Last night as I was checking the news before going to bed, I came upon a rare story that we don’t often see on a mainstream media site. Although I have read articles like this in the past, and myself know the power of prayer and that miracles really happen, I often see an article like this on Spirit Daily. The title of the article was – Doctor says mother’s prayer restarted dead boy’s heart.

As I read through the article, it came to me that this was a perfect way to explain to you briefly what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches on praying to the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit since the mother in the story said, “Holy God, please send your Holy Spirit to save my son.” And although the article doesn’t mention anything about the Mother of God being invoked, for this post, we will come to understand Mary’s cooperation in prayer as well.

The Catechism says,

Prayer is primarily addressed to the Father; it can also be directed towards Jesus, particularly by the invocation of his holy name: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.” [#2680]

“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. [#2681]

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. [#2682]

For a more complete study and understanding of the Way of Prayer, please read CCC 2663-2679. I would also encourage you to purchase the book, Prayer for Beginners, by Peter Kreeft. We are set to give this book to all of our RCIA/Adult Confirmation Catechumens and Candidates as we enter the Purification stage during Lent at the parish where I work.

It doesn’t matter where you are in your spiritual life, we all could pray more. Never get discouraged about prayer, because even the great saints of the Church struggled from time to time with their own personal prayer. To learn more about the Doctor of Prayer, St. Teresa of Avila, read my blog post on her here.

“Prayer gives light by which to see and to judge from God’s perspective and from eternity. That is why you must not give up praying! Don’t let a day go by without praying a little! Prayer is a duty, but it is also a joy because it is a dialogue with God through Jesus Christ!” – Pope St. John Paul II