Prayer in the Catholic Church

The Virgin in Prayer portrays Mary praying, by Sassoferrato, 17th century

Prayer in the Catholic Church is "the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God."[1] It is an act of the moral virtue of religion, which Catholic theologians identify as a part of the cardinal virtue of justice.[2]

Prayer may be expressed vocally or mentally. Vocal prayer may be spoken or sung. Mental prayer can be either meditation or contemplation. The basic forms of prayer are adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication, abbreviated as A.C.T.S.[3]

The Liturgy of the Hours of the Catholic Church is recited daily at fixed prayer times by the members of the consecrated life, the clergy and devout believers.[4][5]

  1. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 2590.
  2. ^ Delany, Joseph. "Virtue of Religion". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 22 Dec. 2012.
  3. ^ Pokorsky, Rev Jerry J. Pokorsky (31 January 2016). "Balancing ACTS at Mass". The Catholic Thing. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Liturgy of the Hours". Cornell Catholic Community. 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference SRPCC2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).