# Prayer ## Catechism of the Catholic Church The elevation of the mind and heart to God in praise of his glory; a petition made to God for some desired good, or in thanksgiving for a good received, or in intercession for others before God. Through prayer the Christian experiences a communion with God through Christ in the Church ([[4.1.0.0.p8z#^ccc-2559|2559]]-[[4.1.0.0.p8z#^ccc-2565|2565]]). ## Interior Castle Glossary The Interior Castle: Study Edition / Second Edition, Revised includes Full Text of St. Teresa of Avila's Work, Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD ### [[pursuits-texts/05-reference/01-glossary/prayer|Prayer]] For Teresa it was a loving personal relationship with the Lord. “Speak with Him as with a father, or a brother, or a lord, or as with a spouse; sometimes in one way, at other times in another” (W 28.3). A human-divine relationship within the mystery of faith, hope, and love. This leads to her famous definition: “For mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us” (L 8.5). The definition is based on faith, on the conviction that God loves us, and this conviction is founded on the idea that God proposes himself to the one praying as a friend. This supposes the lowering of God in Christ to make this friendship possible—thus the importance of the humanity of Christ in our prayer. There are different kinds of prayer, and for Teresa they are as follows: ### [[prayer-ascetical|Ascetical Prayer]] * This is the prayer found in the first three dwelling places; it depends on human effort along with God’s grace. ### [[prayer-mystical|Mystical Prayer]] This is the prayer found in the last four dwelling places. It is called by Teresa “supernatural prayer” because it is a gift of God and cannot be acquired through our own efforts. ### [[prayer-painful|Painful Prayer]] The soul is in total dryness; no consolation is admitted into its interior. It seems to it that God is far away and that it has never been mindful of him and never will be. Its prayer becomes a torment to it. It feels rejected by God and an unbearable interior oppression. Its [[intellect|Intellect]] is so darkened that it becomes incapable of seeing the truth and believes whatever foolish things the [[imagination|Imagination]] represents to it. Books are of no help because it doesn’t understand what it reads; the intellect is incapable of understanding. The only remedy is to wait for the mercy of God. See also: [[prayer-ascetical|Ascetical Prayer]], [[prayer-mystical|Mystical Prayer]], [[prayer-painful|Painful Prayer]] ## Ignatius Catholic Study Bible **Prayer** Benedictus ("Prayer of Zechariah"): [[luke-01#^luke-01-68|Lk 1:68-79]] Christ's prayer for his disciples ("High Priestly Prayer"): [[john-17#^john-17-1|Jn 17:1-26]] Constant prayer: [[romans-12#^romans-12-12|Rom 12:12]]; [[ephesians-05#^ephesians-05-20|Eph 5:20]]; [[ephesians-06#^ephesians-06-18|6:18]]; [[1-thessalonians-05#^1-thessalonians-05-17|1 Thess 5:17]] Faith-filled prayer: [[matthew-21#^matthew-21-22|Mt 21:22]]; [[mark-11#^mark-11-24|Mk 11:24]]; [[james-01#^james-01-6|Jas 1:6-8]] For enemies: [[matthew-05#^matthew-05-44|Mt 5:44]] Hail Mary ("Ave Maria"): [[luke-01#^luke-01-28|Lk 1:28, 42]] Ineffectiveness of prayer without faith: [[james-01#^james-01-6|Jas 1:6-8]] Intercessory prayer: [[acts-of-the-apostles-07#^acts-of-the-apostles-07-60|Acts 7:60]]; [[acts-of-the-apostles-12#^acts-of-the-apostles-12-5|12:5]]; [[colossians-01#^colossians-01-9|Col 1:9-12]]; [[colossians-04#^colossians-04-12|4:12]]; [[hebrews-13#^hebrews-13-18|Heb 13:18-19]]; [[james-05#^james-05-16|Jas 5:16-17]] Jesus' practice of prayer: [[matthew-11#^matthew-11-25|Mt 11:25-26]]; [[matthew-14#^matthew-14-23|14:23]]; [[matthew-26#^matthew-26-36|26:36-44]]; [[mark-01#^mark-01-35|Mk 1:35]]; [[mark-06#^mark-06-46|6:46]]; [[mark-14#^mark-14-32|14:32-39]]; [[luke-03#^luke-03-21|Lk 3:21]]; [[luke-05#^luke-05-16|5:16]]; [[luke-06#^luke-06-12|6:12]]; [[luke-09#^luke-09-18|9:18, 28-29]]; [[luke-11#^luke-11-1|11:1]]; [[luke-22#^luke-22-32|22:32]]; [[luke-22#^luke-22-41|22:41-45]]; [[john-11#^john-11-41|Jn 11:41-42]]; [[john-17#^john-17-1|17:1-26]]; [[hebrews-05#^hebrews-05-7|Heb 5:7]] Jesus' teaching on prayer: [[matthew-06#^matthew-06-5|Mt 6:5-13]]; [[matthew-07#^matthew-07-7|7:7-11]]; [[luke-11#^luke-11-2|Lk 11:2-4]] Magnificat ("Prayer of Our Lady"): [[luke-01#^luke-01-46|Lk 1:46-55]] Non-Christian's prayers: [[acts-of-the-apostles-10#^acts-of-the-apostles-10-4|Acts 10:4]] *Nunc Dimittis* ("Prayer of Simeon"): [[luke-02#^luke-02-29|Lk 2:29-32]] Our Father ("Pater Noster"; "The Lord's Prayer"): [[matthew-06#^matthew-06-9|Mt 6:9-13]]; [[luke-11#^luke-11-2|Lk 11:2-4]] Persistence in prayer: [[matthew-07#^matthew-07-7|Mt 7:7-8]]; [[luke-02#^luke-02-37|Lk 2:37]]; [[luke-06#^luke-06-12|6:12]]; [[luke-11#^luke-11-5|11:5-13]] Prayers for the dead: [[2-timothy-01#^2-timothy-01-16|2 Tim 1:16-18]] Repetition in prayer is not wrong in itself: [[matthew-26#^matthew-26-44|Mt 26:44]]; [[revelation-04#^revelation-04-8|Rev 4:8-11]] Warning against verbose or unnecessarily repetitive prayer: [[matthew-06#^matthew-06-7|Mt 6:7-8]] *See also* [[intercession|Intercession of the Saints]] ### Sources [[index-of-doctrines|Index of Doctrines]] # Divine Intimacy Meditations - How to seek God in —: 12,1,2; - to interrupt activity to give oneself to —: 12,1; 59,1; - apostolic activity should not absorb the time necessary for —: 325,2; 331,2; 339,1; - — should be a prolongation of the — of Jesus: 59,2; - — should be accompanied by sacrifice: 59,2; 326,1; - continuity of —: 146,1; - substance of every form of — is intimate contact with God: 146,1,2; 198,2; - our — should be filial contact with God: 198,1; - vocal —: 148,1,2; - necessary always to unite vocal — with mental —: 148,2; - liturgical —: 164,1,2; - relationship between liturgical — and personal —: 164,2; 167,2; - Holy Mass is the center of liturgical cult: 165,1,2; - Divine Office is the — of the Mystical Body 167,1,2; - efficacy of — made in the Name of Jesus: 175,1,2; - — is vain if it does not correspond to one’s life: 175,2; - not granted by God to one without fraternal charity: 182,1; - the more — is interwoven with sacrifice, the more efficacious it is: 326,1; - Jesus wishes the — of the heart: 350,1; - the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray and prays within us: 198,2; - God has ordained that certain graces necessary for our salvation and that of others should depend upon our —: 325,1,2; - apostolic — is one of the most potent means of the apostolate 325,1; - it is of the highest importance that there should be in the Church souls totally consecrated to —: 325,2; - — and self-indulgence do not go together: 92,2; - — places the soul in actual contact with God: 143,2; - God draws to Himself the soul who seeks Him in —: 145,2; 151,1; - the most precious knowledge of God does not come from reasoning but from the “sense” of God derived from the love and the action of the Holy Spirit: 143,2; 157,2; 158,1,2; 191,1; - vocal — 148,1,2; - difficulty in mental — produced by mobility of the imagination: 149,1; - how to make use of reading in order to pray: 149,2; - — consists much more in loving than in thinking: 149,2; 150,1,2; - reflections and reasoning should serve to awaken love: 150,1,2; - to begin — by placing oneself in the presence of God: 150,2; - mental — consists in an intimate contact with God: 150,2; 151,1; - intimate conversation with God: 151,1,2; - — of recollection based on the presence of God in the soul 152,1,2; - practice of recollecting the senses in — and withdrawing oneself with them into God: 152,2; - method of meditation which disposes the soul to contemplation: 150,1,2; - loving contemplative gaze: 151,2; - it is absurd to wish to meditate when God invites the soul to a simpler —; 158,1,2; - to recollect oneself in the presence of God by a simple glance of faith and love: 158,1; - loving attention to God: 158,2; 159,1; - action of the Holy Spirit in this form of —: 159,1; - conduct of the soul in passage from meditation to contemplation 159,1,2; - — deepens under the influence of the gift of knowledge: 309,2; - and understanding: 311,2; - and of wisdom: 313,2; - divers causes of aridity in —: 153,1,2; - fidelity to — regardless of aridity: 153,2; 155,2; 156,2; - it is a beautiful proof of our love to persevere in — regardless of aridity and repugnancy: 153,2; - to humbly welcome the torment of aridity in — 156,2; - the resolute decision not to relax in — regardless of all difficulties which one may meet: 156,1; - by means of aridity God raises the soul to a higher prayer 157,1,2; - in aridity is born a “sense” of God: 157,2; - soul should not be disturbed by her impotence and aridity in — 158,1; - to prolong — during the day: 160,1,2; - to maintain oneself in intimate contact with God by means of —: 160,1; - and by the practice of the presence of God: 162,1,2. - See [[aridity|Aridity]]; [[contemplation|Contemplation]]. --- ## Meditation Numbers - [[12-seeking-god-in-prayer|12. Seeking God in Prayer]] - [[59-the-prayer-of-jesus|59. The Prayer of Jesus]] - [[92-corporal-mortification|92. Corporal Mortification]] - [[143-the-living-water|143. The Living Water]] - [[145-our-preparation|145. Our Preparation]] - [[146-prayer|146. Prayer]] - [[148-vocal-prayer|148. Vocal Prayer]] - [[149-meditative-reading|149. Meditative Reading]] - [[150-meditation|150. Meditation]] - [[151-intimate-converse-with-god|151. Intimate Converse with God]] - [[152-prayer-of-recollection|152. Prayer of Recollection]] - [[153-aridity|153. Aridity]] - [[155-aridity-progress|155. Aridity and Progress]] - [[156-energetic-resolve|156. Energetic Resolve]] - [[157-aridity-and-contemplation|157. Practical Conduct]] - [[158-loving-attention|158. Loving Attention to God]] - [[159-practical-conduct|159. Practical Conduct]] - [[160-the-life-of-prayer|160. The Life of Prayer]] - [[162-practice-of-the-presence-of-god|162. Practice of the Presence of God]] - [[164-liturgical-prayer|164. Liturgical Prayer]] - [[165-holy-mass|165. Holy Mass]] - [[167-the-divine-office|167. The Divine Office]] - [[175-efficacious-prayer|175. Efficacious Prayer]] - [[182-waiting|182. Waiting]] - [[191-the-initiatives-of-the-holy-spirit|191. The Initiatives of the Holy Spirit]] - [[198-the-holy-spirit-and-prayer|198. The Holy Spirit and Prayer]] - [[309-the-gift-of-knowledge|309. The Gift of Knowledge]] - [[311-the-gift-of-understanding|311. The Gift of Understanding]] - [[313-the-gift-of-wisdom|313. The Gift of Wisdom]] - [[325-apostolic-prayer|325. Apostolic Prayer]] - [[326-apostolic-immolation|326. Apostolic Immolation]] - [[331-sanctification-in-the-apostolate|331. Sanctification in the apostolate]] - [[339-progress-in-the-apostolate|339. Progress in the apostolate]] - [[350-designs-of-peace-and-love|350. Designs of Peace and Love]] ## Compendium on Social Doctrine ![[sd-10-index-p#Prayer]]