According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting St. John Damascene, "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God."[1]. Humility is the foundation of prayer.[2].
Prayer has been used as a method, and a tool for strengthening the Church, and its individual members. Catholic tradition includes a large number of stories about the "power of prayer". [3] Cardinal John Henry Newman stated that: "If there is anything which distinguishes religion at all, which is meant by the very word, it is the power of prayer."[4]
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As seen in the Gospel accounts, Jesus often prayed. In the Gospel of John, after "looking towards heaven", in John 17:20 Jesus prayed to The Father for his Apostles and followers:"And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me.." [5] Roman Catholicism holds that prayer is necessary for salvation.[6]
The New Testament makes several references to the extraordinary power of prayer. For instance, in Matthew 17:20 Jesus said to his Apostles:
The basic forms of prayer are: blessing, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise.[8].
Almost 2,000 years later Catholic figures continue to reinforce the belief in prayer and emphasize its importance. In his book "An Invitation to Prayer" Pope John Paul II emphasized prayer as the cornerstone of Catholic life[9]. Similarly, in her book "Everything Starts from Prayer" Mother Teresa of Calcutta stressed the importance of prayer in every aspect of life to Catholics, from multiple perspectives [10].
From the viewpoint of the psychology of prayer, in their book Ann and Barry Ulanov, suggest that belief in prayer has deep roots in the human psyche and although it may be suppressed by rational and scientific debate, it often resurfaces at times of distress for it is a primary language for communicating with the supernatural world [11].
Despite the promises associated with the power of prayer, the direct measurement of its effect is often discouraged in the Abrahamic religions, e.g. Deuteronomy 6:16 states: "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God"[12].
Christian teachings have for long held that prayer involves the action of the Holy Spirit, e.g. referring to Romans 8:26, "The [Holy] Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with sighs too deep for words." [13] In Catholic belief, the Holy Spirit, as the "master of prayer', both inspires and guides prayer.[14].
The Catholic encyclopedia advises that prior to prayer, an act of adoration to God should be performed and a petition made for the prayer to be directed by the Holy Spirit.[15]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church specifically includes reference to the power of prayer as in the Gospel of Mark 11:24 quoting:"Whatever you ask in prayer believe that you will receive it, and you will." [16].
Section 2744 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church further states: Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult, easy.[17]
From 1673 to 1675 Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque reported a series of visions of Christ speaking to her which led to her founding the Devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus[18]. Initially, her life, actions and writings became the subject of extreme scrutiny by the Catholic Church, but she was eventually declared a saint in 1920 and the Feast of the Sacred Heart is now officially celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. As part of her visions of Jesus and Mary she stated that Jesus gave her twelve promises directed towards those who pray and practice the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which promises range from receiving all the graces necessary for their state of life to the grace of final repentance provided they receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months[19].
This Catholic devotion was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885[20]. According to Sister Marie of St Peter, a Carmelite nun who lived in Tours France, in 1844 she had a vision in which Jesus told her:"Those who will contemplate the wounds on My Face here on earth, shall contemplate it radiant in heaven."
According to Sister Marie of St Peter, in her visions Jesus told her that He desired devotion to His Holy Face in reparation for sacrilege and blasphemy. She wrote The Golden Arrow Holy Face Devotion (Prayer) which she said was dictated to her by Jesus. She quoted Jesus as saying in her visions:"Oh if you only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once, Admirable is the Name of God, in a spirit of reparation for blasphemy."
The first Holy Face Medal was offered to Pope Pius XII who accepted it and approved of the devotion[21].
Medieval piety developed the prayer of the rosary as a popular substitute for the Liturgy of the Hours. [22].The significance of the rosary is widely emphasized in Catholic teachings, e.g. in his 1981 apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio Pope John Paul II said:"The rosary should be considered as one of the best and most efficacious prayers"[23].
The rosary has also been mentioned as a source of inspiration by a number Roman Catholic figures. For instance, in his encyclical Rosarium Virginis Mariae Pope John Paul II discusses the inspiration of the rosary and how his motto "Totus Tuus" was inspired by the writings of Saint Louis de Montfort[24].
A number of rosary-making clubs exist around the world for the purpose of making and distributing rosaries to missions, hospitals, prisons, etc. free of charge. The largest such non-profit organization in the United States is Our Lady's Rosary Makers whose 17,000 members annually distribute roughly 7 million free rosaries[25].
Catholic belief in the power of the Rosary goes as far back as 1571 when Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory at the Battle of Lepanto, in which the Papal States faced a much larger army. Pius V attributed the decisive victory at Lepanto (in which the entire Muslim fleet was destroyed) to the Rosaries which were prayed. Trophies from the battle are now enshrined in various churches which attribute the victory to the massive prayers. The feast on October 7 associated with the Battle of Lepanto was initially called the feast of "Our Lady of Victory" but was later renamed the feast of "Our Lady of the Rosary".[26][27]
But Lepanto was not the only battle in which victory was attributed to the power of the Rosary. In 1683 King John III Sobieski of Poland achieved a crucial victory in Vienna in the battle against the Muslims and the victory was attributed to the power of the Rosary. Indeed, from this point onwards, the Rosary achieved an even more important place among the prayers of the Catholic Church: it was recommended by numerous saints and Catholics were encouraged to pray it by almost every pope since then.[28]
The belief in the power of the Rosary has continued into the 20th century, e.g. in his book The Power of the Rosary Rev. Albert Shamon discussed the power of rosary prayers and the promises attributed to the Rosary in various reported visions such as Our Lady of Fatima and Međugorje[29].
Some Roman Catholic sources suggest that through Saint Dominic and Blessed Alan de Rupe the Blessed Virgin Mary made fifteen specific promises to Christians who pray the rosary,[30] although other sources argue that the rosary and these promises have their roots in the preaching of Alan de Rupe between 1470–1475 and not Saint Dominic.[31] And there are sources which try to seek a middle ground to these two views.[32]
The fifteen rosary promises range from protection from misfortune to meriting a high degree of glory in heaven [33].
The promises attributed to the rosary continue to appear and be extended in the reported visions of Jesus and Mary. For instance, the Carmelite nun, sister Lucia dos Santos stated that she was told in the Our Lady of Fatima messages:
Centuries after the Battle of Lepanto, the belief in the power of large scale Rosary prayers have continued among Catholics in the 20th century. The messages of Our Lady of Fatima reported by Lucia Santos stated that the Virgin Mary specifically asked believers to pray for the conversion of Russia.[36][37][38] With a blessing from Pope Pius XII millions of members of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima were told to pray the Rosary for the fall of communism.[39][40] Blue Army of Fatima members have stated that the collapse of the Soviet Union in the Revolutions of 1989 was due to the power of the Rosary prayers, while economists argue that socioeconomic and market forces were the causes.[41][42][43][44][45] The Society of Saint Pius X has encouraged "Rosary Crusades", in which millions of Rosaries are prayed in a period of time for a specific intention set by the Superior General. There gave been three global Rosary Crusades so far:
In the twelfth century Pope Eugenius III approved of the promises with regards to the Prayer to the shoulder wound of Jesus which according to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was the wound that inflicted the most pain on Jesus in Calvary, caused by the rough wood of the Cross that Christ carried.[48] The modern version of the prayer bears the imprimatur of Bishop Thomas D. Bevan, bishop of Springfield, Mass. 1892. [49].
The Chaplet of Saint Michael is due to a reported vision of Saint Michael the Archangel to the Portuguese Carmelite nun Antonia d'Astonac. According to Antonia, Saint Michael asked her to honor him by nine salutations to the nine Choirs of Angels and promised that whoever would practice this devotion in his honor would have, when approaching Holy Communion, an escort of nine angels chosen from each of the nine Choirs. In addition, for those who would recite the Chaplet daily, he promised his continual assistance and that of all the holy angels during life.[50][51]
Christians in general pray for strength and according to a 1997 survey, 79% of Americans who pray ask for strength to overcome their personal weaknesses.[52] In the Catholic tradition personal prayer has been positioned as a source for personal strength, just as Jesus was strengthened during prayer in Gethsemane in Luke 22:43, i.e. in first person prayer. And it has been used in second person prayer to provide encouragement to others. Moreover, prayer performed corporately in the presence of fellow believers has been encouraged.[53][54]
Mental prayer is a form of prayer whereby one loves God through dialogue with him, meditating on his words, and contemplating him. It is a time of silence focused on God and one's relationship with him. It is distinguished from vocal prayers which use set prayers, although mental prayer can proceed by using vocal prayers in order to improve dialogue with God.
Mental prayer is recommended in the Catholic Church as a source of spiritual strength and according to Saint Alphonsus Liguori "all saints have become saints by mental prayer"[55].
Prayer has been used to provide a sense of hope, perseverance and strength to others, knowing that they are being prayed for. In this case, the person performing the prayer notifies the beneficiary that the prayer is taking place. For instance, Pope Pius XII said of the Venerable Gabriele Allegra’s attempt to translate the Bible to Chinese:
It took Gabriele Allegra 40 years to complete the translation of the Bible (given two wars and a revolution while he was in China), but he finished it a few years before he died in Hong Kong[57].
The Bible suggests that group petitions and prayers are different from individual requests. In Matthew 18:19-20 Jesus said:
The Catholic Church teaches that no man can perform great deeds within the mystical body of Christ except by prayer, and unless the forces exercised rely on the power of prayer.[59]
In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 it states that:
reflects the belief that prayer has more power than physical force. Similarly, 2,000 years later, according to WikiQuote, Mother Teresa said:
Yet Mother Teresa did not perceive prayer as a threatening force, but as a force for service, love and peace, for she wrote:
Similarly, as the starting words to the prayer of Saint Francis suggest:
Catholic tradition positions prayer primarily as a force for seemingly non-physical effects such as peace, forgiveness and pardon.
In the Christian and Catholic traditions, there are many legends about the power of long term prayer. In the fourth century, Saint Monica of Hippo is said to have prayed for the conversion of her son Augustine for fourteen years[62] and he eventually became an influential figure in Christian thought.
Another example of long term prayer often mentioned in the Roman Catholic tradition is that of the Venerable Leo Dupont, also known as the Holy Man of Tours. Dupont was said to have prayed for 30 years for the public release of messages from sister Marie of St Peter in 1844 regarding the Holy Face of Jesus[63]. Shortly before Dupont's death in 1876, Charles-Théodore Colet was appointed as the Archbishop of Tours and allowed the records to be made public. Dupont's followers attribute this to Dupont's 30 years of prayer, 10 years of which consisted of almost constant prayer before a candle burning before an image of the Holy Face of Jesus[64]. In 1885 the Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus was approved by Pope Leo XIII and in 1958 Pope Pius XII declared the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus as Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) for all Roman Catholics[65]. Dupont eventually became known as the Apostle of the Holy Face.
Roman Catholic tradition includes specific prayers and devotions as acts of reparation. These prayers do not involve a petition for a living or deceased beneficiary, but aim to repair the sins of others, e.g. when the name of Jesus Christ is taken in vain, or for the repair of the sin of blasphemy. Some such prayers are provided in the Raccolta Catholic prayer book, approved by a Decree of 1854, and published by the Holy See in 1898.[66]
Some prayers focus on reparations for insults and blasphemies against Jesus Christ and the Holy Name of Jesus. Other prayers are as Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary.
Specific Catholic organizations with the purpose of promoting prayer as reparation have been formed. For instance, the Archconfraternity of Reparation for blasphemy and the neglect of Sunday was founded by Msgr. Pierre Louis Parisis in 1847 and the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face was founded in 1851 by the Venerable Leo Dupont, the "Holy Man of Tours".[67]
Although many promises are associated with prayer, in his book "The Way to Christ" Pope John Paul II warned against "mechanical prayer" and pointed out the need for self reflection before prayer[68]. And in his message for the 42nd "World Day of Prayer" he said:
In his book The Secret of the Rosary Saint Louis de Montfort went into significant detail on how to prepare to say a single rosary. He emphasized purity of intention before the rosary begins, the need for attention, focus and reverence during the prayer and the necessity of fighting distractions [70].
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