What is Prayer?

What is prayer? For St. Therese of Lisieux prayer is “a surge of the heart; it is a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” Prayer primarily serves to elevate one’s heart and mind toward God so that one can know and love Him better. By praying, one can acquire the graces so desperately needed to overcome one’s fallen human nature and live how God intended him to live. 

However, one should not judge a prayer’s success on the exterior good it seems to accomplish. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines prayer as a “vital and personal relationship with God,” clarifying that prayer is Christian prayer as it is “communion with Christ” and “a covenant relationship between God and man.” Rather than simply seeing prayer as a means to an end so one can acquire graces, true Christian prayer is having a relationship with God. If one does not pray, one does not have a relationship with God, no matter his philosophical or theological ideology. 

Furthermore, if one does not pray, he will not have the graces necessary to understand the truth or live it out in a way that will lovingly glorify God. While prayer may involve pre-written prayers such as the Our Father or Hail Mary, they need not consist of only these. Prayer can also be mental and meditative, such as Lectio Divina, or Prayer of Recollection. Lectio Divina consists of choosing a scripture passage, reading it carefully word for word, and then meditating on it. Through this meditation, the Lord speaks to the individual soul. Prayer of Recollection consists of sitting quietly, closing one’s eyes, and raising one’s heart and soul to the Lord. Through this silent contemplation, the Lord also speaks to the soul. Prayer can also be spontaneous. Any thought, loving word, or gaze at God is a prayer in and of itself.

Moving from private to public prayer, the Catholic community primarily understands the latter through the Liturgies of the Mass and the Divine Office. According to the USCCB, liturgy comes from “a Greek term meaning public work or work done on behalf of the people.” Both definitions are especially fitting for the liturgy. The Mass is both a public work, offered by the celebrating priest along with the aid of the servers and laity, and a work done on behalf of the people, as the priest offers Mass for the spiritual good of his flock. Through this liturgy, we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. The Catechism notes that the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian Life.” Mediated by the Church’s public prayer, we attain the graces needed for ultimate union with God. 

With the Divine Office, Catholic priests and laity sanctify the day and order it toward God so that the world might grow ever closer to Him. As souls join in public and private prayer, they live out their relationships with God to glorify Him forever.