RCIA 12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer 12: The - - PDF document

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RCIA 12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer 12: The - - PDF document

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9/2/2019 RCIA 12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer 12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer The Sign of the Cross A distinctly Catholic (and Orthodox) sign The world knows we are Catholic and witnesses to our

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RCIA

12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Sign of the Cross

  • A distinctly Catholic (and Orthodox) sign

– The world knows we are Catholic and witnesses to

  • ur faith
  • Touch forehead, heart, left & right shoulder

– “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”

  • Signifies the Trinity

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Sign of the Cross

  • Used…

– at the beginning & end of prayer – when receiving a blessing – during times of temptation – when in danger

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Battle of Prayer

Introduction

  • “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart

to God” (CCC 2559)

– Our way of establishing a relationship with God

  • Unique
  • Personal

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Battle of Prayer

Introduction (cont.)

  • Jesus: we “ought always to

pray” (Lk 18:1)

  • Apart from Him “we can

do nothing” (Jn 15:5)

  • Without us, He will do

nothing (free will)

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Battle of Prayer

Introduction (cont.)

  • Spending time with God…

– makes us more aware of His presence – strengthens us in virtue – helps us avoid sin and subjection to Satan

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Battle of Prayer

Introduction (cont.)

  • Prayer is not always easy

– Contend with obstacles

  • Satan
  • Our fallen nature

– Distraction – Dryness – Lack of faith – Discouragement

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Battle of Prayer

Distraction

  • “The spirit indeed is willing,

but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41)

  • Counteract by re-concentrating

– God is pleased in our struggles if we don’t give in

  • Solitude and silence helps
  • Make effort to detach from worldly things,

thoughts, desires

– Self-denial, mortification help control desires – Self-mastery makes us more confident and competent

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Battle of Prayer

Dryness

  • Loss of desire or taste for spiritual things
  • Helps

– Spiritual director – Perseverance

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Battle of Prayer

Lack of Faith

  • Faith is the foundation of all our prayers

– Concentrate on the Giver, not the gifts

  • To know, love, & serve God is the purpose of existence
  • We must believe in Him, trust in Him, that He

knows what if for our good

– His will must prevail

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Battle of Prayer

Discouragement

  • Thinking prayers are not heard, not answered
  • Be persistent
  • God’s “thoughts are not [our] thoughts, neither

are [our] ways his ways” (Isaiah 55:8)

  • Our “Father knows what [we] need before [we]

ask him” (Matthew 6:8)

  • Ask what He wants for His purposes and for us

– Avoid selfishness

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Battle of Prayer

The Transformative Power of Prayer

  • God works on us

– Deepening faith – Admit dependence on Him – Long for Him more

  • Prayer’s purpose: to make us holy

– So persevere – strive valiantly to gain eternal life

  • Prayer’s fruit: faith

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Christian Meditation

  • Helps us rediscover inner peace where we are

alone with God

  • Used by many religions & by those with none
  • A quest (CCC 2705)
  • Quiet time

– Spent in conscious presence of God, saints – Talk to God about anything – Listen for response

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Christian Meditation

  • Spiritual reading helps guide us

– Firstly, the Bible

  • Lectio Divina: divine reading
  • “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than

any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12)

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Christian Meditation

  • Methods

– Religious orders (e.g., Dominicans) – The rosary (saving events of lives of Jesus & Mary)

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Christian Meditation

  • Source and strength for meditation: Holy Spirit

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Christian Meditation

  • In meditation we…

– seek to penetrate the heart and mind of God – examine our lives – tell God our joys and sorrows – praise and thank God – sincerely express our failings – ask forgiveness – intend to conform to His will – ask to be more constantly aware of Him

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Heights of Prayer: Contemplation

  • Contemplation

– The ultimate form of Christian prayer – A mystery – Teresa Avila: “a close sharing between friends” – Soul’s attention riveted on the Lord

  • Intense, intimate

– Human words useless – God is the initiator – a total gift

  • Requires humility, self-surrender, abandonment

– “Dark night”: soul bereft of experience of God (John of the Cross) – Spiritual director strongly recommended

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Detail of St. Theresa (1827) by François Gérard Saint John of the Cross (1656) by Francisco de Zurbarán

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

  • Comes from the piercing of Jesus’ heart on the

cross after His death

  • “On that day there shall be a fountain opened

for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness” (Zechariah 12:1)

– Cleansing waters of forgiveness – Blood of redemption

  • Heart of Christ: symbol of His boundless love

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

  • Essential elements

– Wholehearted acts of love to Jesus – Beg pardon for humanity’s rejection of the Lord

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

  • Special primacy over all other devotions

– Must be cherished by all the Catholic faithful

  • “Extraordinary remedy for the extraordinary

needs of our time”

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Offering My God, I offer You all my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for the intentions for which He pleads and offers Himself in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in thanksgiving for Your favors, in reparation for my sins, and in humble supplication for my temporal and eternal welfare, for the needs of our holy Mother the Church, for the conversion of sinners, and for the relief of the poor souls in purgatory.

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The San Damiano Cross

Devotion to the Cross

  • Francis of Assisi (13th c.)

– Called by God to “repair my house” – Made physical repairs to local churches – Later he and his followers built up the lives of God’s people, the Church

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The San Damiano Cross

  • St. Francis’ Payer Before the San Damiano Cross

“Most high glorious God, bring light to the darkness of my heart. Give me the right faith, certain hope, and perfect charity, insight, and wisdom, so I can always observe your holy and true command. Amen.”

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Praying to Mary: Idolatry or the Will of God?

  • Mary’s last words in Scripture:

“Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5)

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Praying to Mary: Idolatry or the Will of God?

  • Mary is honored & venerated but not adored
  • Infinite difference human Mary & divine Jesus
  • We pray to the one who is nearer to the

Throne of God than any other created being

  • In the Incarnation she became…

– daughter of the Father – mother of the Son – spouse of the Holy Spirit

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Praying to Mary: Idolatry or the Will of God?

  • From Mary’s Magnificat:

– “[A]ll generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:48)

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Magnificat by Sister Mary Grace Thul

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Holy Rosary

  • Private devotion
  • Meditation upon the life, death, and

Resurrection of Jesus

  • Second most highly recom-

mended prayer form

  • Originated with revelation

to St. Dominic (early 13th c.) to fight heresy

– Evolved over time

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

The Holy Rosary

  • Structure

– Four sets of mysteries

  • Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, Glorious

– Centered on Jesus from the Gospels

  • Each set contains five dec-

ades of Scriptural prayers

– Our Father – Ten Hail Marys – Glory Be

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

Novenas

  • Prayer said for a particular intention

– For nine consecutive days or weeks

  • Nine because that was the time between Ascension and

Pentecost

  • “[P]ray constantly”

(1 Thessalonians 5:17)

– One way of persev- ering in a life of prayer

  • Devotional booklets

are plentiful

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Pentecost3 (1377) by Barnaba da Modena

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12: The Battle of Prayer and Traditions of Prayer

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