470. God is not far from each one of us.

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 470

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

How to Pray: The Gift of God’s Presence

What prompts a person to pray?

We pray because we are full of an infinite longing and God has created us men for himself: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you” (St. Augustine).  But we pray also because we need to: Mother Teresa says, “Because I cannot rely on myself, I rely on him, twenty-four hours a day.”  [2566-2567, 2591]

Sermon On The Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch.…..470

Jesus’ Teaching about Prayer: 

 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.   In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

The Lord’s Prayer.   “This is how you are to pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.   Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.  If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.--Matthew 6:5-15

Often we forget God, run away from him and hide.  Whether we avoid thinking about God or deny him—he is always there for us.  He seeks us before we seek him; he yearns for us, he calls us.  You speak with your conscience and suddenly notice that you are speaking with God. You feel lonely, have no one to talk with, and then sense that God is always available to talk.  You are in danger and experience that a cry for help is answered by God.  Praying is as human as breathing, eating, and loving.  Praying purifies.  Praying makes it possible to resist temptations.  Praying strengthens us in our weakness.  Praying removes fear, increases energy, and gives a second wind. Praying makes one happy.

“Do what you can, and pray for what you cannot, and so God will grant you the ability to do it.”  --St. Augustine (354-430)

“They should seek God in the hope that they might feel after him and find him.  Yet he is not far from each one of us.”  Acts of the Apostles 17:27

“Praying does not mean listening to yourself speak; praying means calming down and being still and waiting until you hear God.”  --Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

“Suddenly I experienced the silence like a presence.  At the heart of this silence was the One who is himself silence, peace, and tranquility.” --Georges Bernanos (1888-1948)

[2566-2567, 2591]

THE UNIVERSAL CALL TO PRAYER

2566 Man is in search of God. In the act of creation, God calls every being from nothingness into existence. "Crowned with glory and honor," man is, after the angels, capable of acknowledging "how majestic is the name of the Lord in all the earth." (Psalm 8:5; Ps 8:1.)¹ Even after losing through his sin his likeness to God, man remains an image of his Creator, and retains the desire for the one who calls him into existence. All religions bear witness to men's essential search for God. (Compare Acts of the Apostles 17:27.)² –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2567 God calls man first.Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer. In prayer, the faithful God's initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response. As God gradually reveals himself and reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama. Through words and actions, this drama engages the heart. It unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation. --CCC

IN BRIEF

2591 God tirelessly calls each person to this mysterious encounter with Himself. Prayer unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation as a reciprocal call between God and man. –CCC

JT Beatitudes  Sermon On The Mount