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)