Is it necessary to memorize basic prayers?

[daCatholicGuard]

Hello Cause 8191, (et al),

Prayers that you should take the time to learn by heart are the following:

The Our Father; The Hail Mary; The Glory Be; The Apostles Creed; The Act of Faith; The Act of Hope; The Act of Love; Grace, (for mealtime), and The Confiteor, (if this prayer is too daunting)- learn the Act of Contrition. The latter prayer(s) is most important- it is a prayer that can be said on your deathbed, (which very well may come unexpectedly- like a “thief in the night”), and can help save your eternal soul.

I would start by learning the Act of Contrition; The Our Father; The Hail Mary and The Glory Be first; followed by the rest as you progress. These four are paramount. The second tier would include The Apostle’s Creed and Grace.

Followed by the rest mentioned here as well as the others listed in this thread- as you progress.

As a side note; another good prayer for deathbed situations is the Divine Mercy Prayer:

“Eternal Father; I offer Thee the Body and Blood; Soul and Divinity of Thy Dearly Beloved Son. Our Lord, Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”

If you are unfamiliar with the Divine Mercy Chaplet and are interested in learning it; please feel free to send me a PM. Also, if you do not have the prayers listed at the top in your prayer book, (which would be surprising- but these days, you can never tell); feel free to send me a PM.

Oremus pro invicem,

Sean C. :knight1:​

**Please recite the Rosary daily. Each bead; devoutly said; is an eternal rose presented to Jesus and Our Blessed Mother.

Be sure to read The Secret of the Rosary by Saint Louis de Montfort. It will change your life.

When you are in a tight spot; pray to St. Jude and have faith. **

 

[CB_Catholic]

I find it good to memorize prayers, at least ones that mean a lot to you. There are times in everyone’s life, such as times of great grief or stress, when it is difficult to find the words to pray, and a prayer you have memorized will come to mind and help you.

Sometimes people will say that these are just vain repetitions, but I don’t believe that. They come from the heart.

 

[cpsusie]

I think it’s good to learn prayers by heart but I suspect that simply by repetition you will learn them in time. As long as you know the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, I think that is the bare minimum. The others will come to you in time. I learned most of them in Latin by singing/hearing them sung in Mass. When I am praying the Nicene Creed I still go over the tune in my head to get the words our correctly!

If you want to learn the prayers in Latin (or English for that matter) a great resource is the Preces Latinae website. preces-latinae.org/index.htm

 

[TrueLight]

I think it’s good to learn prayers by heart but I suspect that simply by repetition you will learn them in time. As long as you know the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, I think that is the bare minimum. The others will come to you in time. I learned most of them in Latin by singing/hearing them sung in Mass. When I am praying the Nicene Creed I still go over the tune in my head to get the words our correctly!

If you want to learn the prayers in Latin (or English for that matter) a great resource is the Preces Latinae website. preces-latinae.org/index.htm

Thanks!

 

[jesuspsr]

I think it’s great to memorize them, if you can. I’m learning the Anima_Christi, which I find to be one of the most beautiful prayers ever. I say it during communion when I do my spiritual communion. QUOTE]

My favorite prayer. I also “like The Confiteor”

I pray so often that I eventualy memorized them, So then I started praying in latin, and I’ve memorized most of them also. But, then again we have so, so many prayers it would be for me anyhow impossilbe to learn them all.

God bless

jesus g

 

[Cat]

I’m a 54-year-old woman

When I was younger, I could memorize huge amounts of material. I memorized the entire book of James at one point. I memorized several chapters of the New Testament, and quite a few Psalms.

And I could memorize play scripts, not just my lines, but everyone else’s lines.

I used to memorize long poems just for fun, to be able to recite them to myself when I was bored.

And needless to say, I was a straight A student all the way through college because I could memorize massive amounts of material and regurgitate it onto the tests. (I didn’t understand a lot of it, but I could memorize it.)

But the older I get, the harder time I have memorizing anything, including the beautiful prayers of the Church.

Even the standards, like the Our Father, that I knew when I was Protestant, come and go at times, even though I say them everyday, several times a day. Same for the Hail Mary and the Glory Be.

I have “mind blanks” where I can’t remember how the prayer starts. Or right in the middle of a familiar prayer like Hail Holy Queen, I’ll not be able to recall the next line.

I can’t even imagine memorizing anything in Latin or any other language. I have enough trouble memorizing in my own language.

One of the quirks of my memory over the years has been my lack of ability to memorize music, either songs or actual piano music. When I was growing up, I practiced piano 2-4 hours a day, and I was playing advanced classical repertoire. Most children and teenagers play all their music by memory at recitals and competitions. But I could never memorize my music, ever, and when I entered competitions, I always ended up asking if I could please use my music. (Of course I didn’t win, although at times I was told that I should win, if I had the pieces memorized.) This is the main reason I decided not to make music my career–I knew that a pianist should be able to play without music, but I was not able to. So I did mainly accompanying work where I could use music, and that’s what I do today, but only part time, for fun, not for a living.

If you asked me to sing a hymn right now, even a popular hymn like Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty, I would possibly be able to start it, but I would stop after the second line or so, unable to sing the rest of it. And I’ve known that hymn since I was a child. But I’ve NEVER been able to memorize hymns! I know a few–one or two hymns, but the rest–I require the words written out. Without the congregation, I would not be able to do the responses for Mass because I can’t remember them–after seven years, I know that there are four options for the Mystery of Faith in the OF Mass, but I can only remember the simplest one (Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.) The rest of the Mysteries of Faith, even though we do them week after week, day after day, I can’t remember. If you asked me right now to start one of them, I would shake my head.

Sigh.

Anyway, if the Church did require us to memorize basic prayers, I would be in big trouble. Thankfully the Church has enough sense to know better than to make such a requirement.

 

[daCatholicGuard]

I’m a 54-year-old woman

When I was younger, I could memorize huge amounts of material. I memorized the entire book of James at one point. I memorized several chapters of the New Testament, and quite a few Psalms.

And I could memorize play scripts, not just my lines, but everyone else’s lines.

I used to memorize long poems just for fun, to be able to recite them to myself when I was bored.

And needless to say, I was a straight A student all the way through college because I could memorize massive amounts of material and regurgitate it onto the tests. (I didn’t understand a lot of it, but I could memorize it.)

But the older I get, the harder time I have memorizing anything, including the beautiful prayers of the Church.

Even the standards, like the Our Father, that I knew when I was Protestant, come and go at times, even though I say them everyday, several times a day. Same for the Hail Mary and the Glory Be.

I have “mind blanks” where I can’t remember how the prayer starts. Or right in the middle of a familiar prayer like Hail Holy Queen, I’ll not be able to recall the next line.

I can’t even imagine memorizing anything in Latin or any other language. I have enough trouble memorizing in my own language.

One of the quirks of my memory over the years has been my lack of ability to memorize music, either songs or actual piano music. When I was growing up, I practiced piano 2-4 hours a day, and I was playing advanced classical repertoire. Most children and teenagers play all their music by memory at recitals and competitions. But I could never memorize my music, ever, and when I entered competitions, I always ended up asking if I could please use my music. (Of course I didn’t win, although at times I was told that I should win, if I had the pieces memorized.) This is the main reason I decided not to make music my career–I knew that a pianist should be able to play without music, but I was not able to. So I did mainly accompanying work where I could use music, and that’s what I do today, but only part time, for fun, not for a living.

If you asked me to sing a hymn right now, even a popular hymn like Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty, I would possibly be able to start it, but I would stop after the second line or so, unable to sing the rest of it. And I’ve known that hymn since I was a child. But I’ve NEVER been able to memorize hymns! I know a few–one or two hymns, but the rest–I require the words written out. Without the congregation, I would not be able to do the responses for Mass because I can’t remember them–after seven years, I know that there are four options for the Mystery of Faith in the OF Mass, but I can only remember the simplest one (Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.) The rest of the Mysteries of Faith, even though we do them week after week, day after day, I can’t remember. If you asked me right now to start one of them, I would shake my head.

Sigh.

Anyway, if the Church did require us to memorize basic prayers, I would be in big trouble. Thankfully the Church has enough sense to know better than to make such a requirement.

Hello Cat,

I’m sympathetic; my mom is in her 70s, (I’m in my 40s), and it happens to us too sometimes. However, knowing the Act of Contrition, the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be is important and it is something that everyone who is physically/mentally able to do- should do- out of simple respect for God.

I have these prayers typed out on a slip of paper that I keep handy- just in case my brain freezes up on me.

Oremus pro invicem,

Sean C.

---

**Please recite the Rosary daily. Each bead; devoutly said; is an eternal rose presented to Jesus and Our Blessed Mother.

Be sure to read The Secret of the Rosary by Saint Louis de Montfort. It will change your life.

When you are in a tight spot; pray to St. Jude and have faith. **

 

[halleone]

But the older I get, the harder time I have memorizing anything, including the beautiful prayers of the Church.

Even the standards, like the Our Father, that I knew when I was Protestant, come and go at times, even though I say them everyday, several times a day. Same for the Hail Mary and the Glory Be.

I have “mind blanks” where I can’t remember how the prayer starts. Or right in the middle of a familiar prayer like Hail Holy Queen, I’ll not be able to recall the next line.

I can’t even imagine memorizing anything in Latin or any other language. I have enough trouble memorizing in my own language.

Anyway, if the Church did require us to memorize basic prayers, I would be in big trouble. Thankfully the Church has enough sense to know better than to make such a requirement.

Amen, I say to you, I hear you! I’m female too, mid 60’s, and the mind is going, going, almost gone! Some mornings I can’t even get out the old basic Morning Prayer that I learned in the first grade; or I’ll be half-way through the Our Father and find myself ending it with the last half of the Hail Mary. I get SO angry at myself and just have to start over and really concentrate. If it looks like it is going to be one of “those” days, I will resort to my own spoken-from-the-heart, made-'em-up-myself form of prayers; I figure God will understand, even if they don’t make much sense.

 

[CB_Catholic]

Amen, I say to you, I hear you! I’m female too, mid 60’s, and the mind is going, going, almost gone! Some mornings I can’t even get out the old basic Morning Prayer that I learned in the first grade; or I’ll be half-way through the Our Father and find myself ending it with the last half of the Hail Mary. I get SO angry at myself and just have to start over and really concentrate. If it looks like it is going to be one of “those” days, I will resort to my own spoken-from-the-heart, made-'em-up-myself form of prayers; I figure God will understand, even if they don’t make much sense.

I know how you all feel about the memory problems when you are older. I’ve forgotten parts of he “Hail Holy Queen”, and cannot for the life of me, manage to remember the St. Michael Prayer. I used to be sharp as a tack. I am in my mid-sixties, going to retire in about 2 years, and am forced now to learn a brand new vastly complicated medical computer program at work! I am shaking in my boots at the thought of going live. I jwant to skip the whole thing and retire NOW, but I can’t afford to.

 

[Paxvobis]

I just learned the Apostle’s Creed and I’m afraid I’m going to get it all mixed up with the Nicean.

I always say the Nicene Creed when I mean to say the Apostle’s Creed. I always say the old Nicene Creed (“invisible and invisible”, “co substantial with the Father”, etc.) at OF Mass on accident when I mean to say the new version (“seen and unseen”, “one in being with the Father”, etc.) Thank God for the new translation changing back.

 

[TrueLight]

To those who are having a hard time memorizing, I would recommend index cards. I recommend them to my kids and I used them all throughout college, especially when memorizing scientific terms.

So for example, for the Apostles Creed, one index card can say
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth”.

The next one can say, “And in Jesus Christ…”.

In fact, I am preaching to myself because it just occured to me that I can use index cards and I do need to learn the Hail Holy Queen and St. Michael’s prayer.

 

[ProVobis]

To those who are having a hard time memorizing, I would recommend index cards. I recommend them to my kids and I used them all throughout college, especially when memorizing scientific terms.

So for example, for the Apostles Creed, one index card can say
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth”.

The next one can say, “And in Jesus Christ…”.

In fact, I am preaching to myself because it just occured to me that I can use index cards and I do need to learn the Hail Holy Queen and St. Michael’s prayer.

What happens when someone shuffles your index cards? Is the prayer still valid?

 

[TrueLight]

What happens when someone shuffles your index cards? Is the prayer still valid?

Anyone who does that is an undercover Mason.