Prayer

 Lifting up of our hearts and minds to God  Conversation with God  We must “Pray at all times in the Spirit”  Ephesians 6:18  We “ought always to pray and not lose heart”  Luke 18:1  Need to fight through distraction when praying  When we do, we show that we love God more

 In the desert before His public ministry  Mountain before the transfiguration  Garden of Gethsemane  He would get up early in the morning  Go to a certain place

 Need to prepare  Dismiss distractions  Use visible reminders of the goal of prayer  Cross, statue, painting  Pray with humility  Know our place regarding God  Pray with faith and confidence  Trust in Him  “Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in my name”  John 16:23  Pray with resignation to the will of God  Accepting that He will answer our prayers for our greatest good and His greatest glory  Pray with perseverance  Continue, even if it seems pointless

 Mental  Interior prayer  i.e. Meditation on scripture, contemplation  Vocal  Spoken words  Our hearts need to be in it as well  Alone or with others  Formal  Follow a set pattern of words  i.e. Hail Mary, Our Father  Informal  We just talk to God  More spontaneous

 Adoration  Acknowledges God’s greatness and our dependence on Him  i.e. Sanctus  Thanksgiving  We thank God for the blessings He has given to us  Eucharistic Prayer  Contrition  Acknowledge our sins and ask for forgiveness  Confiteor  Petition  Asking God for blessings for ourselves and others  Prayer of the Faithful

 Liturgy = Official public worship of the Church  Two main elements  Mass  Liturgy of the Hours

 Perfect prayer and supreme act of worship  Offering Christ to the Father in Heaven  Therefore also our best time to petition the Father  Same sacrifice as Calvary  The satisfaction for our sins  Has all four types of prayer present

 Prayer of praise  Prayed throughout the day  To sanctify the entirety of the day  Includes Morning Prayer (Lauds), Evening Prayer (Vespers), Night Prayer (Compline)  Priests and religious must pray this each day

 Our Father who art in Heaven  Recognize the Father as both Father and God  Hallowed be Thy name  Adore God’s name  Ask that it be praised on earth  Thy Kingdom Come  Ask that the Church (His kingdom) be spread throughout the world  Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven  God’s will, not ours  We want our worship to match that of Heaven  Give us this day our daily bread  Asking God to take care of our spiritual and physical needs  Refers to actual bread (food) and the Eucharist (spiritual food)  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us  Acknowledge our sins  We ask God to forgive us as much as we forgive others  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil  Asking God to protect us from sin and temptation

 Combines vocal and mental prayer  Recite prayers while meditating upon mysteries  Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous mysteries  October is the month of the Rosary