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Prayer is defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as the raising of the mind and heart to God (2559). In prayer we become friends of God and seek to make him our most intimate companion. As in any relationship, time, attention and personal presence are crucial.
Sometimes we use words, saying what is in our minds and hearts, and sometimes we engage in meditative silence. To sit quietly in God’s presence can be real prayer. At other times we beg for help, or are moved to thank him or intercede for the sick or needy.
Prayer is a mysterious reality because God, who is our partner in this dialogue, cannot be seen with the physical eye. He is unseen, but not unknown. To take time each day for quiet prayer is to nurture a mysterious relationship based on faith with the ever-present Lord, who loves us and delivers us from sin and death.
Listening to God deep within the self – what may be called mental prayer or meditation – requires practice and discipline. It means taking about 15 or 20 minutes to be alone with God in the attention of the heart. At first, all may seem silent and dark. Gradually some light enters. The dialogue should end with us taking on a listening disposition and a willingness to accept God’s direction and guidance. This is ultimately to accept his love.
The mysterious intimacy of prayer reveals what God desires of us and provides the grace to conform to his will. Prayer leads to communion with God.
The celebration of Mass is the ultimate communion between God and man. Jesus in the Eucharist, in his sacred humanity, offers himself to the Father, and brings all of humanity to the Father. His prayer is his act of perfect obedience in his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. All Christian prayer flows from the Son’s sacrifice of love, his prayer to the Father. The baptized person prays in and through the prayer of Jesus Christ. This is why we say all prayer flows from the Mass and leads back to the Mass.
The discipline of keeping our daily appointment with God is crucial. If prayer is only a sometime thing, we will never mature in our relationship with God. We must let the Eucharist do its work within us as it calls us to return to the moment of sacramental communion through a regimen of daily prayer.
A Knight of Columbus is a man who takes on the difficult tasks of life in a spirit of faith and confidence in God. Fortitude, courage and fearlessness must be formed in one who is a warrior against the evil that can harm us, our families, our Church or our country. Prayer is the great work of the spiritual warrior.
To become a man or woman of prayer requires strength of character. Each day one must begin a journey into communion with God. Attention and fidelity to prayer challenge us to put our faith into action in a hidden way that bears fruit often unseen by others. But it is seen clearly by God.
The Order’s Catholic Information Service (CIS) has several booklets to aid our understanding of prayer. To view online, click on the title: “Lord, Teach Us to Pray: The What, Why and How of Prayer” (#304), “The Way of the Cross: Traditional and Modern Meditations” (#363) and “Prayer Time: A Collection of Catholic Prayers”(#309). “Armed with the Faith: A Catholic Handbook for Military Personnel ” (#364) is available in booklet form from the Catholic Information Service, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-3326.
Dominican Father Gabriel B. O’Donnell is director of the Order’s Catholic Information Service.
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