As the church summarizes what her prayer life looks like, she turns to the Acts of the Apostles to explain the teaching of the apostles, holy communion, the breaking of bread, and the place of prayer and petition before God in her own life.
On this basis, the Church prays with an open heart and a spirit of obedience, she welcomes the Holy Spirit and awaits the Lord’s coming.
Explaining the prayers of the church: Catechism of the Catholic Church He explains: “First of all, these are prayers that believers hear and read in Scripture, but they are also prayers that believers make their own, especially the prayers of the Psalms, with their fulfillment in Christ in mind.”
Therefore, believers should know the prayers found in the Bible, especially the Psalms. These prayers are the highest expression of the human spirit’s desire to see God and be one with Him. The Psalms, along with the various chants, hymns, songs, and prayers found in the Bible, should be a ready resource for believers as they strive in prayer.
The use of the Psalms and other spiritual resources of Scripture should not be coldly and remote from the hearts of those who pray. We should not be parrots who simply echo the heartfelt prayers of others. Catechism It emphasizes that believers should “make biblical prayer their own. We must dive into the depths of biblical prayer and connect it with our own lives, struggles, joys and hopes. We must understand the Bible as the living Word and shape and mature our own prayer through inspired prayer, especially the Psalms.
of Catechism Repeating the previous point, he emphasizes to us that “the Holy Spirit thus keeps alive the memory of Christ in the Church in prayer, leads her to the fullness of the truth, and inspires new expressions of the immense mystery of Christ at work in the Church’s life, sacraments and mission.”
The Holy Spirit has once again been given his rightful and necessary place as the one who guides the Church on the right path and keeps her aligned with her goal. He keeps the Church’s memory of Jesus Christ alive. He “keeps the memory of Christ alive”. Preserving her memory of her Saviour, he guides and inspires her to express the mystery of Christ. The prayers and supplications of the People of God do not stagnate or become lifeless. They spring from the depths of the human heart and soar to the heights of the majesty of God.
This movement of the Holy Spirit has given rise to new expressions of prayer in the life of the Church. Catechism “These prescriptions [of prayer] It has developed within great liturgical and spiritual traditions.”
The spiritual treasury of the Church is deepened and enriched by the great liturgical and spiritual traditions of the People of God, each of which accentuates and highlights the revelation shared among them.
Each tradition is necessary and often arose at a moment when some aspect of God’s revelation was eclipsed or waned. The various traditions have often come down to us through founders of religious organizations or other spiritual leaders who were attuned to God and His revelation and raised up by God to recover forgotten truths or waning aspects of the living God.
While recognizing the value and necessity of liturgy and spiritual traditions and the great role they have played and continue to play in the life of the Church, Catechism Nevertheless, he makes an important point: “The form of prayer revealed in the Apostolic and Canonical Scriptures remains the norm for Christian prayer.”
So while we love the various prayers, novenas, litanies, and other resources of the various liturgical and spiritual traditions throughout Church history, none of them compete with or rival the form of prayer given to us in Scripture.
Such an explanation does not create tension or antagonism between Sacred Scripture and the liturgy and spiritual traditions, but rather the opposite: the latter are enriched and enhanced by the presence and power of the inspired word of God.
