Resources for Prayer and Worship
Provided here are resources to
help you deepen your spiritual life through prayer. Before coming to the
liturgy, we are called to faith and conversion, and as members of the Body of
Christ we are invited to prepare for the sacraments, to observe what Christ has
commanded, and to engage in works of charity, piety, and mercy (cf. Second
Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 9). Thus, “the sacred
liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church,” and at the same
time, “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is
directed; at the same time it is the source from which all her power flows”
(nos. 9-10).
All prayer, public
and private, leads us to deeper communion with God. Our Lord calls us to pray
in private, with our families and loved ones, and in the Church’s liturgical
celebrations. There are many ways to pray, and the Church’s tradition
highlights four basic kinds of prayer:
- Prayer of Blessing and Adoration
(we praise God for who He is)
- Prayer of Petition (we ask for
what God wills for us)
- Prayer of Intercession (we ask
for what God wills for others)
- Prayer of Thanksgiving (we give
thanks for God’s action in our lives)
The Church’s
tradition also highlights three expressions of prayer:
- Vocal Prayer
- Meditation (prayerful reflection
that begins with the Word of God and engages our thoughts, imagination,
emotions and desire)
- Contemplative Prayer (a gift from
God in which we gaze upon Him in silence and love)