A little something about Prayer

I had this idea last night that I thought would make a great YouTube video, but since I'm a bit camera-shy and I know myself well enough to admit that by the time I actually got around to making said video, I would have forgotten what I wanted to say...well, a blog post seemed to be the better alternative. (Plus, anything that will keep this blog alive is a good thing.)

So, where to begin? Oh yes. The Baltimore Catechism. Well, I found it on my bookshelf last night and decided to peruse it, and after awhile I came across a section about prayer which asked the question: "Why do we pray?" The simple answer given is as follows: "We pray: first to adore God; second, to thank Him for His favors; third, to obtain from Him the pardon of our sins and the remission of their punishment; fourth, to ask graces and blessings for ourselves and others." Sounds very straightforward, right? And it is. But it was the order, not the form, that caught my attention. I realized that I have been approaching prayer completely backwards without even giving it much thought. For me, prayer usually goes something like this: "Hi God. I reeeeally need Your help with such-and-such. I'm not doing so well, and if You don't help me I think I'm going to give up. By the way, I'm sorry for doing you-name-it. I'll try really hard to stop doing that. But You gotta provide the grace. Also, thanks for such-and-such. Oh, and You are awesome and I'm so glad that You're my God. Amen."

Now obviously, this is a slight exaggeration. But you get the point: Ask for help, say I'm sorry, give thanks, and adore. Wroooong order. No wonder I so often fall out of a pattern of regular prayer. Adore. Thank. Repent. Supplicate. Rinse and repeat. :P When you think about it, though, the Baltimore Catechism's order makes much more sense than my own and allows prayer to flow more naturally. "I love You, God. You are so great and wonderful. Thank you so much for the blessings that You have given me in my life, especially recently. In light of Your goodness, I see more clearly my sins and how atrociously I have acted. I am so sorry, Lord, for offending You and failing to contribute positively to the world, but rather diminishing the cause and spread of goodness through my own sinful actions. Please forgive me, and help me to make amends and work towards becoming a better person. And please provide me with all of those graces which I am in most need of, especially the ones I am unaware of needing. Please bless my day, my thoughts, words, and actions, and my family and friends as well. Thank You, Lord. I love You. Amen."



"For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy."

"Kneeling before the tabernacle, I can think of only one thing to say to our Lord: "My God, you know that I love You." And I feel that my prayer does not weary Jesus; knowing my weakness, He is satisfied with my good will."

-The Little Flower (Saint Therese of Lisieux)