The Wellsprings of Prayer
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Simplified
The Living Water (2652)
The Spirit is the living water who leads us to Christ. The Christian life has several wellsprings of the Spirit.
Praying the Scriptures (2653-2654)
We gain "the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ" (Phil 3:8) by reading the Scriptures. Prayer must accompany this reading. "We speak to him when we pray. We listen to him when we read" (St. Ambrose).
"Seek in reading and you will find in meditating; knock in mental prayer and it will be opened to you by contemplation" (Grugo the Canthusian).
Assimilating Liturgical Prayer (2655)
The sacramental liturgy makes present the mystery of salvation. The celebration continues in the heart that prays. The heart assimilates the liturgy before and after the celebration.
Faith, Hope and Love (2656-2658)
We enter into prayer by the narrow gate of faith for we seek the face of the Lord.
By hope, we celebrate the liturgy in expectation of Christ's return Prayer nourishes that hope. "I waited patiently for the Lord and he heard my cry" (Ps 40:2). Hope leads to love. "Hope does not disappoint us because God's love has been poured into our hearts" (Rom 5:5).
Prayer draws everything into Christ's love. "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" (Cure of Ars).
Praying for Today (2659-2660)
The Spirit is given in every event of the day. Jesus always spoke about today (Mt 6:11, 34). We encounter God today, not yesterday, nor tomorrow. "O that today you would hear his voice" (Ps 95:7). To pray amid daily events is a secret revealed to the children. We must pray that the kingdom influence every day events.
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