482. Early Christian prayer

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 482

Ave Maria series

What role did prayer play among the first Christians?

The first Christians prayed intensively.  The early Church was moved by the Holy Spirit, who had come down upon the disciples and to whom they owed all their influence.  “They held steadfastly to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers” (Acts of the Apostles 2:42).

(L to R) Kenneth, Hope and Stephen Bragg visit Mission San Fransisco de los Tejas, a 1690 Spanish Catholic mission to the local Native Americans.  It was the first Catholic mission established in East Texas.--Don C Bragg photo ….. 482

Church Mission San Fransisco de los Tejas

481. The Rosary

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 481

Ave Maria series

481  How do you pray the Rosary?

1.    Beginning with the crucifix make the Sign of the Cross while thoughtfully saying: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”;

2.    then recite the Apostles’ Creed which begins, “I believe in God the Father almighty, etc…;

3.    then on the first bead say the “Our Father who art in heaven, etc…;

4.    then “Hail Mary full of grace, etc…” on each of the next three beads.

5.    On the fifth bead recite the doxology: “Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.”

6.    Continuing around the circle of beads pray the five decades, each decade beginning  with one Our Father, then ten Hail Marys, and finally the “Glory Be to the Father”.

The complete Rosary consists of Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries.

This is a very simple rosary.  The “beads” are appropriately grouped knots tied along the length of a single cord. The crucifix and medallion are of plastic. The rosary seen here has been blessed by a priest. …..481

The five Joyful mysteries (recited on Monday and Saturday) are:

The Annunciation

The Visitation

The Birth of Jesus

The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

The five Luminous Mysteries (Thursday) are:

The Baptism  of Jesus in the Jordan River

The Wedding Feast at Cana

The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God and Repentance for Sin

The Transfiguration

The Institution of the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion)

The five Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesday and Friday) are:

The Agony in the Garden

The Scourging at the Pillar

The Crowning with Thorns

The Carrying of the Cross

The Crucifixion

The five Glorious Mysteries (Wednesday and Sunday) are:

The Resurrection

The Ascension

The Descent of the Holy Spirit

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven

“The Rosary is my favorite prayer.  A marvelous prayer!  Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth…Against the background of the words “Hail Mary” the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul…At the same time our heart can embrace in the decades of the Rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind: our personal concerns and those of our neighbor, especially those who are closest to us, who are dearest to us.  Thus the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life.”  --Pope St. John Paul II October 29, 1978

“Rosary” is the name of a set of prayer beads and the name of a devotional prayer that originated in the twelfth century, particularly among the Cistercian and Carthusian monks, whose lay brothers did not participate in the Liturgy of the Hours and had in the Rosary their own form of prayer (the “Marian Psalter” ).  Later the Rosary was promoted by other religious orders, especially by the Dominicans.  The Popes have recommended this prayer again and again, and for many people it is a beloved devotion.

Rosary  Chaplet often recited

480. Hail Mary prayer

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 480

Ave Maria series

480  What are the words of the “Hail Mary”?

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.  Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.  Amen.

The Annunciation (painting by Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo).

The words of the Hail Mary in Latin are:  “Ave Maria, gratia plena.  Dominus tecum.  Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et beneductus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.  Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.  Amen.”

“Ave Maria” in Latin translates as “Hail Mary”.  The first part of the prayer is taken from the Bible.  The second part, “…now and at the hour of our death”, is an addition from the sixteenth century.

JC  Annunciation by Bartolomé 

479. Mary’s prayer

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 479

Ave Maria series

How can we learn from the way in which Mary prayed?

To learn from Mary how to pray means to join in her prayer: “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).  Prayer is ultimately self-giving in response to God’s love.  If we say Yes as Mary did, God has the opportunity to lead his life in our life.  84-85, 117

The Blessed Virgin Mary’s Visitation to Elizabeth by Mariotto Albertinelli.…..479

“Where  faith in the Mother of God declines, so does faith in the Son of God and in the Father.”  --Ludwig Feuerbach, (1804-1872), atheist philosopher

“Call on Mary with devotion, and she will not leave your needs unattended, since she is merciful, indeed, the Mother of Mercy.”  --St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

[2617-2618, 2622, 2674]

The prayer of the Virgin Mary

2617 Mary's prayer is revealed to us at the dawning of the fullness of time. Before the incarnation of the Son of God, and before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, her prayer cooperates in a unique way with the Father's plan of loving kindness: at the Annunciation, for Christ's conception; at Pentecost, for the formation of the Church, his Body.  (Compare Luke 1:38; Acts of the Apostles 1:14.)⁸⁸ In the faith of his humble handmaid, the Gift of God found the acceptance he had awaited from the beginning of time. She whom the Almighty made "full of grace" responds by offering her whole being: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." "Fiat": this is Christian prayer: to be wholly God's, because he is wholly ours. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2618 The Gospel reveals to us how Mary prays and intercedes in faith. At Cana, (Compare John 2:1-12.)⁸⁹ the mother of Jesus asks her son for the needs of a wedding feast; this is the sign of another feast - that of the wedding of the Lamb where he gives his body and blood at the request of the Church, his Bride. It is at the hour of the New Covenant, at the foot of the cross,(Compare John 19:25-27.)⁹⁰ that Mary is heard as the Woman, the new Eve, the true "Mother of all the living." –CCC

In communion with the holy Mother of God

2674 Mary gave her consent in faith at the Annunciation and maintained it without hesitation at the foot of the Cross. Ever since, her motherhood has extended to the brothers and sisters of her Son "who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties." (Lumen Gentium 62.)²⁸ Jesus, the only mediator, is the way of our prayer; Mary, his mother and ours, is wholly transparent to him: she "shows the way" (hodigitria), and is herself "the Sign" of the way, according to the traditional iconography of East and West. __CCC

IN BRIEF

2622 The prayers of the Virgin Mary, in her Fiat and Magnificat, are characterized by the generous offering of her whole being in faith.

JC  Visitation Blessed Virgin Mary 

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 22, 2019

The Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.Lectionary: 135

Reading 1   AMOS 8:4-7

Hear this, you who trample upon the needyand destroy the poor of the land! "When will the new moon be over," you ask,"that we may sell our grain,and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah,add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating! We will buy the lowly for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals;even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!" The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done!

Responsorial  PSALM 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8

R. (cf. 1a, 7b) Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.

Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.

R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.

High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?

R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.

He raises up the lowly from the dust;
 from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
to seat them with princes,
 with the princes of his own people.

R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor. 

Reading 2   1 TIMOTHY 2:1-8

Beloved:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,for kings and for all in authority,that we may lead a quiet and tranquil lifein all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior,who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God.  There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time. For this I was appointed preacher and apostle— I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —,teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,lifting up holy hands, without anger or 

argument.

Alleluia   COMPARE 2 CORINTHIANS 8:9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel   LUKE 16:1-13 

Jesus said to his disciples,
"A rich man had a stewardwho was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said,'What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship,because you can no longer be my steward.'  The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do,now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that,when I am removed from the stewardship,they may welcome me into their homes.'  He called in his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said,'How much do you owe my master?'  He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.'  He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'  Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.'  The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note;write one for eighty.'  And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.  "For the children of this worldare more prudent in dealing with their own generationthan are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.  The person who is trustworthy in very small mattersis also trustworthy in great ones;and the person who is dishonest in very small mattersis also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other,or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon."

Apostle  Bible  Scripture  4 evangelists

478. Prayer of petition

 YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 478

Ave Maria series

Why can we be confident that our prayer is heard by God?

Many people called on Jesus during his earthly life for healing, and their prayers were answered. Jesus, who rose from the dead, listens to our petitions and brings them to the Father.  [2615-2616, 2621]

A woman prays before Pope Francis arrival in Madhu Sri Lanka. --CNS photo by Paul Haring.…..478

Even today we know the name of the synagogue official: Jairus was the name of the man who begged Jesus for help, and his prayer was answered.  His little daughter was deathly ill.  No one could help her.  Jesus not only healed Jairus’ little girl, he even raised her from the dead (Mark 5:21-43).  Jesus worked a whole series of well-attested cures.  He performed signs and miracles.  The lame, the lepers, and the blind did not ask Jesus in vain.  There are testimonies also of prayers answered by all the saints of the Church.  Many Christians can tell stories of how they called to God and God heard their prayer. God, however, is not an automat. We must leave it up to him how he will answer our petitions.  40, 51

“Jesus prays for us as our priest; he prays in us as our Head; we pray to him as our God.  Let us therefore hear our voice in him and his voice in us.”  --St. Augustine (354-430)

“If you would really pray to him for conversion, it would be granted to you.”  --St. John Vianney (1786-1859)

[2615-2616, 2621]

Jesus teaches us how to pray

2615 Even more, what the Father gives us when our prayer is united with that of Jesus is "another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth."(John 14:16-17.)⁸¹ This new dimension of prayer and of its circumstances is displayed throughout the farewell discourse.(Compare John 14:23-26; Jn 15:7,16; Jn 16:13-15; Jn 16:23-27.)⁸² In the Holy Spirit, Christian prayer is a communion of love with the Father, not only through Christ but also in him: "Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."(John 16:24)⁸³ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

Jesus hears our prayer

2616 Prayer to Jesus is answered by him already during his ministry, through signs that anticipate the power of his death and Resurrection: Jesus hears the prayer of faith, expressed in words (the leper, Jairus, the Canaanite woman, the good thief) (Compare Mark 1:40-41; Mk 5:36; Mk 7:29; Compare Luke 23:39-43.)⁸⁴ or in silence (the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with a hemorrhage who touches his clothes, the tears and ointment of the sinful woman).(Compare Mark 5:25; Mk 5:28; Luke 7:37-38.)⁸⁵ The urgent request of the blind men, "Have mercy on us, Son of David" or "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" has-been renewed in the traditional prayer to Jesus known as the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"(Matthew 9:27, Mark 10:48.)⁸⁶ Healing infirmities or forgiving sins, Jesus always responds to a prayer offered in faith: "Your faith has made you well; go in peace." –CCC

St. Augustine wonderfully summarizes the three dimensions of Jesus' prayer: "He prays for us as our priest, prays in us as our Head, and is prayed to by us as our God. Therefore let us acknowledge our voice in him and his in us."(St. Augustine, En. in Psalm 85,1:Patrologia Latina 37,1081; compare GILH 7.)⁸⁷ –CCC

IN BRIEF

2621 In his teaching, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray with a purified heart, with lively and persevering faith, with filial boldness. He calls them to vigilance and invites them to present their petitions to God in his name. Jesus Christ himself answers prayers addressed to him. –CCC

People  Prayer A woman prays 

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