499 WHEN TO PRAY

YOUCAT Lesson 499

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth 

Chapter Three:  The Way of Prayer

499  When should a person pray?

From the earliest times Christians have prayed at least in the morning, at meals, and in the evening.  Someone who does not pray regularly will soon not pray at all.  [2697-2698, 2720]

Christ, by Titian - (detail) 1553, oil on canvas, Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain. …..499

Anyone who loves another person and all day long never gives that person a sign of his love does not really love him.  So it is with God, too.  Anyone who truly seeks him will keep sending him signals of his longing for his company and friendship.  Get up in the morning and give the day to God, asking for his blessing and to “be there” in all your meetings and needs.  Thank him especially at mealtimes.  At the end of the day, place everything into his hands, ask him for forgiveness, and pray for peace for yourself and others.  A great day—full of signs of life that reach God.  188

“One should remember God more frequently than one breathes.”  St. Gregory Nazianzen (330-390)

“I therefore invite you every day to seek the Lord, who wants nothing more than for you to be truly happy.  Foster an intense and constant relationship with him in prayer and, when possible, find suitable moments in your day to be alone in his company.  If you do not know how to pray, ask him to teach you, and ask your heavenly Mother to pray with you and for you.”  Pope Benedict XVI to the young people of the Netherlands, November21, 2005

[2697-2698, 2720]

THE LIFE OF PRAYER 

2697 Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment. But we tend to forget him who is our life and our all. This is why the Fathers of the spiritual life in the Deuteronomic and prophetic traditions insist that prayer is a remembrance of God often awakened by the memory of the heart "We must remember God more often than we draw breath."( St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Orat. theo., 27,1,4:Patrologia Graeca 36,16.)¹ But we cannot pray "at all times" if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it. These are the special times of Christian prayer, both in intensity and duration. --Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2698 The Tradition of the Church proposes to the faithful certain rhythms of praying intended to nourish continual prayer. Some are daily, such as morning and evening prayer, grace before and after meals,[the Rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet], the Liturgy of the Hours [150 Psalms], Sundays centered on the Eucharist [Mass with its hymns], are kept holy primarily by prayer. The cycle of the liturgical year and its great feasts are also basic rhythms of the Christian's life of prayer. (Texts enclosed in brackets [....] are added by Don L. Bragg) --CCC