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Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good: it is a partnership and union with God. As the eyes of the body are enlightened when they see light, so our spirit, when it is intent on God, is illumined by his infinite light. I do not mean the prayer of outward observance but prayer from the heart, not confined to fixed times or periods but continuous throughout the day and night. Our spirit should be quick to reach out toward God, not only when it is engaged in meditation; at other times also, when it is carrying out its duties, caring for the needy, performing works of charity, giving generously in the service of others, our spirit should long for God and call him to mind, so that these works may be seasoned with the salt of God’s love, and so make a palatable offering to the Lord of the universe. Throughout the whole of our lives we may enjoy the benefit that comes from prayer if we devote a great deal of time to it. Prayer is the light of the spirit, true knowledge of God, mediating between God and man. The spirit, raised up to heaven by prayer, clings to God with the utmost tenderness; like a child crying tearfully for its mother, it craves the milk that God provides. It seeks the satisfaction of its own desires, and receives gifts outweighing the whole world of nature. Prayer stands before God as an honored ambassador. It gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart. I speak of prayer, not words. It is the longing for God, love too deep for words, a gift not given by man but by God’s grace. The apostle Paul says: We do not know how we are to pray but the Spirit himself pleads for us with inexpressible longings. When the Lord gives this kind of prayer to a man, he gives him riches that cannot be taken away, heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. One who tastes this food is set on fire with an eternal longing for the Lord: his spirit burns as in a fire of utmost intensity. Practice prayer from the beginning. Paint your house with the colors of modesty and humility. Make it radiant with the light of justice. Decorate it with the finest gold leaf of good deeds. Adorn it with the walls and stones of faith and generosity. Crown it with the pinnacle of prayer. In this way you will make it a perfect dwelling place for the Lord. You will be able to receive him as in a splendid palace, and through his grace you will already possess him, his image enthroned in the temple of your spirit. From a homily by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop. {4:9} Then every man cried to God with great fervor, and they humbled their souls with great vehemence, {4:10} and both they and their wives and their children, and their cattle, and every stranger and hired hand, and their servants bought with money, put sackcloth on their loins. {4:11} Thus every man, and the women and little children, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell before the temple and cast ashes upon their heads and spread out their sackcloth before the face of the Lord; they also put sackcloth around the altar. {4:12} And they cried to the God of Israel, all with one consent earnestly, so that he would not give over their children as prey and their wives for a spoil and the cities of their inheritance to destruction and the sanctuary to profanation and reproach, for the nations to rejoice over them. {4:13} So God heard their prayers and looked upon their afflictions; for the people fasted many days in all Judea and Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty. {4:14} And Joacim the high priest, and all the priests who stood before the Lord and those who ministered to the Lord, had their loins dressed with sackcloth, and offered the daily burnt offerings with the vows and free gifts of the people, {4:15} and had ashes on their liturgical headdresses; and they cried to the Lord with all their power, so that he would look upon all the house of Israel graciously. The Book of Judith 4:9-15 {8:21} Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. {8:22} For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, "The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those who forsake him." {8:23} So we fasted and begged our God for this: and he was entreated of us. Ezra 8:21-23 Prayer is the offering in spirit that has done away with the sacrifices of old. What good do I receive from the multiplicity of your sacrifices? asks God. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams, and I do not want the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls and goats. Who has asked for these from your hands? What God has asked for we learn from the Gospel. The hour will come, he says, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. God is a spirit, and so he looks for worshippers who are like himself. We are true worshippers and true priests. We pray in spirit, and so offer in spirit the sacrifice of prayer. Prayer is an offering that belongs to God and is acceptable to him: it is the offering he has asked for, the offering he planned as his own. We must dedicate this offering with our whole heart, we must fatten it on faith, tend it by truth, keep it unblemished through innocence and clean through chastity, and crown it with love. We must escort it to the altar of God in a procession of good works to the sound of psalms and hymns. Then it will gain for us all that we ask of God. Since God asks for prayer offered in spirit and in truth, how can he deny anything to this kind of prayer? How great is the evidence of its power, as we read and hear and believe. Of old, prayer was able to rescue from fire and beasts and hunger, even before it received its perfection from Christ. How much greater then is the power of Christian prayer. No longer does prayer bring an angel of comfort to the heart of a fiery furnace, or close up the mouths of lions, or transport to the hungry food from the fields. No longer does it remove all sense of pain by the grace it wins for others. But it gives the armour of patience to those who suffer, who feel pain, who are distressed. It strengthens the power of grace, so that faith may know what it is gaining from the Lord, and understand what it is suffering for the name of God. In the past prayer was able to bring down punishment, rout armies, withhold the blessing of rain. Now, however, the prayer of the just turns aside the whole anger of God, keeps vigil for its enemies, pleads for persecutors. Is it any wonder that it can call down water from heaven when it could obtain fire from heaven as well? Prayer is the one thing that can conquer God. But Christ has willed that it should work no evil, and has given it all power over good. Its only art is to call back the souls of the dead from the very journey into death, to give strength to the weak, to heal the sick, to exorcise the possessed, to open prison cells, to free the innocent from their chains. Prayer cleanses from sin, drives away temptations, stamps out persecutions, comforts the fainthearted, gives new strength to the courageous, brings travellers safely home, calms the waves, confounds robbers, feeds the poor, overrules the rich, lifts up the fallen, supports those who are falling, sustains those who stand firm. All the angels pray. Every creature prays. Cattle and wild beasts pray and bend the knee. As they come from their barns and caves they look out to heaven and call out, lifting up their spirit in their own fashion. The birds too rise and lift themselves up to heaven: they open out their wings, instead of hands, in the form of a cross, and give voice to what seems to be a prayer. What more need be said on the duty of prayer? Even the Lord himself prayed. To him be honour and power for ever and ever. Amen. From the treatise On Prayer by Tertullian, priest. {18:1} He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up, {18:2} saying, "There was a judge in a certain city who didn't fear God, and didn't respect man. {18:3} A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, 'Defend me from my adversary!' {18:4} He wouldn't for a while, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God, nor respect man, {18:5} yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.'" {18:6} The Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge says. {18:7} Won't God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them? {18:8} I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:1-8 Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving. Paul's Letter to the Colossians 4:2 {22:45} When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples, and found them sleeping because of grief, {22:46} and said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation." The Good News According to Luke 22:45-46 {21:34} "So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly. {21:35} For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth. {21:36} Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man." The Good News According to Luke 21:34-36 {5:15} But the report concerning him spread much more, and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. {5:16} But he withdrew himself into the desert, and prayed. The Good News According to Luke 5:15-16 Be not faint-hearted in your prayer; The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach 7:10 {5:17} Pray without ceasing. Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians 5:17 His (the pope's) dialogue with God lasted constantly, he needed to pray unceasingly, also in public places, in the presence of crowds. Action and contemplation in him seemed to be one and the same. Joaquín Navarro-Valls about John Paul II "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. Or who is there among you, who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Matthew 7:7:11 This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more... Paul's Letter to the Philippians 1:9 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Paul's Letter to the Philippians 4:6 Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even to heaven. The Second Book of Chronicles 30:27 All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. Matthew 21:22 Watch and pray, that you don't enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41 Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer. O Lord, Father and God of my life, Give me not a proud look, And turn away concupiscense from me. Let not greediness and chambering overtake me; And give me not over to a shameless mind. The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach 23:4-6 And above all this entreat the Most High, That he may direct your way in truth. The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach 37:15 {5:16} Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. The Letter from James 5:16-18 There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn't depart from the temple, worshipping with fastings and petitions night and day. The Good News According to Luke 2:36-37 It happened in these days, that he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve... The Good News According to Luke 6:12-13 Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you shall have peace. Jeremiah 29:7 When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before. Daniel 6:10 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Matthew 21:22 Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. The Letter from James 5:13-15 The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.
Unceasingly prays he, who combines prayer with deeds and deeds with prayer. Only in this way the rule of praying without ceasing can be considered feasible. Origen (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2745) "Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you." Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 3 THE SEVEN PETITIONS To those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he has promised to give all else besides. Since everything indeed belongs to God, he who possesses God wants for nothing, if he himself is not found wanting before God. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 3 THE SEVEN PETITIONS He "prays without ceasing" who unites prayer to works and good works to prayer. Only in this way can we consider as realizable the principle of praying without ceasing. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult, easy.... For it is impossible, utterly impossible, for the man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER Prayer is a vital necessity. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public or strolling alone, or seated in your shop, . . . while buying or selling, . . . or even while cooking. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER "Pray constantly . . . always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." St. Paul adds, "Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the saints." For "we have not been commanded to work, to keep watch and to fast constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without ceasing." Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER ...You don't have, because you don't ask. You ask, and don't receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures. The humble are not surprised by their distress; it leads them to trust more, to hold fast in constancy. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER Prayer takes time, and saint pray and get done more in less time. Tom Mohaghan I love you, O my God, and my only desire is to love you until the last breath of my life. I love you, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving you, than live without loving you. I love you, Lord, and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally.... My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I draw breath. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Chapter Two - The Tradition Of Prayer Another temptation, to which presumption opens the gate, is acedia. the spiritual writers understand by this a form of depression due to lax ascetical practice, decreasing vigilance, carelessness of heart. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER The most common yet most hidden temptation is our lack of faith. It expresses itself less by declared incredulity than by our actual preferences. When we begin to pray, a thousand labors or cares thought to be urgent vie for priority. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER Prayer is a mystery that overflows both our conscious and unconscious lives. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER The Great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. the "spiritual battle" of the Christian's new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2 THE BATTLE OF PRAYER Continue steadfastly in prayer. Paul's Letter to the Colossians 4.2. When we feel being poisoned by stress, pressure, pain and failures: the best ANTIDOTE is to PRAY. Nothing more, nothing less. Author unknown Prayer is the most important deed of all; it makes things impossible to become possible, it makes things difficult to become easy. It is impossible for a praying person to sin. St. John Chrysostom He who prays gets definitely saved, and he who does not pray, gets himself definitely condemned. St. Alphonsus de Liguori (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2744) Unceasingly prays he, who combines prayer with deeds and deeds with prayer. Only in this way the rule of praying without ceasing can be considered feasible. Origen (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2745) "Prayer is the most important deed in life, and all the other deeds are secondary." St. Gregory the Theologian If we have problems, it's because we do not pray enough. Gregory Planchak Praying, we can change the face of the earth. Gregory Planchak Prayer is something sweetest and most pleasant... Gregory Planchak In all situations, a prayer provides the best real help for us. Paisios of the Holy Mountain By prayer, two grains will grow into four spikelets. Who prays, will see God. Father Bosco
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