Various prayer forms are in use in the Roman Catholic Church.
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The prayer of blessing is man’s response to God’s gifts. Because God blesses, the human heart can in return bless the One who is the source of every blessing, and adoration is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature before his Creator.
Bless us, Oh Lord,
and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty,
through Christ, Our Lord.[1]
By prayer of petition, Catholics express awareness of their own relationship with God. They believe to be creatures who are not their own beginning, not the masters of adversity, not their own last end.
O Divine Jesus,,,
Thou hast promised that anything we ask of the Eternal Father in Thy name shall be granted.
O Eternal Father,
In the name of Jesus, for the love of Jesus, in fulfillment of this promise, and because Jesus has said it, grant us our petitions for the sake of Jesus, Thy Divine Son.
Amen.[2]
Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners.
Intercession is a prayer to God on behalf of another person.
Thanksgiving characterizes the prayer of the Church which, in celebrating the Eucharist, reveals and becomes more fully what she is.
Thank you God for all that grows,
Thank you for the sky's rainbows,
Thank you for the stars that shine,
Thank you for these friends of mine,
Thank you for the moon and sun,
Thank you God for all you've done![3]
Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for His own sake and gives Him glory, quite beyond what He does, but simply because He is.[4]
Expression of approval, commendation, or admiration.