What is prayer?
The word prayer comes from the Latin root precari meaning to ask. Many thoughts come to mind when we hear the word prayer. Perhaps the mind reverts to Our Fathers or Hail Marys, but what is probably most unknown or misunderstood is that prayer is relational. So you could boil that down to say – prayer is relationship. As Catholics, we sometimes roll our eyes when we’re asked about our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. However, many of our Protestant brothers and sisters do have a grasp of the importance of this relationship. It should truly be the most important thing in our life. Our relationship with Christ will affect our worship, the way we pray, our relationships with others, and especially our relationship with ourselves. Christ is a PERSON! He is a living person who can be spoken to and listened to like any other.
How do we deepen our prayer?
Prayer is relationship. It is our relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. Like any person we may want to deepen a relationship with, it takes spending time with that person. The most intimate way to be united with Christ is through Holy Communion which is receiving the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord; but the greatest way for us to unpack and take in the wonders of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is through Eucharistic adoration. This wondrous gift is like radiation therapy. In adoration of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament we allow Christ to pierce through our defenses and, as the Divine Physician, minister to our souls. We hear the prayer at Easter, “Oh happy fault, oh necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer.” And which gained for us such a dear Friend.
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