A Private Prayer

Photo of Marty Barrack

Introduction

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in Part Four, “Christian Prayer,” starting at § 2568, deals with how we talk with God. I would like to focus on Catechism § 2725, “The Battle of Prayer.” Jesus warned us, Mt 6:7 “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” “The Battle of Prayer” explains: “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. 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 battle’ of the Christian’s new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer.”

Jesus knows that we are so often tempted to substitute "many words” for real depth. We have all seen someone praying along at top speed while thinking of something else. There is no merit in piling on the number of prayers. There is great merit in approaching Jesus as truly the Son of God. That requires both remote and immediate preparation. We prepare remotely by learning from the Church how to pray, by reading Holy Scripture to become accustomed to God’s indwelling presence in our hearts, by coming to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as often as possible. We prepare our souls immediately by coming to church early, before most parishioners have arrived, to attain the holy peace and quiet through which He speaks to us. We dress well, because our appearance reflects who and what we are.

We prepare our bodies immediately by working towards sacred bearing. In our pew, we kneel before the Blessed Sacrament, whether exposed on display in the monstrance or reposed in the Tabernacle. We form our hands in the classic “praying hands” position, palms together, all fingers pointing upward, right thumb over the left. And then we speak, with our full concentration, to the living Christ.

The Catechism, 2623-2649, teaches that there are five kinds of prayer: (1) Blessing and Adoration, (2) Petition, (3) Intercession, (4) Thanksgiving, and (5) Praise. My Regular Prayers cover all five areas implicitly, but they emphasize thanksgiving because the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is our thanks to Jesus for all He has given us. The ancient Israelites' most important sacrifice was called the called the todah (Hebrew: thanks) sacrifice. Look at Ex 24:9 “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” The Last Supper, which we re-present each day in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, was a todah sacrifice. The Greek word eucharistia means “thanksgiving.” And the very last words we pray in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are, “Thanks be to God.”

My evening prayer puts more emphasis on Blessing and Adoration, Petition, Intercession and Praise. Since our home is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we begin with St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s prayer: “Most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, we love You, we Adore you, and with lively sorrow for our faults we offer You these poor hearts of ours. Make us humble, patient, pure, and holy obedient to Your will. Grant, good Jesus, that we may live in You and for You. Protect us in the midst of danger, comfort us in our affliction, give us health of body, assistance in our temporal needs, and above all, Lord, the grace of a holy, happy and gentle death.”

Let me now introduce the Regular Prayers I pray each day before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass begins.

The Story of My Regular Prayers

This is the prayer that I pray every day during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and before every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I believe that Jesus taught it to me. When I was baptized in 1989, I would simply kneel quietly after receiving Holy Communion. Then I received a sense that I should thank Jesus for His visit with us and His Sacrifice for us. After I had become accustomed to doing that for some months, I received a sense that I should thank Jesus as well for His Holy Eucharist. This continued, with a new thanksgiving every few months, until the prayer became complete as below some years ago.

I began to pray these prayers after Holy Communion, but found that collectively I could not finish them before the priest continued with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Now I pray them before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Then, after receiving Holy Communion, I pray my special Prayer After Holy Communion.

All are welcome to join me in my Regular Prayers and my Prayer After Holy Communion, and to adapt it to their own use. And, if you would take a moment, please pray for me.

All My Regular Prayers

Thank You, Jesus, for becoming incarnate. You could have remained forever in the beauty and glory of your Father’s home but You freely chose instead briefly to visit with us, to live as a humble man, and above all to suffer Your Passion, taking upon Yourself the pain of all our sins, in agony on the Cross giving Your Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity to the Father to reconcile us with Him and open His kingdom for us. You bore all the pain, we got all the gain. What awesome love! What magnificent love! Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for your Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. You gave your Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity to the Father for us on the Cross, and you give Yourself to us that we might participate in Your holy sacrifice, but in a sacramental way, that we might gain the victory in salvation that You won for us on the Cross. What magnificent love! Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for the other six sacraments through which You continue to minister to us: the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick and Dying. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for Your Blessed Mother. You made a perfect mother for Yourself, then you gave her to us to be our perfect mother, to bring graces of every kind, to help and intercede for us whenever we ask. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for my heroic guardian angels. You have assigned to me great and powerful angels to walk with me toward Your Cross and salvation. Bless them, Lord, with a mighty abundance of blessings, and give them every good thing that holy angels love. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for leading me to You. I was minding my own business when You called me into Your service, the most exciting and wonderful opportunity of my life. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for the joyful mission which You have given me. May it always be Yours. Your words, my heart! Your words, my hands! Your words, my voice! Your words, Jesus, only Your words. Let Your words go forth through me to all the world, because I so greatly desire to serve. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for my beautiful Irene. I will always cherish and protect the beautiful woman You gave to walk with me toward Your Cross and salvation. Now that you have called her home, bless her, Lord, with a magnificent bouquet of blessings where I believe she lives with the Father, with you Lord Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, with the Blessed Virgin, and all the holy angels and saints, in perfect happiness and joy forever and ever. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Thank You, Jesus, for everything else. All the other blessings and mercies that You have bestowed upon me. As numerous as the stars in the sky, your blessings fall upon me like the gentle drops of rain that nourish the earth. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

As I sit before you in the Blessed Sacrament, I ask that You heal me, Jesus, soul and body alike, that I might be better able to do Your work on earth, to live a long, happy, healthy and fruitful life, and at Your command that Your angels carry me straight to Your Father’s kingdom, where I too might live forever with the Father, with you Lord Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, with the Blessed Virgin, and all the holy angels and saints, including Irene, in perfect happiness and joy forever and ever. Thank you Jesus, Glory to You, Lord.

I pray for all our departed family. Lead into the light of your eternal glory, Lord, my beautiful Irene, my parents, [and all our departed family, named individually]. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

I pray too for all our family still in earthly life [all named individually]. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Then, Lord, I pray for everyone here in our little community. Give us hearts filled with love for one another, bring us together, lead us to the work you want us to do and, when our trials are over, lead us home. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

Finally, Lord, I pray most especially our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Burke, and Father Noah Waldman, but also for all those I have promised to pray for during my Catholic life, each one according to his present needs and state in this life or in the life to come. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to You, Lord.

All of which I ask and pray, through the intercessions of Our Blessed Mother , St. Joseph, Father Hardon , Father Most, Deacon Earley, my beautiful Irene, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and all the saints, to Christ our Lord, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

(Father Hardon, Father Most, Deacon Earley, and my beautiful Irene are not canonized saints. But I believe they all are in heaven. They all loved me and helped me during earthly life, and I always hope for their intercessions.)

My Prayer After Holy Communion

As I am a living tabernacle, I ask that You heal me, Jesus, soul and body alike, that I might be better able to do Your work on earth, to live a long, happy, healthy and fruitful life, and at Your command that Your angels carry me straight to Your Father’s kingdom, where I too might live forever with the Father, with you Lord Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, with the Blessed Virgin, and all the holy angels and saints, including Irene, in perfect happiness and joy forever and ever. All of which I ask and pray, together with all my regular prayers, through the intercessions of Our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, Father Hardon, Father Most, Deacon Earley, my beautiful Irene, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and all the saints to Christ our Lord, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!