567. What times are more suitable for prayer?

Any time is suitable for prayer but the Church proposes to the faithful certain rhythms of praying intended to nourish continual prayer: morning and evening prayer, prayer before and after meals, the Liturgy of the Hours, Sunday Eucharist, the Rosary, and feasts of the liturgical year. “We must remember God more often than we draw breath.” (Saint Gregory of Nazianzus)

Saint Hyacinth of Poland was born in Silesia, Poland, in the year 1185. His father was Eustachius Konski, and he was of the noble family of Ordowacz. Hyacinth’s parents were devout Catholics, and Hyacinth grew up in a home surrounded by love and kindness. His well-formed disposition and strong faith, combined with a brilliant mind, allowed him to move quickly through schooling in Krakow, then Prague, and finally to Bologna in Italy. This is where he was awarded the title of Doctor of Law and Divinity. He returned to Poland and was given an administrative position at a medieval-style administrative center in southeast Poland.

The Way of Prayer

562. How is Christian prayer Marian?

Because of her singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray to Mary and with Mary, the perfect ‘pray-er’, and to “magnify” and invoke the Lord with her. Mary in effect shows us the “Way” who is her Son, the one and only Mediator.

Saint Norbert was born at Xanten in the Rhineland to a noble family about the year 1080. The early part of his life was devoted to the world and its pleasures, and when he entered the religious life, he still had the same desire for a luxurious life and pursuits of the nobility. But one day, when he was out riding his horse, a terrifying lightning storm suddenly came upon him. A massive lightning strike nearly hit him, throwing him from his horse. As he awoke, Saint Norbert, speaking the same words as Saint Paul had said when he was thrown from his horse on the road to Damascus, asked, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” A voice in his heart answered him, “Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.” He immediately reformed his life, devoting himself to prayer and penance. Giving everything he owned to the poor, he went to the pope for permission to preach. In an extreme response to his old ways, he now chose the most difficult ways to travel — walking barefoot in the middle of winter through snow and ice.

At The Wellsprings of Prayer

558. What are the sources of Christian prayer?

They are: the Word of God which gives us “the surpassing knowledge” of Christ (Philippians 3:8); the Liturgy of the Church that proclaims, makes present and communicates the mystery of salvation; the theological virtues; and everyday situations because in them we can encounter God. “I love you, Lord, and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally. ... My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I draw breath.” (The Curé of Ars, Saint John Mary Vianney)

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French Roman Catholic Visitation nun and mystic, is greatly recognized for her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Margaret has always shown an intense love for the Blessed Sacrament and preferred silence over typical childhood play. She began practicing severe corporal mortification after her first communion at 9-years-old.

Prayer in the Age of the Church

552. How can adoration be defined?

Adoration is the humble acknowledgement by human beings that they are creatures of the thrice-holy Creator.

St. Manuel Gonzalez Garcia was born in Seville, Spain on February 25, 1877, into a devout and prayerful family. When he secretly applied and was accepted to the seminary in Seville at 12 years of age, his parents saw it as God’s will for their son. He was ordained a priest on September 21, 1901. His first assignment as a priest would radically change the course of his life and his priestly ministry.

Dominican tradition tells us that Imelda Lambertini was born of a noble family in Bologna, Italy in 1322. Her parents raised her to love her Catholic faith, and through their influence she developed a love for prayer, especially for the Mass. Often she would attend Mass and Compline (Night Prayer of the Divine Office) at a nearby Dominican Church. Her mother also taught Imelda to cook and sew for the poor and cultivated in her child an eagerness to perform the corporal works of mercy. Even so, her mother and father, both of whom were getting on in years, were surprised when Imelda asked permission at the tender age of nine to go to live with the Dominican nuns at a neighboring monastery. As difficult a decision as this was, her parents evidently sensed the depth of their child’s desire and entrusted her spiritual formation to the Dominicans at Val di Pietra.

Prayer Is Fully Revealed and Realized in Jesus

547. Is there a prayer of Mary in the Gospel?

Along with the prayer of Mary at Cana in Galilee, the Gospel gives us the Magnificat (Luke 1:46- 55) which is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church, the joyous thanksgiving that rises from the hearts of the poor because their hope is met by the fulfillment of the divine promises.

Prayer in the Age of the Church