Prayer Lesson 2

                        Prayer

                               Lesson 2
                           Vocal prayer

Let us pray.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in the fire of your love. Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Introduction

Vocal prayer is the expression of prayer most of us use the majority of the time. In fact, it is the only expression of prayer that many of us know. It is the expression of prayer Jesus taught the apostles when they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Although vocal prayer is not as lofty as contemplation it is good, needed, and important. If we use vocal prayer properly it will lead us to contemplation, which should be our goal in prayer – the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with His beloved Son.

In this lesson we will look at:
    1. the need for vocal prayer,
    2.the types of vocal prayer,
    3. vocal prayers.

The Need For Vocal Prayer

Since we are body and spirit we have a need to show our feelings externally. By praying with our whole being we are able to give our prayers more power.   Voice and gestures add to the power of our prayer. Our outward gestures show our interior feelings. Origen in his treatise On Prayer said:

It comes to me to be not inappropriate in order to present exhaustively the subject of prayer, by way of an introduction, to examine [also] the [interior] disposition and the [exterior] posture that the person praying must have, as well as the place where one should pray. And the direction one should face in all circumstances, and the favorable time that is to be reserved for prayer, and whatever other similar things there may be.

In other words all that we do when we pray has meaning particularly in our vocal prayer. We can enhance our vocal prayer by verbalizing our words, Kneeling or standing will often help us maintain focus. A set time or times for prayer will help to be consistent in our prays.   As social beings we desire to pray together, and in fact are encouraged by Christ to pray together -- For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew (RSV) 18:20) We teach others about the faith through our vocal prayers and finally as Father Dubay says “the best of our worded prayers instruct us and nourish our spiritual lives with the truth, goodness, and beauty they express. They teach the beginner how to commune with God and to take the first steps toward intimacy with Him and with His Mother and the other saints.”

Of course, some might ask if any of the above really matters. Doesn't God know our wants and needs, and how we feel? We pray not because God needs our prayer, but because God loves us and He shows us this love through prayer. The more we pray the more we open ourselves to His love. The more we come to love Him. As we grow in prayer we learn that the number of words is not what is important, but the fervor of our prayer that is important. Saint Theresa the Little Flower felt that one Hail Mary said slowly and fervently was far better than saying numerous Hail Mary's with little thought. St. Teresa of Avila in Interior Castle emphasizes that the absolute basic condition for a serious prayer life is an earnest, continuing effort to rid oneself of sins, imperfections and attachments. In other words if we are serious about prayer we must also be serious about living our life for Christ.

Increase your understanding

Before moving to the next section take some time to think about what you have just read, then list several reasons for and benefits of vocal prayer.

The types of vocal prayer

Generally speaking there are three types of vocal prayer:
     1. liturgical.
     2. group,
     3. personal,

Liturgical prayer consists of the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. It is the communal and official worship of the Church. The Sacrifice of the Mass is the summit of prayer. It is so important that I have placed a course on the Mass on this site. The Liturgy of the Hours will be discussed later in this lesson.

Father Dubay says:

Participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice is the highest of all our prayers, and most effective when contemplative love burns in the heart of the celebrant and the laity alike. Why is the Mass so sublime? It is the unbloody reoffering of the paschal mystery: the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus himself, the Supreme Priest, both victim and victor.

For many today the Mass is boring. It is boring because we approach it as something the Church requires us to attend rather than as the prayer it is. If you are one of those that find the Mass boring and repetitive take time to study and learn more about the Mass. It truly is exciting if you understand what is happening.

Group prayer occurs whenever several people get together to pray. It may be formal such as occurs at non liturgical services like the Stations of the Cross or Benedictions, etc.. Less formal group prayer occurs when a group or two or three people pray the rosary or other prayers together.

Personal prayer consists of each of us spending time alone with the Lord. Most of this lesson is spent on personal prayer since what is said of it can be extended to group and liturgical prayer.

Vocal Prayers.

The vocal prayers we are most familiar with our the ones we learned as children: the Hail Mary, Our Father, Glory Be, the prayer before meals and other memorized prayers. Next we probably have several prayers that we regularly read from a prayer book. For many of us these prayers make up the bulk of our prayer life.

How we say these prayers certainly effect their effectiveness. If we say them purposely thinking about what we are saying and who we are praying to they will be more effective than if we just rapidly say or read them with little or no thought to what they say or to whom we are praying. I have several prayers that I daily say from a prayer book because I find they say what I want to pray. The problem I find with using them is that it is easy for me to just read through them without much thought of what I am saying. I need to slow down and read them out loud and to think about what I am saying when using prepared prayers.

One advantage of using unstructured prayers (prayers we say in our own words) is that we usually concentrate more on what we are saying. I find these unstructured prayers unable me to be much more focused especially when offering prayers of petition. Regardless of whether we use structured or unstructured prayer we need to insure that we think about what we are saying and focus on the One we love. I think the Our Father is one of the prayers we have all memorized and say regularly, but seldom think about what it means. So, we will spend some time going through it shortly.

Another form of vocal prayer that we should all be using is ejaculations -- short prayers offered throughout the day. These prayers help us to remain in the presence of God throughout the day. Examples of these prayers are:

Jesus, help me,

Thank you Lord,

Forgive me Lord,

Lord keep me gentle,

Lord I long and thirst for You,

Bless my children.

Jesus I trust in You.

These and numerous other ejaculations pierce the heavens and keep us focused throughout the day on God.

An ejaculatory prayer I particularly like and use frequently is the Jesus prayer.

Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. I often modify it to say “Jesus, son of God, have mercy on them.”

This can be used when ever we see a need to offer a prayer for someone.

Increase your understanding

Think about how you presently go about saying vocal prayers. Then identify two or three things you could do to improve there effectiveness.

Psalms

The book of Psalms is often referred to as the “Prayer book of the Church.” Many people pray the Psalms. When we look at The Liturgy of the Hours we will see how they are integral to it. Many of the Psalms readily lend themselves to prayer, especially those of praise and thanksgiving. Others are harder to use for prayer, especially vocal prayer. Take time before using a psalm in prayer to read through it slowly. Think about what each verse is saying. Psalms are an excellent source for meditation as will be seen in the next lesson. For now use the ones that have meaning to you as part of your vocal prayer.

Increase your understanding

If you are not presently using the psalms in your prayer life now is the time to start. Find one or two psalms you like, preferably praise psalms, and add them to the prayers you now pray regularly.

The Our Father

As an aid to helping you learn how to analyze and think about the vocal prayers you use we will spend sometime going through the Our Father.

Source

Before looking at the words of the Lords Prayer we need to look at its origin. The words of the Lords prayer are given to us in Mathew's Gospel as part of the Sermon on the Mount. A shorter version is given to us in Luke's Gospel when the apostles ask Christ how to pray. In both cases it is obvious that this is a model for prayer. Through this prayer we learn how to pray and what to pray for.

“Our Father”

The first two words tell us to pray to our Father, not My Father, not the Father of Jesus.   We are to pray to the Father of Jesus, who is our Father also through adoption. When we were baptized we became sons of God, a member of the body of Christ. When we pray the Lord's Prayer we are praying together with all the other Christians. We are leaving self behind. We are praying with and for all people. God is truly the Father of all. He loves us all. He gave His son that all might have eternal life. Our prayer should be in accord with His will that all should have eternal life.

We are praying to our Father. Not just any father, but a specific father. One who cares for us, and wants us to spend eternity with him. Some people have trouble praying to someone called father. They have grown up without a father, or with a father who treated them poorly. Unlike earthly fathers God the Father has our best interest at heart. He knows what is best for us. He is transcendent. He is God Almighty. We are weak, and limited in what we can do. We often make mistakes. God the Father is all powerful and all knowing. Nothing is impossible with Him.

“Who art in Heaven”

Is Jesus telling us God the Father is only in heaven? No, He is telling us to lift our hearts and minds from the things of this temporary home of ours to our permanent home. He wants us to think of the majesty of our God. We also are called to realize that He lives in all who are not in mortal sin. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says "heaven, the Father's house, is the true homeland toward which we are heading and to which, already, we belong."

“Hallowed Be Thy Name”

This is the first of seven petition. The first three of which pull us closer to God. If we love someone we think of them before we think of ourselves. Thus if we truly love God we will start our prayers praising and thanking God. Thus in the first of the seven petitions we recognize God as holy and worthy of all our praise and adoration. At the same time we should recognize as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states “that we are immersed in the innermost mystery of his Godhead and the drama of the salvation of our humanity.” We are drawn into His plan of salvation. We are to be holy and blameless.

“Thy Kingdom Come”

When we pray “Thy kingdom come” we are praying for the second coming of Christ. When He will reign in power and glory. At the same time we must remember that His kingdom is here now. It is presently invisible and veiled sacramentally. It is with us today in the Eucharist.

“Thy Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven”

When we pray “Thy will be done” we are not praying that God change His will to fit what we want, but that our will conforms to His will. We know that no matter what we do God's will will be done. We can either fight God's will or we can accept it and start to live a joy filled life. Fighting God's will may give us immediate pleasure, but it will not give us a life of joy, and it certainly does not lead us toward life eternal with God.   We need to keep in mind when we pray “Thy will be done” we are praying to know God's will that we might do His will and with His help we can carry out His will which according to Saint Paul, “this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1Thessalonians 4:3a).

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”

With this petition our focus changes from God to us. In the first three petitions we prayed for God's Holy Name, His Kingdom, and His will. Now like The children we are we ask for His provision. Just as children ask their father for food, shelter, clothing, we ask God our Father to provide for our needs. Note we don't say give me my daily bread, but give us our daily bread. We are praying for God to provide for the needs of all. As we pray this we need to remember that we are members of Christ's body, and as such have a responsibility to work to make our prayer a reality. We need to use the resources God has given us to aid others.

This petition also has a spiritual meaning. Besides asking for our physical needs we are asking our Father to provide us with the Bread of Life – the Eucharist. We are asking Him to keep us from sin that would keep us from being able to participate in the awesome gift He gives us in the Eucharist –The body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.

“And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us”

In the first half of this petition we admit our sin and ask God to forgive us. In the second half of the petition a condition is added to the prayer. This condition requires us to forgive those who sin against us before God forgives us. How hard is this? Without the grace of God it is impossible. Just as the Father gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins He gives to those who believe in Him the grace needed to forgive others.

“And Lead Us Not Into Temptation”

After having asked to have our sins forgiven we now ask to be kept from the temptation which lead us to sin. In this petition we are asking for the Spirit of discernment and strength. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death. We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a 'delight to the eyes' and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death.

“But Deliver Us From Evil”

To understand this petition we must realize that in this petition we are not asking for deliverance from all evil, but for deliverance from the evil one --Satan. We are praying for ourselves and the whole human race. We ask that we be delivered from all evil. We ask this in confidence knowing Jesus defeated Satan on the cross.

From time to time we need to take time and go through the prayers we pray regularly and think about what we are praying. In the next lesson we will see how this can also lead to the use of our vocal prayers as a source for meditation.

Increasing your understanding

Pick one of the vocal prayers you now pray and go through it line by line just as we did with the Our Father.

Liturgy of the Hours

To start this section I want to quote Father Dubay's description of the Liturgy of the Hours in his book Prayer Primer.

The divine office is the Catholic Church's loving and powerful adoration, praise, and worship of the Blessed Trinity in all the mysteries of creation and in the beautiful deeds of salvation history together with the the eternal ecstasy of the beatific vision of the saints. This glorious panorama is presented to us in a continuing celebration unlimited in all directions throughout the liturgical year.

The Liturgy of the Hours allows us to participate in the prayer of the Church. Even when we pray the Liturgy of the Hours alone we are praying it united with the Church -- the Body of Christ. Most Catholics think the Liturgy of the hours is for Priests and religious. In actuality all Catholics are invited to participate in this beautiful prayer.

When we pray the Liturgy of the Hours not only are we praying with the whole Church we are also praising Jesus with all the angels and saints. We are able to hear God speak to us through the scripture readings. And it provides us with a means of sanctifying our whole day.

Hopefully at this point you are interested in finding out how to go about praying the Liturgy of the Hours.   Maybe you heard it is hard to learn. It really isn't to difficult to learn, and there are many ways to get started. I recommend looking at one of the Internet sites dedicated to the Liturgy of the Hours and praying either the morning or evening hours to get started. Then add the other hour. Then add the readings for the day. The liturgy of the hours is also available in book form, either in a shortened one volume version or the full four volume version. I started with the one volume version then moved to the four volume set.

Two sites I recommend for getting started:

www. Liturgyofthehours.org,

www. Catholicliturgy.com.

Increasing your understanding

If you would like feedback, copy and paste the following questions into your e-mail, answer the question and e-mail to me at prayer1@musingsofacatholi.com.

1.List several things you might do to enhance your prayer life.

2. According to St Teresa of Avila what is required for an effective prayer life?

3.Give several reasons for using vocal prayers.

4.What is an advantage of using unstructured prayer?

5.Identify two psalms that you could use in your prayer life.

6.Where does the “Lords Prayer” come from?

7.What do we mean when we pray the words “Who art in heaven?”

8.What are we asking when we pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”

9.What is the spiritual meaning of the words ”give us this day our daily bread?”

10.What are we asking for when we pray “But deliver us from the evil one?”

11.What is the “Liturgy of the Hours?”

12.What are some ways you can use what you have learned from this lesson to improve your pray life?

The Angelus

A Prayer To Our Lady of Guadalupe

Prayer To Your Guardian Angel