Classic Catholic

Book of the moment
I am studying part IV of the CCC with some high school students. This is such a rich, inspiring treatment on prayer. If you are having trouble with praying, you should take this text and read it a few paragraphs a day over the next few weeks. And be sure to look up the scripture passages. They give us awesome images of man at prayer. My favorite is the scene of Abraham making a covenant with God in Gen. 15. But the section on the prayer of Jesus is especially awesome. It is divided into Jesus at prayer, Jesus teaches about prayer, and Jesus hears our prayer. Then it closes with a discussion of Mary and prayer. And this is before it even begins to explore the vast wealth of the Church’s tradition of prayer.

It is easy for those of us who are intellectuals and writers, as well as those of us who love and get all worked up over liturgy, that a personal relationship with the Triune God is the goal of all that we do. The first three parts of the CCC, on the Creed, the Sacraments, and on Morality, are oriented toward the fourth and most important part on prayer. All these three realities, creed, cult and code, are established by God to assist us to become and experience ourselves as adopted children of God. Which is most manifest in our loving activity in the world and ultimately in prayer.