Trinity is.
(see above: There is only one who is good)
Everything has to be given back to God (exitus/reditus)
Then come, follow me."
“come follow” = deute (Gk.) – equivalent to a rousing charge
“Forward!” in English… an encouragement.
Mt. 4:18-22
Mk. 1:16-20
Lk. 5:1-9
Jn. 1:35-39
In Jn. – the call is linked with the concept of “remaining” with Jesus…
being in total intimate union with him.
 
The Virtues – The “how” of the moral life
 
A habitual and firm disposition to do the good. The moral virtues are acquired through human effort aided by God's grace; the theological virtues are gifts of God.  (CCC –Glossary)
 
Love
Faith
Hope
Review – as found in CCC Glossary… and difference
Prudence     between Theological and Moral Virtues.
Justice …and the three theological in terms of Pieper’s
Temperance understanding
Fortitude
 
Love as the highest virtue according to Augustine:
As to whether virtue leads us to the happy life, I hold that virtue is nothing
other than the perfect love of God.  Now, when it is said that virtue has a fourfold division, as I understand it, this is said according to the various movements of love.  Thus, these four virtues I do not hesitate to define them as follows: temperance is love giving itself entirely to the beloved; courage is love readily bearing all things for the sake of the beloved; justice is love serving only the beloved and therefore ruling rightly; prudence is love distinguishing wisely between what hinders it and what helps it.  But as we have said, the object of this love is nothing other than God, the sovereign good, the highest wisdom and the perfect harmony.  We may therefore define these virtues as follows: temperance is love preserving itself entire and uncorrupt for God; courage is love readily bearing all things for the sake of God; justice is love serving only God, and therefore ruling well everything else that is subject to the human person; prudence is love discerning well between what helps it toward God and what hinders it. ( from - de moribus ecclesiae catholicae)
 
Meeting 14: Moral Theology II – The New Law of Grace, the Sermon on the Mount and Rm. 12-15
 
Sources
 
Mt. 5
Rm. 12-15
 
Pinckaers, Servais.  Morality, the Catholic View.  South Bend: St. Augustine’s Press,
2001.
----------------------.  The Sources of Christian Ethics.  Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2001.
 
Content
 
“The sermon contains all the precepts needed for our guidance in the Christian life.”
-St. Augustine
 
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus matures the understanding of the law from an external
consideration to an internal guide… almost like a moral spiritual director.  The internal
and external result of this is the growth of the Kingdom of God.
In Christ we find the perfect meeting of the Law, the Prophets, Greek thought…
in a word, true sapientia (hagia Sophia) – He himself becomes our law
 
The sermon is the first of the 5 discourses that give structure to Matthew’s entire Gospel.  As the first, it contains the major principles of the rest in concentrated form.
 
Mt. 4:17 Jesus begins his public ministry: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Already fully realized in the incarnation
Not Yet fully realized in our own humanity
 
The kingdom of God – his rule and not merely his rules… he now reigns/governs
 
Mt. 5: 1-12 The Beatitudes
Note form: Blessed are…they will be (establishes a hope and its fulfillment)
Our inability to fulfill these hopes completely [on earth] demands of us a radical
and total dependency on God… itself a fulfillment of the X
 
Blessed – satisfies Gk. Demand for eudaimonia
vv13-17
Salt of the earth… light of the world
Our dependence on God, our blessedness is to be lived out loud… in the
world.
vv20-ff
e.g.
I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
 
Jesus presents us with a maturing sense of righteousness (justice) or “right
relationship with God… directly in opposition of the scribes and
Pharisees… the establishment, known for their public displays and their concern for external law w/ no regard to the internal.
“You have heard it said… but I say to you…”
Christ is speaking with a remarkable authority…putting himself on
par with Moses
But more than this, note the integration of internal and external he
is proposing.
Improving the unity of body and soul makes us more excellent human beings
Links in with virtues as the building blocks of our morality
Mt 6:1-8
The 3 primary foci of our moral action are then reviewed by Christ
Mutual aid = almsgiving
Asceticism = fasting
Prayer = prayer
 
We do all so that the FATHER may see… all a gift for the Father.  All
rooted in love of God.
vv9-15 the Our Father
The opening lines of any dialogue between the believer and the Father
 
Augustine’s reflections on the Sermon
The beatitudes are 7 (the eighth is a summary) – representing steps in the growth
of the Christian, culminating in martyrdom
Each step corresponds to a gift of the Holy Spirit as enumerated by Isaiah in Is. 11 
as well as a petition of the Our Father.
Gift Beat. Explan.
 
Fear of the Lord Poverty/humility It makes the heart humble
and contrite… alerts us to our human condition showing the need to accept the cross.
Hallowed be thy name…
 
Piety b/f God Meekness docility to Scripture builds
the Kingdom
Thy Kingdom come…
 
Knowledge Weeping/mourning Reminds us that we are
sinners and teaches us how to improve… teaches us to love for love’s sake and reminds us to be hopeful and not despair.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…
 
Fortitude Hunger for justice Sustains the efforts of those
fighting for justice b/f God… true justice comes to the Christian through crucifixion… and so leads us to the Love of the Trinity.
Give us this day our daily bread (sustainence for the fight)
 
Counsel Bl. are the merciful The Lord advises us always
to be as merciful to ourselves as we are to others.  Recall our goal is love of God and neighbor.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…
 
Understanding Purity of heart The pure of heart have a
clearer vision of the mysteries of God.
Lead us not into tempteation
 
Wisdom Peacemakers Christ is himself the ultimate
wisdom… total union with him is the only way to achieve true peace within the self and with others.
Deliver us from evil.
 
The eighth beatitude presents humanity in its perfection and so contains
within itself all the others.
 
Romans 12-15
A moral exhortation in the Spirit by one who has taken the journey himself (Paul)
Nb. A deeply personal approach by Paul
Paraklesis – exhortation in the Spirit (parakletos)
vs. paranesis – which is, roughly, a basic recommendation
Paul is laying out factors in the development of a moral life over time.
12:1 – frames Christian life as a liturgical act
…offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God,
your spiritual worship.
12:3-8 – as with any liturgical act, life is to be led in an ecclesial context…
within the Body of Christ, the Church… each member fulfilling his/her given role based on given talents etc.
 
12:9-13 – the love lived within the Church as we generously give ourselves has certain characteristics outlined here.
 
12:14-21 – recalling the Sermon on the Mount, Paul discusses the blessing of one’s enemies… the ultimate agape lived, as Christ lived it from the cross.
 
13:1-10 – living the moral life within civil society… obedience to the state
 
13:11-14 – eschatological goal
 
chapters 14-15… not leading your brothers to sin … discussion of dietary issues.
 
Meeting 15: Moral Theology III – Sexual Ethics
 
Sources
Gn. 1-3
 
CCC 1762-1770; 2331-2391
U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults, pp 403-ff
Conoboy, Rev. Shawn.  Towards a Masculine Spirituality in the Teachings of John Paul
II. Roma: Teresianum, 2007.
(Conoboy’s analysis/description of Wojtyla’s Acting Person)
 
For Further Reading
West, Chrisopher. Theology of the Body Explained
See also www.christopherwest.com
 
Content
The nuptial meaning of the body
Person as relation
With self
Transcending from natura to persona by action:
At the level of nature, we react to stimuli received.  By action, we
self-possess and transcend to the level of the person.  The ultimate act of self-possession is self gift (i.e. sacrifice)
In relation to others
In relation to God
The artistic vision of the body… the vision of the Creator as he beholds the
beauty of his creation. 
Original to Genesis
Marred by the entry of shame into the picture
Redemption of the body and its nuptial meaning in the perfect gift of Christ on the
Cross
Preserved and modeled in the Sacraments (esp. Eucharist, Marriage and Holy Orders)
Maintained by the virtues of chastity and purity of heart
CCC definitions
Focus on the integration that is achieved in chastity… and
the life-long dimension of it.
First context for living of these virtues: friendship
 
Sins against chastity (CCC 2351-ff)
 
MYSTAGOGIA – THE SACRAMENTS
 
Baptism
 
This isn’t something we just ‘made up’
 
Rom. 6:3-11 [Epistle for Easter Vigil]
 
Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.  For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.  We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.  For a dead person has been absolved from sin.  If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.  We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him.  As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God.  Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as (being) dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.
 
Anonymous sermon – O of R, Wed. of Holy Week (p582)
 
Words associated with… (CCC 1214-ff)
(Gk) Baptizein – to immerse or plunge (“taking the plunge”)
 
“the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit”
Titus 3:5  not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his
mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit
Jn 3:5 Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without
being born of water and Spirit.
 
Enlightenment (CCC 1216)
“Those who receive this [catechetical] instruction are enlightened in their understanding” (St. Justin, Apologia)
“Having received in Baptism the Word, the ‘true light that enlightens every man,’ the person baptized has been enlightened, he becomes a ‘son of light,’ indeed, he becomes ‘light’ himself” (Jn. 1:9, Thess. 5:5, Hb 10:32, Eph. 5:8)
 
“Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift. . . .We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship.” (St. Gregory Nazianzen, Oratio 40)
 
Where did it come from?
CCC 1217
Blessing of the water
Father, you give us grace through sacramental signs,
                    which tell us of the wonders of your unseen power.
In Baptism we use your gift of water,
which you have made a rich symbol
of the grace you give us in this sacrament.
At the very dawn of creation
your Spirit breathed on the waters,
making them the wellspring of all holiness.
The waters of the great flood
you made a sign of the waters of Baptism,
that make an end of sin and a new beginning of goodness.
You freed the children of Abraham from the slavery of Pharaoh,
bringing them dry-shod through the waters of the Red Sea,
to be an image of the people set free in Baptism.
 
Melito of Sardis, Easter Homily (O of R Easter Monday, p.554) – on types and fulfillments
 
In the Church from the beginning
Acts 2:38 Peter speaking at Pentecost
Peter (said) to them, "Repent and be baptized, 7 every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.
 
Acts 16:31-33 Conversion of Paul and Silas’ Jailer (infant baptism)
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be
saved."  So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.  He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized at once.  He brought them up into his house and provided a meal and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God.
 
The rite is somewhat self-explanatory
Welcome and the Sign of the Cross –
Baptism and entry into the community of Christ’s death and resurrection
Word of God
Various readings explain how it is that we were justified
St. Anastasius, Oratio 4 (O of R Easter Tuesday, p.568)
Exorcisms and Annointing
Forgiveness of Original Sin
Healing of the Soul
Blessing of the Water
(see above)
calls down the Holy Spirit
Promises (creed)
This is the stuff of our faith, our response to God’s love
Jerusalem Catechesis (O of R Easter Thursday, p.596)
Chrism
Royal dignity
Jerusalem Catechesis (O of R Easter Friday, p.609)
The light and the garment
Eph. 6:11-17
Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.  Put on the
armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.  For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.  Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.  So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
 
 
The Holy Eucharist
 
Sources
Office of Readings – II Week of Easter
Wuerl, Donald Card., The Mass, NY: Doubleday, 2011.
Hahn, Scott, The Lamb’s Supper, NY: Doubleday, 1999.
Hahn, Scott, Letter and Spirit, NY: Doubleday, 2005.
 
Content
 
The Eucharist as understood by the Fathers
Theodore the Studite (759-826) – II Friday of Easter p. 677
The Cross is the tree of new life… the fruit we eat of it is Christ’s Body and
Blood
Leo the Great (d.461)
Lead in fro baptism to Eucharist
Justin Martyr (100-165) – O of R, III Sunday of Easter p. 694
No ordinary food and drink
Fulgentius of Ruspe (462-533), II Tuesday of Easter p. 652
The Church is the Body of Christ, offering his sacrifice
Gaudentius of Brescia (d.410) p.669
Nourishment for the journey of life
Christ did not leave us alone
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Basis in the Book of Revelation
Development from agape meal to the mass today
The Constantinian revolution
Expressions within the one church (Greek, Latin, Mozarabic etc.)
Q&A on the various sections of the mass
 
Penance
 
Sources
Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, NY: Doubleday, 2007, pp. 157-160 (“Forgive us our
Trespasses”).

Latest revision as of 16:20, 11 December 2012

Prayer

Opening Prayer

  • The Lord's Prayer

references/sources

Web resources

Scripture

Content

What prayer is not

  • the Lords Prayer
  • Discussion about why this not prayer and how it relates to the way we pray.

What prayer is

  • a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God CCC-2558
  • Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God. But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God." CCC 2559
  • "the breath of the Holy Spirit - Blessed John Paul II
  • "... a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven; it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy" - Therese of Lisieux:
  • True prayer is nothing but love. Augustine:
  • the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself. John Vianney:
  • Everyone needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy, then we need an hour. Francis de Sales:
  • the raising of one’s mind and heart to God - Damascene
  • being alone in a dark room with the beloved Newman:
  • "Our hearts are restless, O God, until they rest in you." - St. Augustine
  • There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus - Blaise Paschal
  • a conversation with one whom you know loves you." - St. Teresa of Avila
  • it is a call to walk with God as Noah did. Vaghi
  • In this life we can come into God through prayer, traditionally defined as the "lifting of the mind and heart to God". Whenever we think of or speak with God, we are praying.

What do these terms mean?

  • Personal – persona, between persons, between you and the Holy Spirit. The person is the joining of body and soul… of mind and flesh… so don’t check your intellect at the door. Prayer is not where passion takes over (contrary to what the movies say).
  • Prayer is also, therefore, fundamentally connected with the human will. We don’t pray just when we “feel” like it. It is a duty, it is work…. As much as it is a place of comfort.

Prayer is, in this context, also fundamentally sacrificial… connecting the holy work we do with the dialogue we have with the Trinity.

  • Vital – vita, life giving e.g. St. Ignatius Loyola – praying in recovery at the castle > founding of Society of the Jesus aka the Jesuits
    • St. Philip Neri – praying about leaving Rome for the Holy Land > brought about the conversion of Rome.
    • St. Elizabeth Ann Seton – starting her little school gave life to a revolution of education.
    • ?Personal example? Forgiveness for family… teaching lessons about mercy
  • Thus, prayer is not a matter of boring legal prescription.
  • Prayer is always in Christ (en kristo)- Since we are entirely dependent on God, we must acknowledge an d express this sovereignty of the Creator, as the devout people of every age have done by means of prayer. Prayer directed to God must be linked with Christ, the Lord of all, the one Mediator through whom alone we have access to God. He unites to himself the whole human community in such a way that there is an intimate bond between the prayer of Christ and the prayer of all humanity. In Christ and in Christ alone human worship of God receives redemptive value and attains its goal. (GILOH - 6)
  • The excellence of Christian prayer lies in its sharing in the reverent love of the only-begotten Son for the Father and in the prayer that the Son put into words in his earthly life and that still continues without ceasing in the name of the whole human race and for its salvation through the universal Church and all its members. (GILOH – 7)
  • From Pope Benedict XVI

“Christian mysticism….is not in the first instance immersion in the depths of oneself, but encounter with the Spirit of God in the word that goes ahead of us. It is encounter with the Son and the Holy Spirit and thus a becoming one with the living God who is always both in us and above us….The fact that Luke places the Our Father in the context of Jesus’ own praying is significant.… Jesus thereby involves us in his own prayer; he leads us into the interior dialogue of triune love; he draws our human hardships deep into God’s heart, as it were. This also means, however, that the words of the Our Father are signposts to interior prayer, they provide a basic direction for our being, and they aim to configure us to the image of the Son. The meaning of the Our Father goes much further than the mere provision of a prayer text. It aims to form our being, to train us in the inner attitude of Jesus (cf. Phil. 2:5).”

Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, 131-132.

  • The ultimate prayer en kristo is the Our Father… located at the end of the Sermon on the Mount as the summation of Jesus’ teaching on prayer and Christian living. (c.f. Mt. 5)

n.b. the Our Father is fundamentally related to the living and learning of the virtues, themselves at the heart of the moral life.

  • In other words – only Christ prays perfectly, so pray in union with him
    • Girls - Exemplified in the Garden…
    • Boys- and in the praetorium/via dolorosa.
  • Listen to Christ in Jn. 17. Can you find a “personal and vital

relationship” at work here?

  • Continuing to follow the model of the passion and death, we see that

prayer is always part of our response to God. …The passion and death were Christ’s ultimate response to the love of the Father (again, exemplified in Jn. 17)

  • Christ’s prayer also shows the marks of prayer
    • Humility
      • Lk 18:9-14 prayer of the Pharisee vs. Tax Collector
    • Watchfulness (eschatological awareness)
      • Mk 13:33 - Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come
      • Lk 21:36 - Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man
    • Perservering confidence in God’s goodness
      • Lk 18:1-8 – the widow who persistently made her case to the judge
      • Jn 16:23 – whatever you ask of the Father in my name he will give you.
    • Conforms to the nature of God
      • Mt 6:5-8 – pray with your Father in the room of your heart
      • Jn 4:23 – the time is coming when all will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth
  • Prayer is always, in some sense, communal
    • It is the Body of Christ that prays
    • Prayer speaks to the longing of all human hearts
    • Integrates as part of man’s social identity
  • Prayer engages in five primary actions (often-times they are mixed together)
    • Adoration
    • Petition [that God should do something]
    • Intercession
    • Thanksgiving
    • Praise


  • Prayer involves both speaking and listening.
  • How God Speaks
    • All of God's creation
    • Sacred Scripture
    • Through other people. Their words and actions can convey a divine message
    • Through our experiences, even our dreams
    • Most intimately, God speaks to us through our thoughts...

Five Forms of Prayer

  1. Blessing/Adoration
    • A blessing is a sacramental that asks Gods favor and grace upon a person or object. A blessing is usually imparted by an ordained minister but also can be given by a lay person. The words of a blessing may be accompanied by outstretched hands. the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of water.
    • Catholics adore God alone. This adoration of the divine is called latria. We do not adore the Blessed Virgin Mary and other saints who, though holy, still are merely human beings. The honor or veneration we give to the saints is called dulia; the honor we give too Mary, the Mother of God, is called hyperdulia
  2. Petition
  3. Intercession
  4. Thanksgiving
  5. Praise

Varieties of Prayer

These are not mutually exclusive categories but rather different "varieties" of prayer.

  • Vocal
  • Personal
  • Traditional formulas such as the Our Father
  • Prayers composed by saints and other people
  • Our original compositions
  • Spontaneous
  • Singing
  • Meditation, that is, thinking about God or the things of God.
  • Contemplation, the highest form of prayer, a wordless prayer in which we simply rest quietly in God's presence, basking in God's love. Intuition more than reasoning is involved.

Jesus, Teacher of Prayer

  • He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples. Luke 11:1f The Lords Prayer
  • Our Father: We dare to address God as Jesus did, familiarly, as OUR Father. Because the Father, Son, and Holy spirit are, one, we are addressing the whole Trinity. The Our signifies our communion with all other believers.
  • Who art in heaven: Where God is, there is Justice and perfect happiness. Heaven is our homeland and already exists in the hearts of the just.
  • Hallowed be thy name. "Hallowed" means holy or "blessed". A person's name stands for the person himself or herself. In this statement we glorify God and ask that everyone live in a way that hallows God.
  • Thy kingdom come: God's kingdom or reign is one of peace, justice, and love. We pray that it will spread throughout the world. We pray for the final coming of Christ and the fullness of the kingdom.
  • Thy will be done: We pray that people will follow God's all-wise plan.
  • On earth as it is in heaven: in heaven angels and saints constantly do what is pleasing to God.
  • Give us this day our daily Bread: Bread stands for what we need to live. We depend on the good God for all of our necessities. This bread can also signify the Eucharist.
  • And forgive us our trespasses: We ask God to forgive our sins and failings.
  • As we forgive those who trespass against us: A dangerous petition because we are asking God to forgive us to the extent that we forgive others.
  • And lead us not, into temptation: We ask God to help us discern what is wrong and to keep us safe from whatever may lead us to sin.
  • But deliver us from evil: We petition God to protect us from evil, or the Evil One.

Ok, I want to pray, now what?

  • Remember that our prayer life is a journey. We must constantly refine and grow in our prayer.
  • Overcoming the challenges to prayer
    • Perhaps the most basic reason why many find it hard to believe in the efficacy of prayer is that often prayers don't seem to be answered. In such a case, it may be that we have not prayed very well. If we routinely mouth a formula, it is not prayer at all. If we pray without trust in God, our prayer will not be heard; for trust is the essence of prayer. But even if our prayer is all that it should be, the answer to it may not be evident. God always answers sincere prayer but not always in the way that we anticipate. He answers according to his own wisdom. Those who pray in humility and faith ofter receive very literal and obvious answers.
    • A more subtle reason why some do not believe in the power of prayer is the modern reluctance to believe that God intervenes to alter the course of Nature
    • The Lord of nature can arrange that nature itself, by its own workings, provides what we request.
  • Select a time(s) to dedicate to prayer. e.g. first thing in the morning, last thing in the evening or both
  • Select a place to pray e.g in a secluded room of my house or at an available chapel. It should be a place that is quiet and without distractions e.g. not on the metrorail on the way to work.
  • Select an approach or multiple approaches e.g. Liturgy of the Hours, a daily prayer book or web site.
  • Constantly reevaluate your prayer life and commitment to grow.

Liturgical Prayer

  • Mass
  • Liturgy of the Hours - Divine Office

Scriptural Prayer

  • Lectio Divina

Catholic Devotions

  • Devotions to Mary and the Saints
  • The Rosary The Holy Rosary.org
  • Divine Mercy Chaplet
  • Stations of the Cross
  • Eucharistic devotions
  • Examin

Closing Prayer

Pray the Divine Mercy Chapletin the Chapel

Terms

  • adoration: our response of praise to God as we stand in awe of his great power, majesty, and goodness. Source The Catholic Way to Pray
  • aspiration: a one-line prayer. Also called ejaculation.
  • Benediction: a Eucharistic devotion in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in a monstrance and we are blessed with it.
  • blessing: 1) a prayer calling on God to bestow gifts on a person or to ask God to mark a certain object or place, such as a house, with favor and divine protection; 2) can also set apart a place or object as a means of grace, for example rosaries are blessed; 3) can mean the act of God bestowing grace and favors, as when we say that God blesses us; 4) We can bless God, which means to praise God. canticle: a sung prayer.
  • centering prayer: a silent prayer that focuses on God dwelling in the center of us. When attention wanders away from God, we use a word or phrase to come back to God. In essence, centering prayer is resting in God, enjoying God's presence.
  • chaplet: a prayer form that uses beads, such as the rosary.
  • communal prayer: prayer that is prayed together.
  • contemplation: the highest form of prayer, a prayer without words. We are totally rapt in God's presence.
  • contrition: We express sorrow for sin, ask forgiveness, and intend to avoid sin in the future.
  • Divine Office: see Prayer of Christians.
  • Eucharistic devotions: special prayers in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, such as visits to the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction.
  • examination of conscience: a review of our life to notice where we have cooperated with God's grace and where we haven't. It is part of preparation for the sacrament of Reconciliation and recommended tobe made each night.
  • exposition: making the sacred host visible for adoration by setting it in a monstrance.
  • grace before/after meals: In grace before meals we ask God to bless us and the food we are about to eat. In grace after meals we thank God for our food.
  • holy hour: an hour spent in prayer usually before the Blessed Sacrament.
  • indulgence: the canceling of the debt of satisfaction owed for sin by certain prayers or practices. It can be partial or plenary (complete).
  • intention: in prayer, it is some cause for which we offer intercessory prayer, such as world peace.
  • intercessory prayer: we ask for something on behalf of another person. Jesus is our intercessor because he constantly prays to the Father for us.
  • Jesus prayer: "Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." It is repeated over and over and can be synchronized with breathing.
  • journaling: writing one's thoughts and prayers, sometimes daily. This practice makes us more reflective and can produce a richer prayer life.
  • labyrinth: a circular path that leads to the center of a circle. As we walk the labyrinth, we pray on the way to the center, which stands for God, and on the way out into the world again.
  • lectio divina: sacred reading, a method of prayer that leads to union with God in contemplation. The four steps are:
    1. read a passage and stop when a word or phrase catches your attention,
    2. reflect on your "word,"
    3. respond to God in prayer, and
    4. rest in the presence of God. See page 51.
  • litany: a long prayer invoking God, Mary or a saint under many titles.
  • liturgy: the public worship of the Church: the Eucharist, the sacraments, and the Divine Office.
  • Liturgy of the Hours: see Prayer of Christians.
  • mantra: a prayer word or phrase that is repeated continually.
  • May crowning: a Marian devotion in which a statue of Mary is crowned. This usually occurs in May because it is her month.
  • meditation: mental prayer in which we ponder God and the mysteries of our faith.
  • mental prayer: prayer that occurs silently in our minds as opposed to vocal prayer, which is said out loud.
  • novena: praying a prayer for nine consecutive days or nine hours. The practice is derived from the nine days that Mary and the disciples prayed waiting for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost.
  • O-antiphons: nine short prayers that invoke Christ using Old Testament titles. They are prayed in the liturgy on the days right before Christmas. See page 97.
  • octave: eight days of prayer.
  • petition: prayer asking God for something such as healing, a safe journey, or forgiveness. Jesus encouraged this kind of prayer.
  • pilgrimage: a journey to a holy place, such as the Holy Land or a shrine, for religious purposes.
  • prayer service: a celebration with a religious theme that incorporates Scripture, prayers, quiet time for reflection, and hymns.
  • procession: walking in honor of God usually within a liturgical or devotional service. For example, there are processions within the Mass, and on Good Friday people may process outside with a cross or statue of Christ.
  • Prayer of Christians: also called the Liturgy of the Hours and the Divine Office, the official daily prayer of the Church in which the entire day is sanctified. Priests and some religious are obliged to pray it, and all Christians are invited to pray it. There are seven times or hours when these prayers are prayed.
  • psalms: the 150 prayer-songs in the Bible's Book of Psalms. They are the Jewish prayer book, and have been adopted by Christians. The psalms, which are Hebrew poetry, express the whole gamut of stances we have toward God: praise, lament, contrition, and thanksgiving.
  • Raccolta: a book that is collection of indulgenced Catholic prayers and practices. It was last published in Rome in 1898.
  • retreat: a period of time when we withdraw from everyday life and activities to focus on God and our relationship with God. A retreat can be a half day or as long as thirty days. Usually it has various prayer activities, including time for quiet prayer, talks by a retreat director, the celebration of the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Penance.
  • rosary: a Marian prayer in which we meditate on mysteries in the life of Christ while praying Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes on a circle of beads. Mary asked us to pray the rosary in her appearances at Lourdes and Fatima.
  • sacramental: a blessing or an object that has been blessed and whose use brings graces through the merits of Jesus and the prayers of the Church.
  • scapular: an indulgenced sacramental, two small pieces of cloth connected by strings that are worn around the neck. It shows devotion, usually to Our Lady, and is worn continually. After a person has been invested in a cloth scapular by a priest, a scapular medal may be substituted for it.
  • Stations of the Cross: Way of the Cross a devotion in which we remember Jesus' passion as we walk from station to station and pray. Each of the fourteen stations has a cross and art depicting one event of the passion.
  • spiritual bouquet: a gift of prayers and good works. It usually lists the numbers of prayer and good works that are being offered for the recipient.
  • spontaneous prayer: informal prayer, vocal prayer that is not written down, prayed by rote using a formula prayer, or rehearsed.
  • Taize prayer: the Taize method of praying originated with an ecumenical community of monks in Taize, France. It mainly consists of chanting short prayers over and over alternating with periods of quiet prayer.
  • thanksgiving: a main purpose of prayer. We express our gratitude to God for all his loving acts of creation and redemption.
  • triduum: three days of prayer, such as the Holy Week Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday/Easter Sunday.
  • veneration of a relic: relics are parts of a saint's body, something a saint has used, or material that has been touched to a saint. These are displayed in a case called a reliquary and people may venerate them in a ritual of prayer.
  • Viaticum: the Communion that a dying person receives
  • vigil light: votive candle, a candle that is lit for an intention. A prayer is said and a donation is made. The flame represents the prayer rising to heaven.
  • vocal prayer: prayer prayed aloud.
  • XX

Cultural Applications

Homework for next session

Make up a personal plan for the next step in your prayer journey. e.g. I will get a subscription to Magnificat or I will go to Sacred Spaceeach morning before breakfast. Then, make a personal commitment to take that first step

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