Byline: Barb Szyszkiewicz

5 min read

Prayer

Prayer as Petition

Barb Szyszkiewicz

August 2, 2023 7:00 am August 2, 2023

5 min read

13496 views

Comments Off

5 min read

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Phil 4:6-7). Prayer of petition, quite simply, is asking for…

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Phil 4:6-7).

Prayer of petition, quite simply, is asking for God’s help. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus encourages us to place our needs before God in prayer. In giving us the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-13), Jesus instructs us to ask God for what we need, trusting that God both knows our needs and loves us enough to give us what is good for us. “Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him” (Mt 7:9-11).

At the same time, Jesus emphasizes in the Lord’s Prayer that we need to express, along with our needs, our willingness to accept God’s will. Jesus, in his own prayer at Gethsemane, offers an example of how to pray this way: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will, but yours, be done” (Lk 22:42).

In all humility, we reach out to God, knowing that he is the source of all good things, including forgiveness. Prayers of contrition, expressing sorrow for our sins and asking for God’s mercy, help to bring us back into communion with God and each other, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (see No. 2631). Psalms 51 and 130 are beautiful expressions of prayers of contrition. In the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Lk 18:9-14), the prayer, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” is a humble prayer of contrition.

Many of the psalms are prayers of petition, often including themes of contrition (Psalms 51 and 130, for example) and need for protection (Psalms 4, 6, 10, 13, and 17, among many others). Some psalms, such as 94, 98, 99, 137, and 147, also express anticipation of the coming of God’s Kingdom, just as Jesus echoes, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven” (Mt 6:10).

Prayers of petition are often very spontaneous: “God, help me!” Even if we feel far from God, we are able, in our supplication, to turn to him for help. Every need, the Catechism reminds us, “can become the object of petition” (No. 2633). We should not be afraid to approach God to entrust him with our needs, in ordinary times as well as desperate ones. Bringing these needs to God is a humble way to acknowledge his goodness, kindness, power, and mercy. Even in the most difficult times, when “God, help me!” or “God, help us!” is as much as we can muster, we are encouraged to ask for God’s help.

We are also encouraged to persevere in this kind of prayer. In the parable of the persistent widow (Lk 18:1-8), Jesus underscores the need to “pray always without becoming weary.” God hears and answers those who have faith, and that faith is shown in our determination not to give up when our prayer is not answered immediately or in the way we expect.

Where do we see this in the Mass?

One of the first things we do at Mass is pray for God’s mercy and forgiveness of our sins during the Penitential Act. Just before the Eucharistic Prayer, we petition God to accept and bless the gifts we offer to him. One of the options for the Memorial Acclamation contains a prayer of petition: “Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.” The Lord’s Prayer and Lamb of God are both prayers of petition, as is our prayer after the Lamb of God: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” By the time we approach the altar to receive the Lord in the Eucharist, we have prayed for God’s mercy at least four times.

3 practical ways to pray this way

Pray an Act of Contrition every day.
When you pray in petition, be sure to close with the Lord’s Prayer or simply the words, “your will be done.”
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a prayer of trust in the Lord and the power of his mercy.

What do the saints say about prayer of petition?

“God bestows many things on us out of His liberality, even without our asking for them: but that He wishes to bestow certain things on us at our asking, is for the sake of our good, namely, that we may acquire confidence in having recourse to God, and that we may recognize in Him the Author of our goods.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica)

Barb Szyszkiewicz, a Secular Franciscan, is editor at CatholicMom.com and author of “The Handy Little Guide to Prayer” (OSV, $5.95). Read more from the prayer series here.

Comments Off

5 min read

Prayer

Prayer as Thanksgiving

Barb Szyszkiewicz

August 1, 2023 2:37 am August 1, 2023

5 min read

5271 views

Comments Off

5 min read

“I thank you, Lord, with all my heart; in the presence of the angels to you I sing” (Psalm 138:1). Expressing gratitude to God is our way of acknowledging that…

“I thank you, Lord, with all my heart; in the presence of the angels to you I sing” (Psalm 138:1).

Expressing gratitude to God is our way of acknowledging that God is the source of everything. Prayer of thanksgiving can be a spontaneous “Thank God!” after hearing good news after a difficult time, or a formal prayer such as Grace before Meals. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that “every event and need can become an offering of thanksgiving” (No. 2638).

Prayers of thanksgiving can be specifically related to an answered prayer or an unexpected good outcome. They can also be born of a mindset of gratitude, where we come to recognize everything as God’s gift. Finding the good in every situation, and thanking God for it, can fortify those suffering challenging times.

When it’s tough to be thankful inside of our own situations, we can still look beyond ourselves and find ways to thank God. We can thank him for something good that has happened to another person or for the beauty we see in the created world.

In the prefaces to the Eucharistic prayer in the Roman Missal, the celebrant prays: “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.” Thanksgiving is our obligation to God (just as writing those thank-you notes is our obligation when we’ve received a wedding gift), but it’s more than an obligation — it’s good for us. Prayers of gratitude strengthen us in humility, reminding us again and again that we can’t (and don’t) get through life without God’s help. Similarly, looking for the good in all circumstances and offering thanks to God for it helps us persevere through difficult times.

It’s in our human nature sometimes to neglect giving thanks, as we see in the Parable of the Ten Lepers (Lk 17:11-19), in which only one of the 10 lepers who were healed returned to thank Jesus. Maybe the nine who neglected to say “thank you” were too caught up in their excitement — we don’t know for sure. But we do know that Jesus was dismayed that only one of the lepers returned to thank him. It’s not that he needs to be thanked, but we need the fruits of our own gratitude: strengthening of virtues. Expressing our gratitude to God reinforces our relationship to him, in the same way expressing our thanks to someone for giving us a gift or helping us can strengthen our friendship or family bond.

Thanksgiving is easy when we receive something we want, and much less so when we don’t receive what we’d been hoping for. But St. Paul writes, “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess 5:18). We need to look for, and be grateful for, God’s gifts even in difficult times or when we’re dealing with something unexpected. Gratitude must be more than a feeling, so we can take steps to building grateful hearts. We can start by deliberately listing things for which we can be thankful, making us aware of God’s Providence in our lives. And we can bring that gratitude into our prayer.

Blessed Solanus Casey was famous for saying, “Thank God ahead of time.” This was evidence of his great trust that God would hear and answer his prayers. Of course, that did not mean that Bl. Solanus believed that God would give him everything he wanted — but that he trusted that God knew his needs and would provide what was best for him. Thanking God ahead of time is an expression of both trust and gratitude.

Where do we see this in the Mass?

Prayers of thanksgiving make up a large part of the Mass, which is called “Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God” (CCC, No. 1328). During Mass, we thank God in the Gloria: “We give you thanks for your great glory” and the response after readings and dismissal rite: “Thanks be to God.” In the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer, the celebrant directs us, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.”

3 Practical Ways to Pray This Way:

Say Grace before Meals, even when you are eating alone or when you’re at a restaurant.
Count your blessings. In your journal or planner, write down one thing you’re grateful for at the end of each day, then offer a short prayer, such as “Thanks be to God” or a verse of thanksgiving from one of the psalms.
Write a letter to God, describing your gratitude for an answer to prayer that was not what you had expected.

What do the saints say about prayer of thanksgiving?

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness” (St. Gianna Beretta Molla).

Barb Szyszkiewicz, a Secular Franciscan, is editor at CatholicMom.com and author of “The Handy Little Guide to Prayer” (OSV, $5.95). Read more from the prayer series here.

Comments Off

5 min read

Prayer

Prayer as intercession

Barb Szyszkiewicz

June 2, 2023 8:19 am June 2, 2023

5 min read

16250 views

Comments Off

5 min read

“Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord,…

“Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven” (Jm 5:14-15).

Through intercessory prayer, we bring someone else’s needs before God, trusting God to take care of others, whether they are loved ones, friends, enemies, or total strangers. Praying for the living and the dead is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.

Intercessory prayer is a powerful way to support others spiritually. This can be done in a general way — as when we pray for the faithful departed, the poor or victims of a natural disaster — or specifically by praying for a particular person by name. We may not be in a position to help others in a particular way every time a need is expressed, but we are always given the opportunity to pray for them.

God knows our cares and concerns and wants us to entrust those to him. The Gospel stories of the healing of Jairus’ daughter (Lk 8:40-42,49-56), the man born deaf (Mk 7:31-37), and the paralytic lowered by his friends through the roof of the house where Jesus was staying (Mk 2:1-12) all speak to the faith of people who approach God. These are not concerned with what they want for themselves, but with the needs of someone else. In the story of the paralytic, for example, it was the faith of the man’s friends that led Jesus to cure the man (Mk 2:5).

Young children can learn to intercede for others in prayer as part of a family prayer routine that includes “God bless Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa …”, and such a litany is an excellent way to help children understand the importance of praying for other people. But praying for others is not something we should stop doing as we grow into adulthood. We are always encouraged to pray for others, ultimately entrusting their needs to God’s will.

At the end of the Book of Job, Eliphaz the Temanite was seeking God’s forgiveness and was directed by God to seek Job’s prayers as intercession. “Go to my servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves, and let my servant Job pray for you. To him I will show favor and not punish your folly for you have not spoken rightly concerning me, as has my servant Job” (Job 42:8). We, too, can become “prayer warriors” for our family and friends: people who can be counted on to pray for their needs immediately and consistently.

In the story of Job, we see that intercessory prayer is not only effective, but it can benefit the one who does the praying. Job, who prayed for others despite his personal trials, grew in humility and selflessness and was ultimately rewarded when the Lord restored his fortunes (Job 42:10). When we ask God to have mercy on someone else, we too can develop greater mercy and humility.

Just as we might pray for someone in need, whether a loved one, friend, or stranger, we can also call upon the saints in heaven to pray for them as well — or for our own needs. We know that the saints are in the presence of God, and we believe that they care for us. As Pope St. Paul VI observed, “We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are attaining their purification, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion the merciful love of God and His saints is ever listening to our prayers” (Solemni Hac Liturgia, No. 30).

In the Gospels, we are clearly instructed not only to pray for our loved ones, but even to pray on behalf of those who harm us. Jesus commands us, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:44-45). Even at his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for the ones who put him to death: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). St. Stephen, the first martyr, echoed this prayer at the moment of his own death when he prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60).

Where do we see this in the Mass?

The Universal Prayer, or “Prayer of the Faithful,” brings the needs of the Church and the community, even including the faithful departed, before God. During the Eucharistic Prayer, we pray for the universal Church, including the pope and our bishop, and remember the faithful departed, praying that God will welcome them to heaven.

3 practical ways to pray this way:

Pray an Intentional Rosary. Designate a special intention for each decade, or even each bead, of the Rosary.
Keep a list of prayer intentions in a journal. Make a habit of regular prayer for those in your list.
Place a picture of someone for whose needs you’re praying, or a card with their name, in your Bible or prayer book. Pray for that person every time you see it.

What do the saints say about intercessory prayer?

“How pleasing to Him it will be if you sometimes forget yourself and speak to Him of His own glory, of the miseries of others, especially those who mourn in sorrow; of the souls in purgatory, His spouses, who long to behold Him in Heaven; and of poor sinners who live deprived of His grace” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, How to Pray at All Times).

Barb Szyszkiewicz, a Secular Franciscan, is editor at CatholicMom.com and author of “The Handy Little Guide to Prayer” (OSV, $5.95). Read more from the prayer series here.

Comments Off

4 min read

Prayer

Prayer as liturgy

Barb Szyszkiewicz

May 30, 2023 7:00 am May 30, 2023

4 min read

5249 views

Comments Off

4 min read

“The liturgy is … a participation in Christ’s own prayer addressed to the Father in the Holy Spirit. In the liturgy, all Christian prayer finds its source and goal. Through…

“The liturgy is … a participation in Christ’s own prayer addressed to the Father in the Holy Spirit. In the liturgy, all Christian prayer finds its source and goal. Through the liturgy the inner man is rooted and grounded in ‘the great love with which [the Father] loved us’ in his beloved Son” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1073).

Liturgy, which includes but is not limited to the Holy Mass, is considered “formal” prayer because it follows a certain pattern, or rubric. Liturgical prayer is also “common” prayer, meant to be prayed by the community as a group. Even when circumstances require that liturgical prayer (such as the Liturgy of the Hours) is prayed alone, its established formula means that it is still being prayed in conjunction with anyone else in the world who is also praying. As we have learned during the coronavirus pandemic, a community does not always need to share space in order to share prayer, and we can find creative ways to pray liturgically without being in the same space — the exception being that we generally do not receive the Eucharist when we are not together.

The liturgy of the Church includes the Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, and the celebrations of the sacraments. The Second Vatican Council stated the baptized who share a common faith “should come together to praise God in the midst of his Church, to take part in the Sacrifice and to eat the Lord’s Supper (Sacrosanctum Concilium, No. 10). As we pray our way through the liturgy, we unite ourselves to the whole Church.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explains, “The word liturgy comes from a Greek term meaning ‘public work or work done on behalf of the people.’ A work, then, done by an individual or a group was a liturgy on behalf of the larger community. All the worshipers are expected to participate actively in each liturgy, for this is holy ‘work,’ not entertainment or a spectator event. Every liturgical celebration is an action of Christ the High Priest and of his Mystical Body, which is the Church. It therefore requires the participation of the People of God in the work of God.” Liturgical prayer is usually led by an ordained minister, who is configured uniquely to Christ.

Active participation in liturgy does not mean that everyone present has the same role. Bishops, priests and deacons — in addition to those who serve as lectors, altar servers, singers and musicians — participate in different ways from others. In different seasons of our lives, generally we participate differently. Even the person with limited mobility, who might need the priest to bring the Eucharist to their pew, can participate by listening to the readings, homily, and prayers, and by joining the singing of hymns and speaking the responses. Parents of young children may not be able to listen during Mass as well as they’d like, but their participation by helping their children learn to make the Sign of the Cross and continually redirecting their little ones’ attention to what is happening on the altar is still valuable and active participation. Through their participation, all present — no matter their role in the liturgy — exercise the royal priesthood of the baptized faithful.

Our liturgical celebrations should draw us closer to God as we pray as a community. The structure of the liturgy unites us as a Church in celebrating with the same prayers and Scripture readings no matter where in the world we are or what language we speak. The Scripture readings for Mass follow a cycle that repeats every three years for Sundays and solemnities, and every other year for daily Masses. The Church also uses a liturgical calendar to measure time according to certain seasons of feasting, penance, anticipation and expectation. With the liturgical calendar, we mark the celebration of holy days (the Proper of Saints) and holy seasons (the Proper of Time). Throughout the year in the liturgy, we celebrate the events of Jesus’ life as well as the feasts of Mary and the saints.

Liturgical prayer invites us to engage in praise, blessing and adoration, thanksgiving, petition and intercession as a community. Our communal prayer grows from the relationship with God we develop on our own in our devotional prayer. Coming together as a community to pray in a formal way, that relationship is nourished further, which then fuels our individual devotional prayer.

Barb Szyszkiewicz, a Secular Franciscan, is editor at CatholicMom.com and author of “The Handy Little Guide to Prayer” (OSV, $5.95). Read more from the prayer series here.

Comments Off

5 min read

Prayer

Prayer to Mary and the saints

Barb Szyszkiewicz

May 30, 2023 4:00 am May 30, 2023

5 min read

6434 views

Comments Off

5 min read

“Every so often, unite oneself interiorly with the saintly souls who serve God and praise him in their solitude, with the holy angels and all the heavenly court, and especially…

“Every so often, unite oneself interiorly with the saintly souls who serve God and praise him in their solitude, with the holy angels and all the heavenly court, and especially our darling and tender Mother Mary, who alone gives more glory to God than all the blessed put together.” (St. Eugène de Mazenod)

We believe that the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints in heaven “contemplate God, praise him and constantly care for those whom they have left on earth. … Their intercession is their most exalted service in God’s plan” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2683). Just as we would never hesitate to ask a friend or relative for prayer support in a time of need, so we should not hesitate to prayerfully ask the Blessed Mother and the saints to bring our needs before God.

The Council of Trent affirmed “that the saints who reign together with Christ offer up their prayers to God for men, that it is good and beneficial suppliantly to invoke them and to have recourse to their prayers, assistance and support in order to obtain favors from God through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is our redeemer and savior.” The saints and Mary cannot answer our prayers; only God can do that. But they can, and we believe they do, hear our prayers and pray for us, acting as intercessors on our behalf with God.

Eucharistic Prayer III reminds us of the saints’ role as intercessors. “May he make of us an eternal offering to you, so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect, especially with the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with blessed Joseph, her Spouse, with your blessed Apostles and glorious Martyrs and with all the Saints, on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help.”

“To Jesus we always go, and to him we always return, through Mary” St. Josemaría Escrivá wrote. In the Gospel of John, we see the first example of Mary’s intercession at the Wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-11), when Mary noticed that the wine had run out before the party was over and prodded Jesus to do something about it. By changing the water in six stone jars to wine, Jesus “revealed his glory” and astounded all who were present (Jn 2:11). Since that time, Catholics have gone to Jesus through Mary. “O Blessed Mary, whoever loves you honors God; whoever serves you pleases God; whoever invokes your holy name with a pure heart will infallibly receive the object of his petition,” St. Bernard of Clairvaux prayed. In a similar way, people of faith have reached out in prayer to the saints, pleading with them to bring their intentions to God by their own prayer.

Praying to Mary and the saints is not at all the same as worshipping them. Catholics believe that only God is worthy of our worship. Mary and the saints, however, are worthy of veneration, or special honor given to those considered to be holy. Our holy helpers, the saints, are the “cloud of witnesses” mentioned in the Letter to the Hebrews who surround us, helping us “persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith” (12:1-2). St. Thérèse of Lisieux proclaimed, “I want to spend my Heaven doing good on earth.”

With several thousand canonized saints, we can go a lifetime without getting to know them all. We often come to know particular saints because they are patron saints: a certain place, profession, condition or intention is dedicated to that saint’s intercession. Many times, this happens because of some connection in the saint’s real life. For example, St. Lucy’s eyes were plucked out during her martyrdom, and she is venerated as the patron saint of the visually impaired. St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, is the patron saint of fathers and of the universal Church (among many other patronages).

We can grow closer to the saints for whom we were named or who have an association to our jobs, home country or health needs. We can also choose to unite ourselves in prayer with saints who have undergone struggles similar to our own. Parents whose children have strayed from the Faith often seek the intercession of St. Monica, who prayed for decades that her son, Augustine, would return to the Church — and whose prayers were finally answered. Those grieving the loss of their own parents might pray for the intercession of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, whose father died when she was a small child. The Blessed Mother’s intercession can be invoked for many reasons. Some of her many titles suggest ways people of faith have sought her prayers throughout history: Our Lady, Health of the Sick; Mary, Help of Christians; Our Lady of Good Help; Our Lady of Prompt Succor and Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

By uniting our prayers with those of Mary and the saints and learning more about their lives and their example, we can draw closer to God. “The very practice of venerating the saints does great good for those who are devoted to the saints. By practicing love of the saints we strengthen the unity of the entire Body of Christ in the Spirit” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops).

Barb Szyszkiewicz, a Secular Franciscan, is editor at CatholicMom.com and author of “The Handy Little Guide to Prayer” (OSV, $5.95). Read more from the prayer series here.

Comments Off

5 min read

Prayer

Prayer as praise

Barb Szyszkiewicz

May 2, 2023 6:00 am May 2, 2023

5 min read

9010 views

Comments Off

5 min read

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to proclaim your love at daybreak, your faithfulness in the night” (Ps 92:2-3)….

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to proclaim your love at daybreak, your faithfulness in the night” (Ps 92:2-3).

Prayer of praise is focused entirely on the expression of wonder and awe at who God is and what God has done. In the Bible, praise is frequently shouted or sung. When she visited her cousin Elizabeth, who knew that Mary would be the mother of the Savior, Mary’s praise overflowed into a song, or canticle. Commonly referred to as the “Magnificat,” this canticle begins, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior” (Lk 1:46-47). The angels who appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of Christ, and later the shepherds themselves, glorified and praised God (Lk 2), as did the paralytic whom Jesus healed early in his ministry (Lk 5:25) and many others whom Jesus cured of their afflictions.

The Bible shows that praising God involves not only our spiritual efforts, but our physical muscles as well. “Lift up your hands,” exhorts Psalm 134. In Psalms 100, 147, and 149 we are prompted to dance and sing. Psalm 149 tells us to play musical instruments to praise the Lord. And in the Letter to the Hebrews, we are reminded to praise God in the presence of others: “I will proclaim your name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly I will praise you” (Heb 2:12); later in this letter we are urged to “continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name” (13:15). This echoes Psalm 92’s call to praise at daybreak and in the night — in other words, constantly.

If praising God in front of others might be outside one’s comfort zone, there are ways to work around this obstacle. Singing hymns in praise of God is one way to do this — and this is done at every Sunday Mass. This is not something that must be done solo, or on a stage. As you stand in your pew, with the assembly around you, you can participate in a communal prayer of praise. Church hymnals are filled with songs of praise, such as “All Creatures of Our God and King,” and many others that are based on the psalms. Quite a few of the psalms are written in praise of God: this theme is especially common in the last third of the psalms, including Psalms 91, 93, 98, 104, 111, 117, 135, 139, and 148 through 150.

Just as Blessed Solanus Casey advised us to “thank God ahead of time,” we don’t have to wait until the mood strikes us to praise God. Prayers of praise should not come with strings attached. In the Bible, we hear Job praising God despite his many hardships: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Tobit 13 is a prayer of rejoicing in a time of captivity, a prayer the Archangel Raphael urged Tobit to compose, pray, and share: “Do not fear; peace be with you! Bless God now and forever. … So now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. Look, I am ascending to the one who sent me. Write down all that has happened to you” (Tob 12:16, 20). Psalm 34 begins, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be always in my mouth. My soul will glory in the Lord; let the poor hear and be glad” (Ps 34: 2-3). Later in the same psalm, we are reminded, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed” (Ps 34:19).

Where do we see this in the Mass?

The Gloria (also a prayer of blessing and adoration) is a prayer of praise. After the Gospel is proclaimed, we respond, “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.” Eucharistic Prayer I describes the Mass itself as a “sacrifice of praise,” offered “for themselves and all who are dear to them: for the redemption of their souls, in hope of health and well-being, and paying their homage” to God. Two options for the Memorial Acclamation are prayers of praise: “We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again” and “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.” The Eucharistic Prayer concludes with praise as the priest prays, “Through him, with him, and in him, O God almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, forever and ever.”

3 practical ways to pray this way:

Memorize Psalm 117: with only two verses, it’s the shortest psalm and easy to commit to memory. Make a commitment to recite it at a certain time each day.
Choose a favorite hymn of praise that you can listen to (or sing) during your morning prayer time. Singing God’s praises is an uplifting way to begin the day.
Recite the Divine Praises.

What do the saints say about prayer of praise?

The praise of God should know no limits. Let us strive, therefore, to praise him to the greatest extent of our powers. (St. Maximilian Kolbe)

Barb Szyszkiewicz, a Secular Franciscan, is editor at CatholicMom.com and author of “The Handy Little Guide to Prayer” (OSV, $5.95). Read more from the prayer series here.

Comments Off