tinytherese Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 So I ask the intention of a fair amount of saints for specific intentions and it can sure take me a long time to pray to them. Would it be lazy of me or not to my spiritual benefit to to like what they do during the Easter Vigil mass my own little litany? "Sts. Rita, Monica, Augustine, Paul, Jude, and Anthony pray for us. Sts. Louis, Elizabeth of Hungary, and Elizabeth of Hungary pray for us...." I ask this because it seems to me that the litany for the Easter Vigil appears to be asking for their prayers in general, yet mine are for specific intentions. Sometimes I can just be somewhat scrupulous like this. Pax Christi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 As long as your prayer is genuine, and not said without thought or care (your mind is elsewhere), I don't see any reason you could not pray as the Church prays in this fashion. Sincerity in prayer is not due to so many words or the time we spend in prayer, but the depth of our prayer. That is just my humble opinion though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 [quote name='Brother Adam' timestamp='1297013385' post='2209351'] As long as your prayer is genuine, and not said without thought or care (your mind is elsewhere), I don't see any reason you could not pray as the Church prays in this fashion. [/quote] That's a problem I see in praying this way. I'm not sure what to think about when doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah147 Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I love what Mother Angelica had to say about prayer. She recounted a story on her show. She said a mother called in to Mother Angelica for prayer for her son who was in a coma. Mother Angelica was busy, and so she she ernestly prayed to God "get him out of dodo land." And within a few weeks, the mom called with news that he was out of the coma. Mother Angelica said to be simple and honest with God. And that it doesn't need to be a lot of words. He accepted her simple, honest prayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouisvilleFan Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 [quote name='tinytherese' timestamp='1297013917' post='2209356'] That's a problem I see in praying this way. I'm not sure what to think about when doing it. [/quote] Think that you are praying for their intercession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJon16 Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 [quote name='tinytherese' timestamp='1297013917' post='2209356'] That's a problem I see in praying this way. I'm not sure what to think about when doing it. [/quote] Think about what the intersession is needed for. Think about what you are asking them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vee Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 from St Teresa of Avila "Vocal prayer . . . must be accompanied by reflection. A prayer in which a person is not aware of Whom he is speaking to, what he is asking, who it is who is asking and of Whom, I don't call prayer-----however much the lips may move." "Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vee Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Talk to God your Father as you would a parent, and the saints as you would your brothers and sisters. The important thing is that what you are saying comes form the hart, not that you have listed off every intention or named each saint. God simply wants us to trust, to love and to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenDeMaria Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 [quote name='tinytherese' timestamp='1297012211' post='2209341'] So I ask the intention of a fair amount of saints for specific intentions and it can sure take me a long time to pray to them. Would it be lazy of me or not to my spiritual benefit to to like what they do during the Easter Vigil mass my own little litany? "Sts. Rita, Monica, Augustine, Paul, Jude, and Anthony pray for us. Sts. Louis, Elizabeth of Hungary, and Elizabeth of Hungary pray for us...." [/quote] I think that everyone should invoke Saint Elizabeth of Hungary twice But really, I pray this way all the time! I think it's a beautiful way to honor many saints more often. But I frequently add special intentions for each saint. For instance O Blessed Virgin Mary, intercede for your frail children! O Saint Mary Magdalen, pray that we may love God as much as you! O Saint John the Evangelist, help us lean against our Lord's Most Sacred Heart! O Saint Luke, paint pictures of Our Lady in our hearts! O Saint Lucy, give us eyes that long to see Heaven alone! O Saint Thomas Aquinas, let us see all passing knowledge as mere straw! O Saint Bernard of Clairveux, teach us to love Mary, our Mother and Queen! O Saint Francis, pray that we may be simple instruments of God's peace! O Saint Anthony of Padua, pray that we may always retain the articles of our faith! O Saint Joan of Arc, help us to stride ever-confident towards God's perfect will! O Saint Teresa of Avila, may we be wounded by God's love and ever remain tender to His touch! O Saint John of the Cross, help us ascend the mount of perfection joyfully! O Saint Therese, help us grow smaller and humbler each day! O Saint Pius X, inspire us to a love of all that is good and holy in the liturgy! O Blessed Miguel Pro, pray that we may serve Christ our King until our final breath! O Blessed Jacinta Marto, teach us to pray for the conversion of sinners! O soon-to-be-blessed Pope John Paul the Great, pray that we may open wide the doors to Christ this day! All you saints and angels pray for us! Once you get started it's addictive and hard to stop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeresaBenedicta Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 [quote name='tinytherese' timestamp='1297012211' post='2209341'] So I ask the intention of a fair amount of saints for specific intentions and it can sure take me a long time to pray to them. Would it be lazy of me or not to my spiritual benefit to to like what they do during the Easter Vigil mass my own little litany? "Sts. Rita, Monica, Augustine, Paul, Jude, and Anthony pray for us. Sts. Louis, Elizabeth of Hungary, and Elizabeth of Hungary pray for us...." I ask this because it seems to me that the litany for the Easter Vigil appears to be asking for their prayers in general, yet mine are for specific intentions. Sometimes I can just be somewhat scrupulous like this. Pax Christi. [/quote] I often remember those I pray for during the rosary and LOTH. When I have many people that I am praying for, I generally use the following intention: "For So-and-So (each person I've promised to pray that I can remember and 'all those for whom I've promised to pray'), grant them every bodily and spiritual grace..." Of course, when I have very specific intentions for people, I pray for those. I don't consider these (mine or yours) sorts of prayers lazy. Intercessory prayer is important, but it doesn't have to be done scrupulously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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