How to Pray?

[TK421]

I’ve noticed in the prayer intentions section that a great deal of the responses are exclusively patented prayers, so to speak. Hail Mary, Our Father, etc. I’ve just went along with it. Is this just customary or does the Church give spiritual guidance on this issue? Is there are particular role that individualized prayer serves in prayer intentions? Should one supplement individual prayer in additional to patented prayers?

Also I watched on The Tudors (the world’s most authoritative source on history ) that prayer typically was shunned outside of a church. To what extent is this true?

 

[clintondyches]

I’ve noticed in the prayer intentions section that a great deal of the responses are exclusively patented prayers, so to speak. Hail Mary, Our Father, etc. I’ve just went along with it. Is this just customary or does the Church give spiritual guidance on this issue? Is there are particular role that individualized prayer serves in prayer intentions? Should one supplement individual prayer in additional to patented prayers?

Also I watched on The Tudors (the world’s most authoritative source on history ) that prayer typically was shunned outside of a church. To what extent is this true?

All of the fourth section in the CCC is devoted to prayer - and there are many good ‘how to pray’ books out there. The prayers that you see most often here are what I would call “vocal prayers” - prayers meant to be prayed out loud, in a community or alone, etc. “Patented” prayers as you call them - and there are many, many other ‘pre-written’ prayers that can be found in Catholic prayer books, in the Magnificat magazine, etc.

But there are three types of prayer, according to Church teachings: vocal (most that you read here, I would put into that category), meditative and contemplative. While I do type out prayers that I compose on my own - and include in them all of my prayer intentions - I also use meditation (don’t think “new age staring at your navel”) and contemplative prayer.

I would recommend (not VERY highly, but as a starting point) Fr. Dubay’s Prayer Primer: Igniting the Fire Within as a good read. It’s a good guide to understanding prayer as the Church teaches and can be a real boon for those who are just starting to really pray.

I don’t really know that I answered your question - I tend to (at least) write down all of my prayer intentions throughout the day so that I will remember them all when I set aside time for prayer (of course, I pray without ceasing all the day long, but I have a particular number of specific hours set aside for prayer only).

Clinton

 

[Aussieman88]

I had almost the same question myself at one time. I was told that there are many different devotions within the Catholic Church. Some choose a particular Saint or Mother Mary to pray through, asking them to pray for us to the Lord our God.

I grew up praying set prayers and the rosary but I never felt the power of God during that time. I strayed for a few years and then came back after a Pentecostal friend laid hands on me. I choose to say my own prayers and pray to Jesus directly. The our father is about the only set and traditional one I say regularly. I also pray some spiritual warfare prayers by various Vatican exorcists or Robert Abel. I’ve learned some passages of the bible and quotes of Jesus and incorporate them into my prayers. I have to say I now feel the presence of the Holy Spirit regularly and so I will never go back to any other way of praying unless God tells me to.

At first I almost left the Catholic Church because I had trouble finding anyone who believed in the spiritual gifts. Or anyone who knew more about it than I did. God confirmed with me that I should stay with the Catholic Church otherwise I would have gone somewhere else. My church has turned from an arid spiritual desert into an oasis pulsing with the power of God that you can actually feel with the senses not just spiritually. There’s something building here and It’s very exciting. I’m off topic sorry.

 

[EIF5A]

I had almost the same question myself at one time. I was told that there are many different devotions within the Catholic Church. Some choose a particular Saint or Mother Mary to pray through, asking them to pray for us to the Lord our God.

I grew up praying set prayers and the rosary but I never felt the power of God during that time. I strayed for a few years and then came back after a Pentecostal friend laid hands on me. I choose to say my own prayers and pray to Jesus directly. The our father is about the only set and traditional one I say regularly. I also pray some spiritual warfare prayers by various Vatican exorcists or Robert Abel. I’ve learned some passages of the bible and quotes of Jesus and incorporate them into my prayers. I have to say I now feel the presence of the Holy Spirit regularly and so I will never go back to any other way of praying unless God tells me to.

At first I almost left the Catholic Church because I had trouble finding anyone who believed in the spiritual gifts. Or anyone who knew more about it than I did. God confirmed with me that I should stay with the Catholic Church otherwise I would have gone somewhere else. My church has turned from an arid spiritual desert into an oasis pulsing with the power of God that you can actually feel with the senses not just spiritually. There’s something building here and It’s very exciting. I’m off topic sorry.

Does the Catholic Church teach that spiritual gifts have ceased? If so, how does the Church allow the charismatic Catholic movement?

I do realize a lot of (most?) Catholics think praying in tongues, for instance, is an uncommon Protestant thing, or worse, a delusion of the enemy…

 

[Aussieman88]

Does the Catholic Church teach that spiritual gifts have ceased? If so, how does the Church allow the charismatic Catholic movement?

I do realize a lot of (most?) Catholics think praying in tongues, for instance, is an uncommon Protestant thing, or worse, a delusion of the enemy…

No we don’t teach that the spiritual gifts have ceased. CCR or the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is active in our church but not in a big way if you look at how many catholics there are.

I agree most catholics think praying in tongues is a farce. That’s one of the many reasons we are such a powerless church. Relatively powerless. We are bogged down in traditions. A lot of catholics either don’t know what’s in the bible or they don’t really believe it. It’s such a shame but its going to change.

 

[St_Francis]

I’ve noticed in the prayer intentions section that a great deal of the responses are exclusively patented prayers, so to speak. Hail Mary, Our Father, etc. I’ve just went along with it. Is this just customary or does the Church give spiritual guidance on this issue? Is there are particular role that individualized prayer serves in prayer intentions? Should one supplement individual prayer in additional to patented prayers?

Also I watched on The Tudors (the world’s most authoritative source on history ) that prayer typically was shunned outside of a church. To what extent is this true?

Looking at the reaponses to prayer requests, I see some people are good at the extemporaneous prayers, but not all of us are–mine tend to be very plain! So we pray the Our Father or for the intersession of someone who is very close to Christ, like Mary His mother, or an appropriate prayer like Eternal Rest for one who has died. Sometimes people know the patron saint of the problem and know a prayer to that saint.

All of these are good Catholic responses

As to the Tudors, Since so much of the world is against God, I take most everything I hear on TV with about 500 pounds of salt St Paul said we should pray always, and we can’t always be in church, so I will listen to his advice over the tv’s