Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part Four › Section One › Chapter Two · Article 2 (§§2663–2682)
Paragraphs · 20
The Catechism's text is under copyright, so each paragraph is quoted briefly here with a link to the full text at vatican.va.
The Way of Prayer
- §2663 — In the living tradition of prayer, each Church proposes to its faithful, according to its historic, social, and cultural context, a language for prayer: words, melodies, gestures, iconography.vatican.va
- §2664 — There is no other way of Christian prayer than Christ. Whether our prayer is communal or personal, vocal or interior, it has access to the Father only if we pray "in the name" of Jesus.vatican.va
- §2665 — The prayer of the Church, nourished by the Word of God and the celebration of the liturgy, teaches us to pray to the Lord Jesus.vatican.va
- §2666 — But the one name that contains everything is the one that the Son of God received in his incarnation: JESUS. the divine name may not be spoken by human lips, but by assuming our humanity the Word of God hands it over to us and we can invoke it: "Jesus," "YHWH saves."vatican.va
- §2667 — This simple invocation of faith developed in the tradition of prayer under many forms in East and West. the most usual formulation, transmitted by the spiritual writers of the Sinai, Syria, and Mt.vatican.va
- §2668 — The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and "brings forth fruit with patience."vatican.va
- §2669 — The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins.vatican.va
- §2670 — "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." Every time we begin to pray to Jesus it is the Holy Spirit who draws us on the way of prayer by his prevenient grace.vatican.va
- §2671 — The traditional form of petition to the Holy Spirit is to invoke the Father through Christ our Lord to give us the Consoler Spirit. Jesus insists on this petition to be made in his name at the very moment when he promises the gift of the Spirit of Truth.vatican.va
- §2672 — The Holy Spirit, whose anointing permeates our whole being, is the interior Master of Christian prayer. He is the artisan of the living tradition of prayer.vatican.va
- §2673 — In prayer the Holy Spirit unites us to the person of the only Son, in his glorified humanity, through which and in which our filial prayer unites us in the Church with the Mother of Jesus.vatican.va
- §2674 — Mary gave her consent in faith at the Annunciation and maintained it without hesitation at the foot of the Cross. Ever since, her motherhood has extended to the brothers and sisters of her Son "who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties."vatican.va
- §2675 — Beginning with Mary's unique cooperation with the working of the Holy Spirit, the Churches developed their prayer to the holy Mother of God, centering it on the person of Christ manifested in his mysteries.vatican.va
- Catechism — CCC 2676 — 'Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is… the ark of the covenant' — the Catechism on the Hail Mary.vatican.va
- §2677 — Holy Mary, Mother of God: With Elizabeth we marvel, "and why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"vatican.va
- §2678 — Medieval piety in the West developed the prayer of the rosary as a popular substitute for the Liturgy of the Hours. In the East, the litany called the Akathistos and the Paraclesis remained closer to the choral office in the Byzantine churches, while the Armenian,…vatican.va
- §2679 — Mary is the perfect Orans (prayer), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men.vatican.va
In Brief
- §2680 — Prayer is primarily addressed to the Father; it can also be directed toward Jesus, particularly by the invocation of his holy name: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners."vatican.va
- §2681 — "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord', except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3). the Church invites us to invoke the Holy Spirit as the interior Teacher of Christian prayer.vatican.va
- §2682 — Because of Mary's singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her.vatican.va
Scripture cited · 47 verses
Genesis 12:3 · Exodus 3:14 · Exodus 33:19 · Exodus 33:20 · Exodus 33:21 · Exodus 33:22 · Exodus 33:23 · Zephaniah 3:14 · Zephaniah 3:17 · Matthew 1:21 · Matthew 6:7 · Mark 10:46 · Mark 10:47 · Mark 10:48 · Mark 10:49 · Mark 10:50 · Mark 10:51 · Mark 10:52 · Luke 1:38 · Luke 1:41 · Luke 1:43 · Luke 1:45 · Luke 1:46 · Luke 1:47 · Luke 1:48 · Luke 1:49 · Luke 1:50 · Luke 1:51 · Luke 1:52 · Luke 1:53 · Luke 1:54 · Luke 1:55 · Luke 8:15 · Luke 11:13 · Luke 18:13 · John 14:17 · John 15:26 · John 16:13 · John 19:27 · Acts 1:14 · Acts 2:21 · Acts 3:15 · Acts 3:16 · Romans 10:13 · 1 Corinthians 12:3 · Galatians 2:20 · Revelation 21:3