Prayer in the Catholic Tradition: More Than Just the Rosary

Prayer in the Catholic Tradition sometimes receives a bit of a bum rap. For those who are disenchanted with Catholicism it becomes far too easy to paint the Church as a collection of eccentric robots who gather around a statue of the Virgin Mary and mumble the words associated with the Rosary. Suffice it to say such explanations are missing the much broader picture of the full breadth of Prayer in the Catholic Tradition. Not only are there an abundance of other specific prayers that are part of Catholic prayer life, there are, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church ( www.christusrex.org ) at least 5 specific kinds of prayer forms in which Catholics should feel comfortable.

Blessing and Adoration. A frequently used prayer form that many Catholics use, sometimes without recognizing that they are doing so, are categorized by the Catechism of the Catholic Church as prayers of "Blessing and Adoration" . In this prayer form the person praying in a sense takes the blessing he or she has received from God and returns it to God. Such prayers are our human attempt to bless God who we also acknowledge to be the source of all our own blessings.

An example of a formalized prayer of Blessing might begin "Blessed be God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth. Blessed be his holy name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man."

Petition Probably the most frequently used form of prayer in the Catholic tradition is prayer of petition. As the name implies in this form of prayer, the person praying is on a mission to get God's attention and assistance in meeting a particular life need. Petitions can speak to any human need but often include a request that God forgive us for our sins or direct us as we go about our daily lives seeking the kingdom of God.

In a sense anyone who says the "Lord's Prayer" is effectively delivering to the Almighty a prayer of petition. In the Lord's Prayer we ask for "our daily bread" , that God might "forgive us our trespasses" , and that he might "deliver us from evil". Each phrase is seen as a single petition or request for help.