Wednesday, September 9, 2020 –
A lot of Catholics have trouble with prayer: what is it? How do you do it? Why do we need it? Etc.
Well, the “why” we covered a few days ago (Friday, September 4, 2020) when we talked about the Three Eminent Good Works. For that not-so-in-depth exposé, see: Mrs. Flusche’s Super Basic Primer on the Three Eminent Good Works (Part II)…HERE. No need to repeat myself. (Sadly, there probably **is** a need to repeat myself, but I just don’t wanna! So harrumph!)
Anyhoo, back to the matter at hand: PRAYER. In this round of basic primers, I will layout the types of prayer and do a bit of digging into each on the how tos.
To make this even more confusing, I am going to cover two “lists” (for lack of a better word) of types of prayer. In the mega-section of the Catechism that covers prayer, this is **roughly** how prayer is discussed. The first grouping will be “expressions of prayer,” and the second grouping will be “forms of prayer.”
So here we go! I will give you a Catechism quote, then lay out our basic outline for each “list”:
CCC 2721 The Christian tradition comprises three major expressions of the life of prayer: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplative prayer. They have in common the recollection of the heart.
Section I: Expressions of Prayer
- External Prayer
- Vocal
- Internal Prayer
- Meditative
- Contemplative
CCC 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.
Section II: Forms of Prayer
- Blessing
- Petition (supplication)
- Intercession
- Thanksgiving
- Praise
Finally, we will cover two specific types of prayer that technically fall into previous categories, but many times get their own show just because their importance in our Catholic life: the Eucharist (adoration) and confession (forgiveness).
Holy Mother of God, pray for us!
