Need help...quick!

[zach_dunn]

Hi, my girlfriend is taking me to her youth group deal today and it’s about prayer, she says they all pray out loud. This is where the dilemma resides. Doesn’t the Bible tell us to pray in secret?

P.S. I’m Catholic, she’s Protestant

 

[DJgang]

zach - we Catholics pray outloud! All through the Mass.

I think what your gf means is that they probably do off the hip praying…does that make sense? So, you need to prepare…can you do off the hip praying or would you rather not? You need to inform your gf of your decision.

I think the bible says we should fast in private.

As a mom to three boys, I’ll say a tiny prayer for you and maybe a catholic girl will come in your life… (don’t get mad at me, my oldest is in 1st grade and I’ve already eyeballed him a catholic girl from a big family…I wants lots of grandchildren!)

God bless you and have fun!!!

Dana

 

[zach_dunn]

What about Matthew 6:6 which says “But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee.”

Maybe I’m interpretting it wrong, what does everyone else think?

P.S. sorry I don’t know what you mean by of the hip, I’m slow sometimes!

P.P.S. I’m not mad or anything, but why do people look so down upon…inter-religion?..relationships?

 

[edward_george]

In this verse, Jesus merely means to emphasize having a rightly ordered interior disposition over “showing off” while praying. In the preceding verse, we see him say this:

And when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.

He obviously would have had no problem with public, liturgical prayer, as he was an observant Jew–and therefore took part in the worship of the Temple. We see in the Gospels a number of instances of him reading the Scriptures in the Temple. He’s just saying here that we shouldn’t pray for the sake of being seen in prayer, we ought to pray from the heart, and for the sake of drawing near to God.

-ACEGC

 

[zach_dunn]

ok, thanks!

 

[Fidelis]

P.P.S. I’m not mad or anything, but why do people look so down upon…inter-religion?..relationships?

Because from experience (personal and that of the Church) it is almost always the case that in marriages with mixed religions, there is an incredible temptation to compromise in order to bring peace into the household. Even if you’re just dating, you never know if your relationship will develop into marriage. At that point either the couple will, if they both have strong religious preferences) end up fighting about it constantly and so usually give up practicing religion; or if one has stronger preferences, the other one will abandon their faith to go along; or they willi each keep their own religious tradition, which will confuse the hell out of their children so they end up not practicing religion themselves when they grow up.

From the Catechism:

1634 Difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in common what they have received from their respective communities, and learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ. But the difficulties of mixed marriages must not be underestimated. They arise from the fact that the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. The spouses risk experiencing the tragedy of Christian disunity even in the heart of their own home. Disparity of cult can further aggravate these difficulties. Differences about faith and the very notion of marriage, but also different religious mentalities, can become sources of tension in marriage, especially as regards the education of children. The temptation to religious indifference can then arise.

When people are young and unexperienced they think they are immune to this and will be able to overcome it in their own relationships, but this has proven time and again to be a false hope.

 

[puzzleannie]

Hi, my girlfriend is taking me to her youth group deal today and it’s about prayer, she says they all pray out loud. This is where the dilemma resides. Doesn’t the Bible tell us to pray in secret?

P.S. I’m Catholic, she’s Protestant

quote for me please the bible verse that says we must always pray in secret, and in silence, and we are never allowed to pray with others in a group, or out loud.

 

[Ag_not]

Praying out loud is fine - Jesus said where two or three are gathered in my name, I am with you - but one of the characteristics of the Spirit is that it is never vulgar or disorganised so beware if they get a bit out of hand

 

[zach_dunn]

As a mom to three boys, I’ll say a tiny prayer for you and maybe a catholic girl will come in your life… (don’t get mad at me, my oldest is in 1st grade and I’ve already eyeballed him a catholic girl from a big family…I wants lots of grandchildren

Thanks Dana, you have absolutely no idea how bad this comment made my girlfriend feel. I’m also 100% sure you never meant to do this and thought she would never see it but she did, and just think how she feels, please. It’s a horrible feeling, I mean, could you imagine reading that? You make it seem like she’s not good enough for me because I’m Catholic and she’s Protestant, well I have news for you, she’s more than good enough for me. I don’t even think I deserve her, I’d appreciate it if you would not say another word about this or any other relationship you read about on this forum.

 

[Ruthie]

So, Zach, how did the prayer meeting go?

To your girlfriend:
Um, welcome to Catholic-land!

Please don’t let a comment, made by someone who never thought you’d see it, ruin you opinion of us. It was based in love for Zach - and pretty tactless.

We believe that you (and everyone) will get as close to Christ as is possible while on earth in the Catholic church, and also have a better shot at getting to Heaven - so we want everyone to join us. And some have experienced the difficulties of a “mixed marriage,” and want to spare Zach that.

I would probably be more tactful than Dana, and offer to pray for your conversion - but not as an insult to you, but out of a desire for you guys to have a happy marriage.

It all comes from “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

In any case, God bless you deeply!

Ruthie

 

[SemperPax]

Makes me wonder about two things:

1. I say grace at home before every meal, and when alone (e.g., eating lunch in my office). If I do this in public - in a restaurant, for example) - is this contrary to Jesus teaching about praying privately?
2. I make the sign of the cross every time I pass a Catholic church…same question here…

 

[ccallbeck]

P.P.S. I’m not mad or anything, but why do people look so down upon…inter-religion?..relationships?

Hey, I don’t look down on them, but I would strongly recommend to not even begin one… cuz I’m in a mixed faith marriage, and my husband is a FANTASTIC guy, but when kids come into the mix of things, it gets incredibly complicated incredibly quickly. There is not complete unity in the marriage, because there is not unity of faith. There is nothing more beautiful or more to be envied than a married Catholic couple who can receive the Eucharist together and pray together. If it crosses your mind, pray for mixed faith marriages that the spouse would convert to Catholisism, and while you’re at it, pray for your girlfriend and your intentions for your relationship and your possible future together.

 

[zach_dunn]

So, Zach, how did the prayer meeting go?

To your girlfriend:
Um, welcome to Catholic-land!

Please don’t let a comment, made by someone who never thought you’d see it, ruin you opinion of us. It was based in love for Zach - and pretty tactless.

We believe that you (and everyone) will get as close to Christ as is possible while on earth in the Catholic church, and also have a better shot at getting to Heaven - so we want everyone to join us. And some have experienced the difficulties of a “mixed marriage,” and want to spare Zach that.

I would probably be more tactful than Dana, and offer to pray for your conversion - but not as an insult to you, but out of a desire for you guys to have a happy marriage.

It all comes from “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

In any case, God bless you deeply!

Ruthie

Sorry I never got back to…

It went great her pastor likes me

Sorry for sounding really angry and like a jerk before, that’s just the attitude I was in, sorry again.

Well Ruthie, my girlfriend says she likes you and thinks you’re very nice. I still think what Dana said was very vey blunt but I can’t help that so best not to let it bother me.

It’s a little early to be thinking about marriage isn’t it?
Not that I don’t want to marry her, but, I’m only seventeen.

I am very sorry for sounding so angry before I feel really bad about it…so, sorry.

 

[narrowpath]

Regarding the quote about praying in secret, Yeshua was talking about the men who would go out in public and pray loudly in the streets t make hemselves seem holy, and how this wasn’t what God wanted.