|
2721 The Christian tradition comprises
three major expressions of the 1~ft of prayer: vocal prayer,
meditation and contemplative prayer. They have in common the
recollection of the heart. 2722 Vocal prayer,founded on the union of body
and soul in human nature, associates the body with the
interior prayer of the heart, following Christs
example ofpraying to his Father and teaching the Our
Father to his disciples. 2723 Meditation is a prayerful quest engaging
thought, imagination, emotion and desire. Its goal is to
make our own in faith the subject considered, by confronting
it with the reality of our own life. 2724 Contemplative prayer is the simple expression
of the mystery of prayer. It is a gaze offaith fixed on
Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent
love. It achieves real union with the prayer of Christ to
the extent that it makes us share in his mystery. 2725 Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. 2612, 409 Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the Tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. The spiritual 2015 battle of the Christians new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer. I Objections to Prayer
2726 In the battle of prayer, we must face in ourselves
and around us erroneous notions ofprayer. Some people
view prayer as a simple psychological activity, others as an
effort of concentration to reach a mental void. Still others
reduce prayer to ritual words and postures. Many Christians
unconsciously regard prayer as an occupation that is
incompatible with all the other things they have to do: they
dont have the time. Those who seek God by
prayer 2710 are quickly discouraged because they do not
know that prayer comes also from the Holy Spirit and not
from themselves alone. 2727 We must
also face the fact that certain attitudes deriving from the
mentality of this present world can penetrate
our lives if
|
|