Vocal Prayer Difficulties Last week we described vocal prayer as simply “speaking” (out loud, mentally, or by writing) to God in words. Today we look at some difficulties that can sometimes arise with vocal prayer. Jesus tells us to not pray before people for the sake of gaining their respect (Mt 6:-5-6). Obviously there are times we physically are necessarily praying with others so it would seem on one level that He is only talking about personal prayer times. That’s why He says, go shut the door. But the underlying issue isn’t so much as where our bodies are as to where our hearts are. Are we posturing ourselves for show? Are we trying to impress someone, or even God, with our piety? We can find ourselves doing this at home, at Mass, or in a huge arena with thousands. It’s not that we don’t want to look devout in order to not be showing off, that’s not it. We should be devout, natural, and joyful in the Lord. It’s a matter of what are we seeking: admiration from others? (Or av...

Vocal Prayer       There are multiple ways to describe prayer, and one way is by considering the activity of the person praying, i.e., the action, expression, or experience as one prays. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (“CCC”) speaks of three major expressions of prayer (vocal, meditative, and contemplative) with the one basic trait of composure of heart (CCC 2699).       The Catechism notes that God’s Word to us took on human flesh (Jesus), and by our words our prayer takes on flesh (ours) where we also present our hearts to God (CCC 2700). It is precisely because we humans have a nature that is both body and soul that we need to translate our feelings and desires externally in words, which is the first expression of prayer: vocal prayer.       In vocal prayer we “speak” (out loud, mentally, or by writing) to God in words. If we are in a crisis we might just pray, “God, help me!” This is real pra...

Prayer – What it Is        Last week we looked at examples of what prayer is not. Now we will jump to the heart of what prayer is by asking first, What does it mean to be human?       The Vatican II constitution on the “Church in the Modern World” ( Gaudium et Spes ), 19, says, “The root reason for human dignity lies in man’s call to communion with God. From the very circumstance of his origin, man is already invited to converse with God.” We see this in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 where God creates Adam and Eve, blesses them, gives them tasks (purpose), speaks to them, and “waits” for their response (e.g., 2:19, 3:9). God gave them the covenant of marriage (2:24) which images (cf. 1:27) the loving communion of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the Blessed Trinity; cf. 1:26, “Let us”), and of Christ and His Body, the Church (Eph 5:31-32). So our human dignity, at its deepest root, lies in the fact that God invites us to communion – and we w...

Prayer - What it Is Not        This may be an odd way to start a series of articles on prayer, but sometimes we can grasp better what something IS if we first look at what it IS NOT.       So let’s distinguish between bad prayer and what is not prayer. Bad prayer might be asking for something which clearly is not God’s will, or asking with doubt and lack of faith. It may not be effective prayer, but it is still prayer if, even in our immaturity, we are still reaching out to God with some degree of sincerity and faith.       On the other hand, Jesus gives us an example of what is not prayer at all. He tells of a man who “stood and prayed thus with [to] himself, ‘God I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’” (Lk 18:11-12.) Interesting that Jesus says the man is praying “with” himself, or so...

A Small and Stubborn Heart: The Story of Jonah       The Biblical book of Jonah tells us the prophet Jonah's message (destruction of Nineveh if the people did not repent), but also tells us of Jonah's smallness of heart.           Jonah prophesied some time before 732 BC. Other biblical and apocryphal books (2 Kings, Tobit, and 3 Maccabees), Jesus, and Josephus, a Jewish historian of the First Century, all understood Jonah to be a historical person relating actual events.       Jesus said, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Mt 12:40). People tend to assume that Jonah was alive during the three days leading some to scoff and claim the book is fictional (although there is an 1896 incident where a person did survive being inside a sperm whale). However, Jonah's prayer in chapter 2 says th...

All Hallows Eve The word “Halloween” is a contraction for “All Hallows Eve,” which is the vigil or eve of All Saints Day (also called “Alhallowmass”), at which time the Roman Catholic Church commemorates all of the hallowed ("made holy") saints in Christian history. The historical origin of All Hallows Eve goes back to the ancient Celtic tribes who lived in Scotland, Wales, and Brittany (today's France). They were pagans, Druids actually, and Nov 1st marked the beginning of the new year and the coming of winter. The eve before Nov 1st, they celebrated a festival called “Lord of the Dead” or “Samhain.” During this festival Celts believed that the souls of the dead, including ghosts, goblins, and witches, returned and visited the living. In addition, they believed that evil people reincarnated as cats, which also made their appearance on Oct 31st. In order to scare away these unwelcome visitors, the people would don masks and light bonfires. After the Romans conquer...

Praying the Psalms ... a Personal Account        For the conclusion of our series on praying the Psalms, a wonderful first-person account may inspire our own prayer of the Psalms.      In Book IX of St. Augustine’s Confessions  (written 397-401 AD), St. Augustine relates how Psalm 4 showed him his life before and after his conversion (August, 386 AD). The Confessions in older translation is in public domain (e.g., at http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/110109.htm ), so we will quote him but with modifications for clarity and readability.       “What utterances I sent up to You, my God, when I read the Psalms of David, those faithful songs and sounds of devotion with no swelling of pride ... and how was I inflamed towards You by them, and burned to recite them, if it were possible, throughout the whole world, against the pride of the human race! And yet they are sung throughout the whole world, and 'none can hide him...