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Pray
 HOW TO PRAY
(From the prayerbook "Blessed be God," by Very Rev. Charles J. Callan, O.P., S.T.M., and Very Rev. John A. McHugh, O.P., S.T.M.)
The Nature of Prayer
PRAYER is a communing with God. It is sweet converse between the soul and its Maker, whether by means of words or thoughts only. It is a lifting of our minds and hearts to the loving and almighty Father Who made us, in order to praise and adore Him for all His greatness and goodness, to thank Him for the unbounded and numberless benefits we have received from Him, to petition His bounty for the many favors we need and to ask His pardon for our offenses. As a child goes to its father to express its filial love and devotion and to obtain the satisfaction of its wants, as a friend talks to a friend, so in prayer the pious soul speaks to God and communes with its Creator.
The Kinds of Prayer
THERE are two general kinds of prayer, mental and vocal. The first consists in thought only, as when we think reverently of God, His eternity, immensity, power, goodness, mercy, and the like; or whenever our mind dwells with pious reflection on divine things, such as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacraments, the Blessed Virgin or the saints, the future state of souls, heaven, purgatory, and the life to come. The contemplation of God, of His attributes, or of any divine truths, which arouses pious affections or occasions good resolution, comes under the head of mental prayer. As we can reflect in our own way and with sentiments of love on the persons of our friends and relatives who are far away, as we can think of their qualities of mind and soul, of all they have done or been to us, so in our minds alone, without the use of words, we can think affectionately and interestedly of God and of divine truths; and this is what is meant by mental prayer. No special method or system is required for this act of religion. Neither is it necessary to single out for our meditation any particular divine subject. Rather we should dwell on those mysteries which appeal to us most, and from contemplation of which we derive most spiritual fruit. Doubtless the life of our divine Saviour is the most attractive and fruitful subject of our pious thoughts, since it is the easiest to dwell on and the most universal in its appeal.
Vocal prayer adds to mental prayer the use of words, or external expression of our thoughts. Its usefulness lies in the fact that it helps the mind to fix and hold attention, that it reinforces our thoughts thus increasing fervor and devotion, and that it joins the homage of the body to that of the soul. Here again, for private prayer, no special form is required, no particular words or expressions are necessary, although the most beautiful vocal prayers are those which have been handed down to us from our Lord, the Holy Scriptures and the Church.
The Benefits of Prayer
FROM its very nature we can understand how rich in benefits is prayer. It honors God and helps us both in soul and body. We are God's children, and as a child honors its father by speaking reverently to him, by manifesting its love for him, by showing that it depends upon him for its needs and by begging forgiveness of offenses committed, so do we in these various ways give honor to God through prayer. Moreover, by this holy exercise we obtain for ourselves all we need both spiritually and temporally; we are strangthened against temptation and our natural weaknesses; our life is ennobled and filled with virtues and we are better fitted for heaven. In the words of St. Lawrence Justinian, prayer "pleases God, gets what it asks, overcomes enemies, changes man." Rightly, then, has it been called incense ascending before the throne of God, or a golden key which unlocks for us the treasures of heaven.
The Necessity of Prayer
GOD has not merely counseled, but has commanded us to have recourse to prayer: "We ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke xviii. 1); "Ask, and it shall be given you" (Matt. vii. 7). Again, we are dependent creatures, and as such are bound to render honor and gratitude to the Author of our being. We are frail creatures, subject to all kinds of infirmities and unable to do anything meritorious of eternal life without God's grace. Since, therefore, God has decreed to give His special help only to those who seek it, prayer becomes a necessity, if we are to save our souls. "He who prays," says St. Alphonsus, "will certainly be saved; he who does not, will certainly be damned."
The Simplicity of Prayer
PEOPLE often find it difficult to pray because they have an exaggerated notion of prayer, not really understanding what it means and erroneously believing that it consists in very lofty thoughts, which must be expressed in correspondingly elevated words and sentences; whereas the very opposite is the truth. How simple are the Our Father and the Hail Mary! How unaffected the thoughts and the words of the centurion, the leper, the blind man, and others mentioned in the Gospel, who sought help from our Lord and were heard!
Neither is it necessary for a prayer to be long to be perfect; it need not be said in any particular place or at any special time; nor need it be said kneeling, or standing. We may turn our hearts to God at all times, in all places, and in any posture of body, whether we be in the street or in the church, at home or abroad; and this is not only prayer, but devout prayer.
How to Pray Well
PRAYER means simple, loving converse between the soul and God, as between a child and its father, yet it is quite obvious that certain dispositions of the soul are indispensible to this holy exercise. The Sacred Scriptures admonish us, in the first place, to prepare ourselves: "Before prayer prepare thy soul, and be not as a man that tempteth God" (Ecclus. xviii. 23). Thus preparation is not difficult, consisting simply of humility, sorrow for sin, a wish to improve our lives, confidence in God and His mercy and freedom from hatred of our neighbor. During prayer the chief things required are: a realization of the presence of God, attention to what we are saying, sincerity and fervor. If, while praying, we are purposely or consciously distracted we become like those irreligious worshippers, of whom our Lord said: "This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me" (Matt. xv. 8). Finally, for good prayer it is necessary that we pray with entire submission to the will of our heavenly Father who knows what is best for us, and with perseverance, which means that we should continue to implore God's help and grace as long as we live. Christ the Lord has said "We ought always to pray" (Luke xviii. 1). Our prayers will be greatly enhanced in value and efficacy, if we add to them works of charity and mortification.
To Whom We Should Pray
PRAYER should be primarily directed to God in the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; but since the fruitfulness of our supplications depends solely on the merits of Christ, our Redeemer and Advocate with the Father, we should offer them in His Name. Thereby they acquire the weight and influence which make them pleasing to the Father. It is also useful to invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and the saints, who are God's special friends, and as such enjoy not only great power with the Almighty, but are deeply interested in our welfare and we address our prayers to them requesting their intercession with God on our behalf for favors both temporal and spiritual.
For What We Should Pray
THAT most perfect of prayers, the Our Father, contains all the things for which we should pray, and also indicates the order of importance according to which our requests should be made. Therefore, in the first of the seven petitions which constitute this the best of prayers we say, "Hallowed be Thy Name," thus asking that God be acknowledged and glorified and praised throughout the earth. In the second petition we say, "Thy kingdom come," that is, we may one day possess the kingdom of heaven, which God has prepared for us. And since this great kingdom can only be entered and enjoyed by those who do God's will here on earth, we say in the third petition, "Thy will be done," begging that we may be enabled at all times to keep His commandments. In the fourth petition we ask for our daily bread, that is, we beg of God those temporal and spiritual necessities without which we can sustain neither the life of our bodies nor that of our souls.
Thus far in the Lord's prayer we have been seeking good things. Next we ask to be preserved from evils of soul and body, imploring deliverance from our trespasses and sins which would exclude us from the kingdom of God. We then pray for victory over temptation which could hinder us from doing God's will. In concluding this beautiful prayer, we ask to be delivered from all those evils which might imperil our spiritual or temporal life, such as sudden death, famine, war, pestilence and the like.
For Whom We Should Pray
BY the use of the word "our" in the Lord's Prayer it is clear that God wishes us to pray not only for ourselves, but for others, and therefore it is also our duty to offer supplications for all mankind, imploring for them first spiritual, then temporal benefits. In a special manner, however, we are bound to pray for our relatives, pastors, friends and benefactors, for our country and its rulers, for the just and the faithful departed, for enemies and sinners.
We should not omit offering frequent prayers of thanksgiving for the numerous and weighty blessings which God continually bestows upon us and on the whole human race, and thanking Him particularly for the crowns of victory and glory with which He has adorned the Blessed Virgin and the saints. Thanksgiving and petition are, indeed, the two principal parts of prayer, the former being quite as necessary as the latter. In fact, if we are not grateful for God's benefits, how may we expect that he will heed our petitions? The one, therefore, is indispensible to the other.
Conclusion
LET us with all confidence have recourse to prayer, being assured, as St. Bernard says, that "God will grant what we ask or something better." In seeking the aid of men we often are disappointed, either because they are unable to give what we request, or because they are unwilling to help us. Not so with God, who is both almighty and all good. Moreover, we have the solemn promise of Christ confirmed by his oath, that God is always ready to hear and answer us: "Amen, amen, I say unto you, if you ask the Father for anything in My Name, He will give it to you" (John xvi. 23). Our Lord is our advocate with the Father; hence when, with piety and perseverance, we ask for anything that is necessary for our salvation, it is impossible not to be heard. "Let us go, therefore, with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid" (Heb. iv. 16).
A List of Prayers
The following is a list of prayers, from the well-known to the obscure, even those which are hidden away in prayerbooks now collecting dust in the wake of Vatican II, even though the old prayerbooks are the ones which contain the most gems. For the ones where I know the Latin, I give that first and then the vernacular (in this case English) translation. Though a note about the vernacular translations, is that on some I don't know or remember the official ones, in which case I've given my own, as vernacular translations truly make no difference; it's the correct use of the original that counts. As an example, Catholics use "the living and the dead," whereas protestants use "the quick and the dead" in the Apostles' Creed. Yet both are equally valid, as both are accurate translations of "vivos et mortuos."
The list is incredibly small right now, and I plan on expanding it in the future as time allows.
First, the three basic prayers:
Pater Noster (Our Father)
This prayer was said by Jesus Himself, and was His answer when the Apostles asked Him to teach them how to pray. In essence it is asking God for all things, and is considered the most perfect of prayers because of the source from which it came.
Pater Noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem. Sed libera nos a malo. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdon come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who tresspass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
NOTE: Protestants like to add a closing doxology to this prayer, which in itself is not a bad thing, yet they like to assert that this is Scriptural, and to attest to this it is found in their Bibles. Yet this addition did not occur until around 1540 A.D., and in my own research I've yet to trace it back farther than Tyndale. It is nowhere to be found in either the Vulgate or in the original Greek text of the NT. There is nothing wrong with using it to close the prayer, as it is a beautiful summarization of the fact that everything is God's to do with as He pleases, yet it is still important that all additions to a given prayer be kept in an historical perspective, especially when dealing with a prayer given by God Himself (such as the Our Father), or given to us by an Angel (such as the Hail Mary). The closing doxology is as follows (Latin text taken from the Novus Ordo Missae):
Quia tuum est regnum, et potestas, et gloria. In saecula. Amen. "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. Forever. Amen."
Ave Maria (Hail Mary, also called the Angelic Salutation)
This prayer is called the "Angelic Salutation," and is composed of the first words which Gabriel addressed to Mary, when he announced to her that God had chosen her above all women, to bear Jesus in her womb. As she told St. Dominic some 1200 years later, the Hail Mary is the rain from Heaven by which God chose to fertilize the world, to prepare it for its salvation.
Ave Maria, Gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death. Amen.
NOTE: The third part ("Sancta Maria...") is not to be found in the Bible, but was added on at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. in order to reaffirm Mary's place as the mother of God, and indirectly to reaffirm Jesus' divinity. Once again it is important to know the historic perspective of prayers which were not originally composed by human beings. But, unlike the Protestant ending to the Our Father, at least we're honest about it and do not try to pass it off as something in the Bible.
Credo in Deum (Apostle's Creed)
This is an early baptismal creed, use din the Church ever since the first century A.D., and sets forth very basic principles of the Christian faith. It was further refined in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea, in which the refinement, the Nicean Creed, is the official statement of faith used by the Church today.
Credo in Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae.
Et in Jesum Christum, Filium ejus unicum, Dominum nostrum. Qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus: descendit ad inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos: sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos.
Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam Catholicam, Sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord. Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell, the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almighty, from thence he shall come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the remission of sins, the resurrection of the flesh, and eternal life. Amen.
Credo in Unum Deum (Nicene Creed)
This was drawn up in Nicea I around 325 A.D., and the is profession of faith used to this day, even though the translation used in the Novus Ordo Missae (the new Mass, which is said in the vernacular and contains way too much heretical content to truly be called a Mass) is a poor butchering of its words. The English given here is my own, and is faithful to both the original Latin and to the vernacular versions given in pre-Vatican II prayerbooks.
Credo in Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, Factorem coeli et terrae.
Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo; Lumen de Lumine; Deum verum de Deo vero; genitum, non factum; consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem, descendit de coelis et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto, ex Maria Virgine: ET HOMO FACTUS EST. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis: sub Pontio Pilato passus et sepultus est. Et resurrexit tertia die secumdum Scripturas; et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris: et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos: cujus regni non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit: qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur; qui locutus est per prophetas. Et unam sanctam Catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begoten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, True God of True God. Born, not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things were made. Who for us humans, and for our salvation, came down from the Heavens, and was made flesh by the Holy Ghost, of the Virgin Mary. AND WAS MADE MAN. He was also crucified for us, under Pontius Pilate he suffered and was buried. And He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures. And He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, and He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who prodedeth from the Father and the Son, and who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified; who spoke through the prophets. And in one holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins, and I await the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Queen)
Salve Regina, Mater Misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra; salve. Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Hevae. Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eja ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.
Hail, Holy Queen! Mother of mercy! Our life, our sweetness, and our hope, hail! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, therefore, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile, show us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus. O merciful, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary.
Confiteor (I confess)
Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, beato Michaeli Archangelo, beato Joanni Baptistae, Sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus Sanctis, et vobis, fratres, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, et opere, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Michaelem Archangelum, beatum Joannem Baptistam, sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et vos, fratres, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum Nostrum.
Misereatur mei omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis meis, perducat me ad vitam aeternam. Amen.
Indulgentiam, X absolutionem, et remissionem peccatorum meorum tribuat mihi omnipotens et misericors Dominus. Amen.
I confess to almighty God, to Blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Saints, and to you, brothers, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, though my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. I therefore beseech Blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Saints, and you, brothers, to pray to the Lord our God for me.
May almighty God have mercy upon me, forgive my sins, and lead me into eternal life. Amen.
May the almighty and merciful Lord grant me pardon, X absolution, and remission of my sins. Amen.
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