Yes, I'm well aware prayer is not specific to Catholics or even Christians. And I do appreciate the more Protestant tendency to spontaneous prayer, after all, who doesn't need to stop and ask the Holy Spirit for a little guidance every day?
But Catholic prayers are so full of richness and tradition. The Rosary! The Liturgy of the Hours! The Morning Offering! The Angelus! The Memorare! Novenas! Just to name a few of my favorite prayers. And then there's the piece de resistance, the Mass.
Here's the thing I discovered about myself most recently; I love communal prayer. My best friend, Katie, loves fitness classes. It inspires her to be around others with similar goals. I can get up every morning and work out alone in my basement, happy as a clam. But when it comes to prayer, I like to be with others. I'm moved by their faithfulness and inspired to trust more deeply in the Lord.
The thing I like about all those prayers I mentioned is that even when I pray them alone, I am not alone. There are thousands of religious and laypeople praying the Liturgy of the Hours, the rosary, the Angelus, and especially the Mass every day.
Whether I pray a Hail Mary or an Our Father or the entire rosary, I think of all the great Saints who have prayed those same prayers.
When I don't know what to pray for, the Hail Mary fills in my gaps. "Pray for us now and at the hour of our death." What could be more appropriate? How can I improve on such wisdom?#livinglent2