Catechism of the Catholic Church / Part Four: Christian Prayer
Section One - Prayer In The Christian Life
Chapter One - The Revelation Of Prayer
- The Universal Call To Prayer
2566
Man is in search of God. In the act of creation, God calls every being from
nothingness into existence. "Crowned with glory and honor," man is,
after the angels, capable of acknowledging "how majestic is the name of
the Lord in all the earth."1 Even after losing through his sin his
likeness to God, man remains an image of his Creator, and retains the desire
for the one who calls him into existence. All religions bear witness to men's
essential search for God.2
2567
God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he
may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living
and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as
prayer. In prayer, the faithful God's initiative of love always comes first;
our own first step is always a response. As God gradually reveals himself and
reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama.
Through words and actions, this drama engages the heart. It unfolds throughout
the whole history of salvation.
Article 1
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
2568
In the Old Testament, the revelation of prayer comes between the fall and the
restoration of man, that is, between God's sorrowful call to his first
children: "Where are you? . . . What is this that you have
done?"3 and the response of God's only Son on coming into the
world: "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God."4 Prayer is
bound up with human history, for it is the relationship with God in historical
events.
Creation -
source of prayer
2569
Prayer is lived in the first place beginning with the realities of creation.
the first nine chapters of Genesis describe this relationship with God as an
offering of the first-born of Abel's flock, as the invocation of the divine
name at the time of Enosh, and as "walking with God.5 Noah's
offering is pleasing to God, who blesses him and through him all creation,
because his heart was upright and undivided; Noah, like Enoch before him,
"walks with God."6 This kind of prayer is lived by many
righteous people in all religions.
In his indefectible covenant with every living creature,7 God has
always called people to prayer. But it is above all beginning with our father
Abraham that prayer is revealed in the Old Testament.
God's
promise and the prayer of Faith
2570
When God calls him, Abraham goes forth "as the Lord had told
him";8 Abraham's heart is entirely submissive to the Word and so
he obeys. Such attentiveness of the heart, whose decisions are made according
to God's will, is essential to prayer, while the words used count only in
relation to it. Abraham's prayer is expressed first by deeds: a man of silence,
he constructs an altar to the Lord at each stage of his journey. Only later
does Abraham's first prayer in words appear: a veiled complaint reminding God
of his promises which seem unfulfilled.9 Thus one aspect of the drama
of prayer appears from the beginning: the test of faith in the fidelity of God.
2571
Because Abraham believed in God and walked in his presence and in covenant with
him,10 The patriarch is ready to welcome a mysterious Guest into his
tent. Abraham's remarkable hospitality at Mamre foreshadows the annunciation of
the true Son of the promise.11 After that, once God had confided his
plan, Abraham's heart is attuned to his Lord's compassion for men and he dares
to intercede for them with bold confidence.12
2572
As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham, "who had
received the promises,"13 is asked to sacrifice the son God had
given him. Abraham's faith does not weaken (“God himself will provide the lamb
for a burnt offering."), for he "considered that God was able to
raise men even from the dead."14 and so the father of believers is
conformed to the likeness of the Father who will not spare his own Son but wiLl
deliver him up for us all.15 Prayer restores man to God's likeness and
enables him to share in the power of God's love that saves the
multitude.16
2573
God renews his promise to Jacob, the ancestor of the twelve tribes of
Israel.17 Before confronting his elder brother Esau, Jacob wrestles all
night with a mysterious figure who refuses to reveal his name, but he blesses
him before leaving him at dawn. From this account, the spiritual tradition of
the Church has retained the symbol of prayer as a battle of faith and as the
triumph of perseverance.18
Moses and
the prayer of the mediator
2574
Once the promise begins to be fulfilled (Passover, the Exodus, the gift of the
Law, and the ratification of the covenant), the prayer of Moses becomes the
most striking example of intercessory prayer, which will be fulfilled in
"the one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus."19
2575
Here again the initiative is God's. From the midst of the burning bush he calls
Moses.20 This event will remain one of the primordial images of prayer
in the spiritual tradition of Jews and Christians alike. When "the God of
Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob" calls Moses to be his servant, it is
because he is the living God who wants men to live. God reveals himself in
order to save them, though he does not do this alone or despite them: he caLls
Moses to be his messenger, an associate in his compassion, his work of
salvation. There is something of a divine plea in this mission, and only after
long debate does Moses attune his own will to that of the Savior God. But in
the dialogue in which God confides in him, Moses also learns how to pray: he
balks, makes excuses, above all questions: and it is in response to his question
that the Lord confides his ineffable name, which will be revealed through his
mighty deeds.
2576
"Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his
friend."21 Moses' prayer is characteristic of contemplative prayer
by which God's servant remains faithful to his mission. Moses converses with
God often and at length, climbing the mountain to hear and entreat him and
coming down to the people to repeat the words of his God for their guidance.
Moses "is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak face to face,
clearly, not in riddles," for "Moses was very humble, more so than
anyone else on the face of the earth."22
2577
From this intimacy with the faithful God, slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love,23 Moses drew strength and determination for his
intercession. He does not pray for himself but for the people whom God made his
own. Moses already intercedes for them during the battle with the Amalekites
and prays to obtain healing for Miriam.24 But it is chiefly after their
apostasy that Moses "stands in the breach" before God in order to
save the people.25 The arguments of his prayer - for intercession is
also a mysterious battle - will inspire the boldness of the great intercessors
among the Jewish people and in the Church: God is love; he is therefore
righteous and faithful; he cannot contradict himself; he must remember his
marvellous deeds, since his glory is at stake, and he cannot forsake this
people that bears his name.
David and
the prayer of the king
2578
The prayer of the People of God flourishes in the shadow of God's dwelling
place, first the ark of the covenant and later the Temple. At first the leaders
of the people - the shepherds and the prophets - teach them to pray. the infant
Samuel must have learned from his mother Hannah how "to stand before the
LORD" and from the priest Eli how to listen to his word: "Speak,
LORD, for your servant is listening."26 Later, he will also know
the cost and consequence of intercession: "Moreover, as for me, far be it
from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; and I
will instruct you in the good and the right way."27
2579
David is par excellence the king "after God's own heart," the
shepherd who prays for his people and prays in their name. His submission to
the will of God, his praise, and his repentance, will be a model for the prayer
of the people. His prayer, the prayer of God's Anointed, is a faithful
adherence to the divine promise and expresses a loving and joyful trust in God,
the only King and Lord.28 In the Psalms David, inspired by the Holy
Spirit, is the first prophet of Jewish and Christian prayer. the prayer of
Christ, the true Messiah and Son of David, will reveal and fulfill the meaning
of this prayer.
2580
The Temple of Jerusalem, the house of prayer that David wanted to build, will
be the work of his son, Solomon. the prayer at the dedication of the Temple
relies on God's promise and covenant, on the active presence of his name among
his People, recalling his mighty deeds at the Exodus.29 The king lifts
his hands toward heaven and begs the Lord, on his own behalf, on behalf of the
entire people, and of the generations yet to come, for the forgiveness of their
sins and for their daily needs, so that the nations may know that He is the
only God and that the heart of his people may belong wholly and entirely to
him.
Elijah, the
prophets and conversion of heart
2581
For the People of God, the Temple was to be the place of their education in
prayer: pilgrimages, feasts and sacrifices, the evening offering, the incense,
and the bread of the Presence (“shewbread") - all these signs of the
holiness and glory of God Most High and Most Near were appeals to and ways of
prayer. But ritualism often encouraged an excessively external worship. the
people needed education in faith and conversion of heart; this was the mission
of the prophets, both before and after the Exile.
2582
Elijah is the "father" of the prophets, "the generation of those
who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob."30 Elijah's
name, "The Lord is my God," foretells the people's cry in response to
his prayer on Mount Carmel.31 St. James refers to Elijah in order to
encourage us to pray: "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and
effective."32
2583
After Elijah had learned mercy during his retreat at the Wadi Cherith, he
teaches the widow of Zarephath to believe in the Word of God and confirms her
faith by his urgent prayer: God brings the widow's child back to
life.33 The sacrifice on Mount Carmel is a decisive test for the faith
of the People of God. In response to Elijah's plea, "Answer me, O LORD,
answer me," the Lord's fire consumes the holocaust, at the time of the
evening oblation. the Eastern liturgies repeat Elijah's plea in the Eucharistic
epiclesis.
Finally, taking the desert road that leads to the place where the living and
true God reveals himself to his people, Elijah, like Moses before him, hides
"in a cleft of he rock" until the mysterious presence of God has
passed by.34 But only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses
and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; "the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ,"
crucified and risen.35
2584
In their "one to one" encounters with God, the prophets draw light
and strength for their mission. Their prayer is not flight from this unfaithful
world, but rather attentiveness to the Word of God. At times their prayer is an
argument or a complaint, but it is always an intercession that awaits and
prepares for the intervention of the Savior God, the Lord of history.36
The Psalms,
the prayer of the assembly
2585
From the time of David to the coming of the Messiah texts appearing in these
sacred books show a deepening in prayer for oneself and in prayer for
others.37 Thus the psalms were gradually collected into the five books
of the Psalter (or "Praises"), the masterwork of prayer in the Old
Testament.
2586
The Psalms both nourished and expressed the prayer of the People of God
gathered during the great feasts at Jerusalem and each Sabbath in the
synagogues. Their prayer is inseparably personal and communal; it concerns both
those who are praying and all men. the Psalms arose from the communities of the
Holy Land and the Diaspora, but embrace all creation. Their prayer recalls the
saving events of the past, yet extends into the future, even to the end of
history; it commemorates the promises God has already kept, and awaits the Messiah
who will fulfill them definitively. Prayed by Christ and fulfilled in him, the
Psalms remain essential to the prayer of the Church.38
2587
The Psalter is the book in which the Word of God becomes man's prayer. In other
books of the Old Testament, "the words proclaim [God's] works and bring to
light the mystery they contain."39 The words of the Psalmist, sung
for God, both express and acclaim the Lord's saving works; the same Spirit
inspires both God's work and man's response. Christ will unite the two. In him,
the psalms continue to teach us how to pray.
2588
The Psalter's many forms of prayer take shape both in the liturgy of the Temple
and in the human heart. Whether hymns or prayers of lamentation or
thanksgiving, whether individual or communal, whether royal chants, songs of
pilgrimage or wisdom meditations, the Psalms are a mirror of God's marvelous
deeds in the history of his people, as well as reflections of the human
experiences of the Psalmist. Though a given psalm may reflect an event of the
past, it still possesses such direct simplicity that it can be prayed in truth
by men of all times and conditions.
2589
Certain constant characteristics appear throughout the Psalms: simplicity and
spontaneity of prayer; the desire for God himself through and with all that is
good in his creation; the distraught situation of the believer who, in his
preferential love for the Lord, is exposed to a host of enemies and
temptations, but who waits upon what the faithful God will do, in the certitude
of his love and in submission to his will. the prayer of the psalms is always
sustained by praise; that is why the title of this collection as handed down to
us is so fitting: "The Praises." Collected for the assembly's
worship, the Psalter both sounds the call to prayer and sings the response to
that call: Hallelu-Yah! (“Alleluia"), "Praise the Lord!"
What is more pleasing than a
psalm? David expresses it well: "Praise the Lord, for a psalm is good: let
there be praise of our God with gladness and grace!" Yes, a psalm is a
blessing on the lips of the people, praise of God, the assembly's homage, a
general acclamation, a word that speaks for all, the voice of the Church, a
confession of faith in song.40
IN BRIEF
2590 "Prayer is the
raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from
God" (St. John Damascene, Defide orth. 3, 24: PG 94, 1089C).
2591 God tirelessly calls
each person to this mysterious encounter with Himself. Prayer unfolds
throughout the whole history of salvation as a reciprocal call between God and
man.
2592 The prayer of Abraham
and Jacob is presented as a battle of faith marked by trust in God's
faithfulness and by certitude in the victory promised to perseverance.
2593 The prayer of Moses
responds to the living God's initiative for the salvation of his people. It
foreshadows the prayer of intercession of the unique mediator, Christ Jesus.
2594 The prayer of the People
of God flourished in the shadow of the dwelling place of God's presence on
earth, the ark of the covenant and the Temple, under the guidance of their
shepherds, especially King David, and of the prophets.
2595 The prophets summoned
the people to conversion of heart and, while zealously seeking the face of God,
like Elijah, they interceded for the people.
2596 The Psalms constitute
the masterwork of prayer in the Old Testament. They present two inseparable
qualities: the personal, and the communal. They extend to all dimensions of
history, recalling God's promises already fulfilled and looking for the coming
of the Messiah.
2597 Prayed and fulfilled in
Christ, the Psalms are an essential and permanent element of the prayer of the
Church. They are suitable for men of every condition and time.
Article 2
IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME
2598
The drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the Word who became flesh and
dwells among us. To seek to understand his prayer through what his witnesses
proclaim to us in the Gospel is to approach the holy Lord Jesus as Moses
approached the burning bush: first to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear
how he teaches us to pray, in order to know how he hears our prayer.
Jesus prays
2599
The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin learned to pray in his human heart.
He learns to pray from his mother, who kept all the great things the Almighty
had done and treasured them in her heart.41 He learns to pray in the
words and rhythms of the prayer of his people, in the synagogue at Nazareth and
the Temple at Jerusalem. But his prayer springs from an otherwise secret
source, as he intimates at the age of twelve: "I must be in my Father's
house."42 Here the newness of prayer in the fullness of time
begins to be revealed: his filial prayer, which the Father awaits from his children,
is finally going to be lived out by the only Son in his humanity, with and for
men.
2600
The Gospel according to St. Luke emphasizes the action of the Holy Spirit and
the meaning of prayer in Christ's ministry. Jesus prays before the decisive
moments of his mission: before his Father's witness to him during his baptism
and Transfiguration, and before his own fulfillment of the Father's plan of
love by his Passion.43 He also prays before the decisive moments
involving the mission of his apostles: at his election and call of the Twelve,
before Peter's confession of him as "the Christ of God," and again
that the faith of the chief of the Apostles may not fail when
tempted.44 Jesus' prayer before the events of salvation that the Father
has asked him to fulfill is a humble and trusting commitment of his human will
to the loving will of the Father.
2601
"He was praying in a certain place and when he had ceased, one of his
disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray."'45 In seeing the
Master at prayer the disciple of Christ also wants to pray. By contemplating
and hearing the Son, the master of prayer, the children learn to pray to the
Father.
2602
Jesus often draws apart to pray in solitude, on a mountain, preferably at
night.46 He includes all men in his prayer, for he has taken on
humanity in his incarnation, and he offers them to the Father when he offers
himself. Jesus, the Word who has become flesh, shares by his human prayer in
all that "his brethren" experience; he sympathizes with their
weaknesses in order to free them.47 It was for this that the Father
sent him. His words and works are the visible manifestation of his prayer in
secret.
2603
The evangelists have preserved two more explicit prayers offered by Christ
during his public ministry. Each begins with thanksgiving. In the first, Jesus
confesses the Father, acknowledges, and blesses him because he has hidden the
mysteries of the Kingdom from those who think themselves learned and has
revealed them to infants, the poor of the Beatitudes.48 His
exclamation, "Yes, Father!" expresses the depth of his heart, his
adherence to the Father's "good pleasure," echoing his mother's Fiat
at the time of his conception and prefiguring what he will say to the Father in
his agony. the whole prayer of Jesus is contained in this loving adherence of
his human heart to the mystery of the will of the Father.49
2604
The second prayer, before the raising of Lazarus, is recorded by St.
John.50 Thanksgiving precedes the event: "Father, I thank you for
having heard me," which implies that the Father always hears his
petitions. Jesus immediately adds: "I know that you always hear me,"
which implies that Jesus, on his part, constantly made such petitions. Jesus'
prayer, characterized by thanksgiving, reveals to us how to ask: before the
gift is given, Jesus commits himself to the One who in giving gives himself.
the Giver is more precious than the gift; he is the "treasure"; in
him abides his Son's heart; the gift is given "as well."51
The priestly prayer of Jesus
holds a unique place in the economy of salvation.52 A meditation on it
will conclude Section One. It reveals the ever present prayer of our High
Priest and, at the same time, contains what he teaches us about our prayer to
our Father, which will be developed in Section Two.
2605
When the hour had come for him to fulfill the Father's plan of love, Jesus
allows a glimpse of the boundless depth of his filial prayer, not only before
he freely delivered himself up (“Abba . . . not my will, but
yours."),53 but even in his last words on the Cross, where prayer
and the gift of self are but one: "Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do",54 "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with
me in Paradise",55 "Woman, behold your son" -
"Behold your mother",56 "I thirst.";57
"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"58 "It is
finished";59 "Father, into your hands I commit my
spirit!"60 until the "loud cry" as he expires, giving up
his spirit.61
2606
All the troubles, for all time, of humanity enslaved by sin and death, all the
petitions and intercessions of salvation history are summed up in this cry of
the incarnate Word. Here the Father accepts them and, beyond all hope, answers
them by raising his Son. Thus is fulfilled and brought to completion the drama
of prayer in the economy of creation and salvation. the Psalter gives us the
key to prayer in Christ. In the "today" of the Resurrection the
Father says: "You are my Son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I
will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your
possession."62
The Letter to the Hebrews
expresses in dramatic terms how the prayer of Jesus accomplished the victory of
salvation: "In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and
supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from
death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a Son, he learned
obedience through what he suffered, and being made perfect, he became the
source of eternal salvation to all who obey him."63
Jesus
teaches us how to pray
2607
When Jesus prays he is already teaching us how to pray. His prayer to his
Father is the theological path (the path of faith, hope, and charity) of our
prayer to God. But the Gospel also gives us Jesus' explicit teaching on prayer.
Like a wise teacher he takes hold of us where we are and leads us progressively
toward the Father. Addressing the crowds following him, Jesus builds on what
they already know of prayer from the Old Covenant and opens to them the newness
of the coming Kingdom. Then he reveals this newness to them in parables.
Finally, he will speak openly of the Father and the Holy Spirit to his
disciples who will be the teachers of prayer in his Church.
2608
From the Sermon on the Mount onwards, Jesus insists on conversion of heart:
reconciliation with one's brother before presenting an offering on the altar,
love of enemies, and prayer for persecutors, prayer to the Father in secret,
not heaping up empty phrases, prayerful forgiveness from the depths of the
heart, purity of heart, and seeking the Kingdom before all else.64 This
filial conversion is entirely directed to the Father.
2609
Once committed to conversion, the heart learns to pray in faith. Faith is a
filial adherence to God beyond what we feel and understand. It is possible
because the beloved Son gives us access to the Father. He can ask us to
"seek" and to "knock," since he himself is the door and the
way.65
2610
Just as Jesus prays to the Father and gives thanks before receiving his gifts,
so he teaches us filial boldness: "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe
that you receive it, and you will."66 Such is the power of prayer
and of faith that does not doubt: "all things are possible to him who
believes."67 Jesus is as saddened by the "lack of faith"
of his own neighbors and the "little faith" of his own
disciples68 as he is struck with admiration at the great faith of the
Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman.69
2611
The prayer of faith consists not only in saying "Lord, Lord," but in
disposing the heart to do the will of the Father.70 Jesus calls his
disciples to bring into their prayer this concern for cooperating with the
divine plan.71
2612
In Jesus "the Kingdom of God is at hand."72 He calls his
hearers to conversion and faith, but also to watchfulness. In prayer the
disciple keeps watch, attentive to Him Who Is and Him Who Comes, in memory of
his first coming in the lowliness of the flesh, and in the hope of his second
coming in glory.73 In communion with their Master, the disciples'
prayer is a battle; only by keeping watch in prayer can one avoid falling into
temptation.74
2613
Three
principal parables on prayer are transmitted to us by St. Luke:
- the first, "the importunate friend,"75 invites us to urgent
prayer: "Knock, and it will be opened to you." To the one who prays like
this, the heavenly Father will "give whatever he needs," and above
all the Holy Spirit who contains all gifts.
- the second, "the importunate widow,"76 is centered on one
of the qualities of prayer: it is necessary to pray always without ceasing and
with the patience of faith. "and yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he
find faith on earth?"
- the third parable, "the Pharisee and the tax collector,"77
concerns the humility of the heart that prays. "God, be merciful to me a
sinner!" the Church continues to make this prayer its own: Kyrie eleison!
2614
When Jesus openly entrusts to his disciples the mystery of prayer to the
Father, he reveals to them what their prayer and ours must be, once he has
returned to the Father in his glorified humanity. What is new is to "ask
in his name."78 Faith in the Son introduces the disciples into the
knowledge of the Father, because Jesus is "the way, and the truth, and the
life."79 Faith bears its fruit in love: it means keeping the word
and the commandments of Jesus, it means abiding with him in the Father who, in
him, so loves us that he abides with us. In this new covenant the certitude
that our petitions will be heard is founded on the prayer of Jesus.80
2615
Even more, what the Father gives us when our prayer is united with that of
Jesus is "another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of
truth."81 This new dimension of prayer and of its circumstances is
displayed throughout the farewell discourse.82 In the Holy Spirit,
Christian prayer is a communion of love with the Father, not only through
Christ but also in him: "Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask,
and you will receive, that your joy may be full."83
Jesus hears
our prayer
2616
Prayer to Jesus is answered by him already during his ministry, through signs
that anticipate the power of his death and Resurrection: Jesus hears the prayer
of faith, expressed in words (the leper, Jairus, the Canaanite woman, the good
thief)84 or in silence (the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with a
hemorrhage who touches his clothes, the tears and ointment of the sinful
woman).85 The urgent request of the blind men, "Have mercy on us,
Son of David" or "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
has-been renewed in the traditional prayer to Jesus known as the Jesus Prayer:
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a
sinner!"86 Healing infirmities or forgiving sins, Jesus always
responds to a prayer offered in faith: "Your faith has made you well; go
in peace."
St. Augustine wonderfully
summarizes the three dimensions of Jesus' prayer: "He prays for us as our
priest, prays in us as our Head, and is prayed to by us as our God. Therefore
let us acknowledge our voice in him and his in us."87
The prayer
of the Virgin Mary
2617
Mary's prayer is revealed to us at the dawning of the fullness of time. Before
the incarnation of the Son of God, and before the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, her prayer cooperates in a unique way with the Father's plan of loving
kindness: at the Annunciation, for Christ's conception; at Pentecost, for the
formation of the Church, his Body.88 In the faith of his humble
handmaid, the Gift of God found the acceptance he had awaited from the
beginning of time. She whom the Almighty made "full of grace"
responds by offering her whole being: "Behold I am the handmaid of the
Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." "Fiat":
this is Christian prayer: to be wholly God's, because he is wholly ours.
2618
The Gospel reveals to us how Mary prays and intercedes in faith. At
Cana,89 The mother of Jesus asks her son for the needs of a wedding feast;
this is the sign of another feast - that of the wedding of the Lamb where he
gives his body and blood at the request of the Church, his Bride. It is at the
hour of the New Covenant, at the foot of the cross,90 that Mary is
heard as the Woman, the new Eve, the true "Mother of all the living."
2619
That is why the Canticle of Mary,91 The Magnificat (Latin) or Megalynei
(byzantine) is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church; the song
of the Daughter of Zion and of the new People of God; the song of thanksgiving
for the fullness of graces poured out in the economy of salvation and the song
of the "poor" whose hope is met by the fulfillment of the promises
made to our ancestors, "to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."
IN BRIEF
2620 Jesus' filial prayer is
the perfect model of prayer in the New Testament. Often done in solitude and in
secret, the prayer of Jesus involves a loving adherence to the will of the
Father even to the Cross and an absolute confidence in being heard.
2621 In his teaching, Jesus
teaches his disciples to pray with a purified heart, with lively and
persevering faith, with filial boldness. He calls them to vigilance and invites
them to present their petitions to God in his name. Jesus Christ himself
answers prayers addressed to him.
2622 The prayers of the
Virgin Mary, in her Fiat and Magnificat, are characterized by the generous offering
of her whole being in faith.
Article 3
IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
2623
On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of the Promise was poured out on the
disciples, gathered "together in one place."92 While awaiting
the Spirit, "all these with one accord devoted themselves to
prayer."93 The Spirit who teaches the Church and recalls for her
everything that Jesus said94 was also to form her in the life of
prayer.
2624
In the first community of Jerusalem, believers "devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the
prayers."95 This sequence is characteristic of the Church's
prayer: founded on the apostolic faith; authenticated by charity; nourished in
the Eucharist.
2625
In the first place these are prayers that the faithful hear and read in the
Scriptures, but also that they make their own - especially those of the Psalms,
in view of their fulfillment in Christ.96 The Holy Spirit, who thus
keeps the memory of Christ alive in his Church at prayer, also leads her toward
the fullness of truth and inspires new formulations expressing the unfathomable
mystery of Christ at work in his Church's life, sacraments, and mission. These
formulations are developed in the great liturgical and spiritual traditions.
the forms of prayer revealed in the apostolic and canonical Scriptures remain
normative for Christian prayer.
I. Blessing and Adoration
2626
Blessing expresses the basic movement of Christian prayer: it is an encounter
between God and man. In blessing, God's gift and man's acceptance of it are
united in dialogue with each other. the prayer of blessing is man's response to
God's gifts: because God blesses, the human heart can in return bless the One
who is the source of every blessing.
2627
TWO fundamental forms express this movement: our prayer ascends in the Holy
Spirit through Christ to the Father - we bless him for having blessed
us;97 it implores the grace of the Holy Spirit that descends through
Christ from the Father - he blesses us.98
2628
Adoration is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature
before his Creator. It exalts the greatness of the Lord who made us99
and the almighty power of the Savior who sets us free from evil. Adoration is
homage of the spirit to the "King of Glory,"100 respectful
silence in the presence of the "ever greater" God.101
Adoration of the thrice-holy and sovereign God of love blends with humility and
gives assurance to our supplications.
II. Prayer of Petition
2629
The vocabulary of supplication in the New Testament is rich in shades of
meaning: ask, beseech, plead, invoke, entreat, cry out, even "struggle in
prayer."102 Its most usual form, because the most spontaneous, is
petition: by prayer of petition we express awareness of our relationship with
God. We are creatures who are not our own beginning, not the masters of
adversity, not our own last end. We are sinners who as Christians know that we
have turned away from our Father. Our petition is already a turning back to
him.
2630
The
New Testament contains scarcely any prayers of lamentation, so frequent in the
Old Testament. In the risen Christ the Church's petition is buoyed by hope,
even if we still wait in a state of expectation and must be converted anew
every day. Christian petition, what St. Paul calls {"groaning,"
arises from another depth, that of creation "in labor pains" and that
of ourselves "as we wait for the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we were saved."103 In the end, however,
"with sighs too deep for words" the Holy Spirit "helps us in our
weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself
intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words."104
2631
The first movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, like the
tax collector in the parable: "God, be merciful to me a
sinner!"105 It is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A
trusting humility brings us back into the light of communion between the Father
and his Son Jesus Christ and with one another, so that "we receive from
him whatever we ask."106 Asking forgiveness is the prerequisite
for both the Eucharistic liturgy and personal prayer.
2632
Christian petition is centered on the desire and search for the Kingdom to
come, in keeping with the teaching of Christ.107 There is a hierarchy
in these petitions: we pray first for the Kingdom, then for what is necessary
to welcome it and cooperate with its coming. This collaboration with the
mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is now that of the Church, is the
object of the prayer of the apostolic community.108 It is the prayer of
Paul, the apostle par excellence, which reveals to us how the divine solicitude
for all the churches ought to inspire Christian prayer.109 By prayer
every baptized person works for the coming of the Kingdom.
2633
When we share in God's saving love, we understand that every need can become
the object of petition. Christ, who assumed all things in order to redeem all
things, is glorified by what we ask the Father in his name.110 It is
with this confidence that St. James and St. Paul exhort us to pray at all
times.111
III. Prayer of Intercession
2634
Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is
the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially
sinners.112 He is "able for all time to save those who draw near
to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for
them."113 The Holy Spirit "himself intercedes for us . . .
and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."114
2635
Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another has been
characteristic of a heart attuned to God's mercy. In the age of the Church,
Christian intercession participates in Christ's, as an expression of the
communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks "not only to his
own interests, but also to the interests of others," even to the point of
praying for those who do him harm.115
2636
The first Christian communities lived this form of fellowship
intensely.116 Thus the Apostle Paul gives them a share in his ministry
of preaching the Gospel117 but also intercedes for them.118 The
intercession of Christians recognizes no boundaries: "for all men, for
kings and all who are in high positions," for persecutors, for the
salvation of those who reject the Gospel.119
IV. Prayer of Thanksgiving
2637
Thanksgiving characterizes the prayer of the Church which, in celebrating the
Eucharist, reveals and becomes more fully what she is. Indeed, in the work of
salvation, Christ sets creation free from sin and death to consecrate it anew
and make it return to the Father, for his glory. the thanksgiving of the
members of the Body participates in that of their Head.
2638
As in the prayer of petition, every event and need can become an offering of
thanksgiving. the letters of St. Paul often begin and end with thanksgiving,
and the Lord Jesus is always present in it: "Give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you";
"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with
thanksgiving."120
V. Prayer of Praise
2639
Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God.
It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does,
but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of
heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit
is joined to our spirits to bear witness that we are children of
God,121 testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom
we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries
them toward him who is its source and goal: the "one God, the Father, from
whom are all things and for whom we exist."122
2640
St.
Luke in his gospel often expresses wonder and praise at the marvels of Christ and
in his Acts of the Apostles stresses them as actions of the Holy Spirit: the
community of Jerusalem, the invalid healed by Peter and John, the crowd that
gives glory to God for that, and the pagans of Pisidia who "were glad and
glorified the word of God."123
2641
"[Address]
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
to the Lord with all your heart."124 Like the inspired writers of
the New Testament, the first Christian communities read the Book of Psalms in a
new way, singing in it the mystery of Christ. In the newness of the Spirit,
they also composed hymns and canticles in the light of the unheard - of event
that God accomplished in his Son: his Incarnation, his death which conquered death,
his Resurrection, and Ascension to the right hand of the Father.125
Doxology, the praise of God, arises from this "marvelous work" of the
whole economy of salvation.126
2642
The
Revelation of "what must soon take place," the Apocalypse, is borne
along by the songs of the heavenly liturgy127 but also by the
intercession of the "witnesses" (martyrs).128 The prophets
and the saints, all those who were slain on earth for their witness to Jesus,
the vast throng of those who, having come through the great tribulation, have
gone before us into the Kingdom, all sing the praise and glory of him who sits
on the throne, and of the Lamb.129 In communion with them, the Church
on earth also sings these songs with faith in the midst of trial. By means of
petition and intercession, faith hopes against all hope and gives thanks to the
"Father of lights," from whom "every perfect gift" comes
down.130 Thus faith is pure praise.
2643
The Eucharist contains and expresses all forms of prayer: it is "the pure
offering" of the whole Body of Christ to the glory of God's
name131 and, according to the traditions of East and West, it is the
"sacrifice of praise."
IN BRIEF
2644 The Holy Spirit who
teaches the Church and recalls to her all that Jesus said also instructs her in
the life of prayer, inspiring new expressions of the same basic forms of
prayer: blessing, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise.
2645 Because God blesses the
human heart, it can in return bless him who is the source of every blessing.
2646 Forgiveness, the quest
for the Kingdom, and every true need are objects of the prayer of petition.
2647 Prayer of intercession
consists in asking on behalf of another. It knows no boundaries and extends to
one's enemies.
2648 Every joy and suffering,
every event and need can become the matter for thanksgiving which, sharing in
that of Christ, should fill one's whole life: "Give thanks in all
circumstances" (⇒ 1 Thess 5:18).
2649 Prayer of praise is
entirely disinterested and rises to God, lauds him, and gives him glory for his
own sake, quite beyond what he has done, but simply because HE IS.
1 ⇒ Ps 8:5;
⇒ 8:1.
2 Cf.
⇒ Acts 17:27.
3
⇒ Gen 3:9, 13.
4 ⇒ Heb 10:5-7.
5 Cf. ⇒ 26;
⇒ Gen 5:24.
6 ⇒ Gen 6:9;
⇒ 8:20-
⇒ 9:17.
7 ⇒ Gen 9:8-16.
8 ⇒ Gen 12:4.
9 Cf. ⇒ Gen 15:2 f.
10 Cf. ⇒ Gen 15:6;
⇒ 17:1 f.
11 Cf. ⇒ Gen 18:1-15;
⇒ Lk 1:26-38.
12 Cf. ⇒ 18:16-33.
13 ⇒ Heb 11:17.
14 ⇒ Heb
11:19
15 ⇒ Rom 8:32.
16 Cf. ⇒ Rom 8:16-21.
17 Cf. ⇒ Gen 28:10-22.
18 Cf. ⇒ Gen 32:24-30;
⇒ Lk 18:1-8.
19 ⇒ 1 Tim 2:5.
20 ⇒ Ex 3:1-10.
21
⇒ Ex 33:11.
22 ⇒ Num
12:3,7-8.
23 Cf.
⇒ Ex 34:6.
24 Cf. ⇒ Ex 17:8-12;
⇒ Num 12:13-14.
25 ⇒ Ps 106:23; cf.
⇒ Ex 32:1-
⇒ 34:9.
26
⇒ 1 Sam 3:9-10; cf.
⇒ 1:9-18.
27 ⇒ 1 Sam 12:23.
28 Cf. ⇒ 2 Sam 7:18-29.
29 ⇒ 1 Kings 8:10-61.
30
⇒ Ps 24:6.
31
⇒ 1 Kings 18:39.
32 ⇒ Jas 5:16b-18.
33 Cf. ⇒ 1 Kings 17:7-24.
34 Cf. ⇒ Ex
33:19-23.
35 ⇒ 2 Cor 4:6; cf.
⇒ Lk 9:30-35.
36 Cf. ⇒ Am 7:2,
5; ⇒ Isa 6:5,
8, ⇒ 11;
⇒ 15:
15-18; ⇒ 20: 7-18.
37 ⇒ Ezra 9:6-15;
⇒ Jon
2:3-10; ⇒ Tob 3:11-16;
⇒ Jdt 9:2-14.
38 Cf. GILH, nn.
100-109.
39 DV 2.
40 St. Ambrose, In Psalmum 1 enarratio, 1, 9: PL 14, 924; LH,
Saturday, wk 10, OR.
41 Cf. ⇒ Lk 1:49;
⇒ 2:19;
⇒ 2:51.
42 ⇒ Lk 2:49.
43 Cf. ⇒ Lk 3:21;
⇒ 9:28;
⇒ 22:41-44.
44 Cf. ⇒ 9:18-20;
⇒ 22:32.
45 ⇒ Lk 11:1.
46 Cf. ⇒ Mk 1:35;
⇒ Lk
5:16.
47 Cf. ⇒ Heb 2:12,
⇒ 4:15.
48 Cf. ⇒ Mt 11:25-27 and
⇒ Lk 10:21-23.
49 Cf. ⇒ Eph 1:9.
50 Cf. ⇒ Jn 11:41-42.
51 ⇒ Mt 6:21,
⇒ 33.
52 Cf. ⇒ Jn 17.
53 ⇒ Lk 22:42.
54 ⇒ Lk 23:34.
55 ⇒ Lk 23:43.
56 ⇒ Jn 19:26-27.
57 ⇒ Jn 19:28.
58 ⇒ Mk 15:34; cf.
⇒ Ps 22:2.
59 ⇒ Jn 19:30.
60 ⇒ Lk 23:46.
61 Cf. ⇒ Mk 15:37;
⇒ Jn 19:30b.
62
⇒ Acts 13:33.
63
⇒ Heb 5:7-9.
64 Cf. ⇒ Mt 5:23-24,
⇒ 44-45;
⇒ 6:7,
⇒ 21,
⇒ 33.
65 Cf. ⇒ Mt 7:7-11,
⇒ 13-14.
66 ⇒ Mk 11:24.
67 ⇒ Mk 9:23; cf.
⇒ Mt 21:22.
68 Cf. ⇒ Mk 6:6;
⇒ Mt 8:26.
69 Cf. ⇒ Mt 8:10;
⇒ 15:28.
70 Cf. ⇒ Mt 7:21.
71 Cf. ⇒ Mt 9:38;
⇒ Jn
4:34.
72 ⇒ Mk 1:15.
73 Cf. ⇒ Mk 13;
⇒ Lk 21:34-36.
74 Cf. ⇒ Lk 22:40,
⇒ 46.
75 Cf. ⇒ Lk 11:5-13.
76 Cf. ⇒ Lk 18:1-8.
77 Cf. ⇒ Lk 18:9-14.
78 ⇒ Jn 14:13.
79 ⇒ Jn 14:6.
80 Cf. ⇒ Jn 14:13-14.
81 ⇒ Jn 14:16-17.
82 Cf. ⇒ Jn 14:23-26;
⇒ 15:7,
⇒ 16;
⇒ 16:13-15;
⇒ 16:23-27.
83 ⇒ Jn 16:24.
84 Cf. ⇒ Mk 1:40-41;
⇒ 5:36;
⇒ Lk
23:39-43.
85 Cf. Mk 25;
⇒ Lk
7:37-38.
86 ⇒ Mt 9:27,
⇒ Mk 10:48.
87 St. Augustine,
En. in Ps. 85, 1: PL 37, 1081; cf. GILH 7.
88 Cf. ⇒ Lk 1:38;
⇒ Acts 1:14.
89 Cf. ⇒ Jn
2:1-12.
90 Cf. ⇒ Jn 19:25-27.
91 Cf. ⇒ Lk 1:46-55.
92 ⇒ Acts 2:1.
93 ⇒ Acts 1:14.
94 Cf. ⇒ Jn 14:26.
95 ⇒ Acts 2:42.
96 Cf. ⇒ Lk 24:27,
⇒ 44.
97 Cf. ]⇒ Eph 1:3-14;
⇒ 1 Pet
1:3-9.
98 Cf. 2 Cor 13:14;
⇒ Rom 15:5-6,
⇒ Eph
6:23-24.
99 Cf.
⇒ Ps 95:1-6.
100 ⇒ Ps 24, 9-10.
101 Cf. St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 62,16: PL 36, 757-758.
102 Cf. ⇒ Col
4:12.
103 ⇒ Rom 8:22-24.
104 ⇒ Rom 8:26.
105 ⇒ Lk 18:13.
106 ⇒ 1 Jn 3:22; cf.
⇒ 2:2.
107 Cf. ⇒ Mt 6:10,
⇒ Lk
11:2, ⇒ 13.
108 Cf.
⇒ Acts 6:6;
⇒ 13:3.
109 Cf. ⇒ Rom 10:1;
⇒ Eph 1:16-23; Phil
1911; ⇒ Col 1:3-6;
⇒ 12.
110 Cf. ⇒ Jn 14:13.
111 Cf. ⇒ Jas 1:5-8;
⇒ Phil
4:6-7; ⇒ 1 Thess
5:17-18.
112 Cf. ⇒ Rom 8:34;
⇒ 1 Tim
2:5-8.
113
⇒ Heb 7:25.
114 ⇒ Rom 8:26-27.
115 ⇒ Phil 2:4; cf.
⇒ Lk
23:28, ⇒ 34.
116 Cf. ⇒ Acts 12:5;
⇒ 20:36;
⇒ 2 Cor
9:14.
117 Cf. ⇒ Eph 6:18-20;
⇒ Col 4:3-4;
⇒ 1 Thess 5:25.
118 Cf. ⇒ 2 Thess 1:11;
⇒ Phil
1:3-4.
119 ⇒ 2 Tim 2:1; cf.
⇒ 10:1.
120 ⇒ 1 Thess
5:18; ⇒ Col 4:2.
121 Cf.
⇒ Rom 8:16.
122 ⇒ 1 Cor 8:6.
123 ⇒ Acts 2:47;
⇒ 4:21;
⇒ 13:48.
124 ⇒ Col
3:16.
125 Cf. ⇒ Phil 2:6-11;
⇒ Eph
5:14; ⇒ 1 Tim 3:16;
⇒ 2 Tim
2:11-13.
126 Cf. ⇒ Eph 1:3-14;
⇒ Eph
3:20-21; Jude 24-25.
127 Cf. ⇒ Rev 4:8-11;
⇒ 5:9-14;
⇒ 7:10-12.
128 ⇒ Rev 6:10.
129 Cf. ⇒ Rev
18:24; ⇒ 19:1-8.
130 ⇒ Jas 1:17.
131 Cf. ⇒ Mal 1:11.
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