What about formulaic prayers and guaranteed requests?

[Quaere_Verum]

I understand that novenas are an acceptable form of prayer imitating the focus on prayer for nine days possibly of Mary & the Apostles during the 9 days following Jesus’ ascension into heaven. iEven when an intention may be included the individual praying accepts God’s will as a response. However, I am becoming more familiar with prayers which are formulaic in nature and guarantee the request if the formula is followed. They may include saying the prayer a certain number of times per day for a certain number of days. Some even include other contingencies such as passing on the prayer via email, placing the prayer in churches, lighting candles, publicly thanking the saint for their intervention, etc. Where does the Church stand on this type of prayer?

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear QV,

What you said in the beginning is what needs to be always followed. There are no short cuts. God is not that big vending machine in the sky that will release the goods if we know just how to appease Him.

Passing a prayer formula by mail or making a certain number of copies and dispensing them to others in order to get what we want is an affront to God and the Church.

The Lord told us to ask for what we need—not because He doesn’t already know, but that we come to him in love, humbly acknowledging our complete dependence on Him—and willingly accepting whatever and however He chooses to respond. The prayer of petition is a matter of loving trust and absolutely nothing else.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.