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Prayers for all Occasions, Needs, and Intentions
For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.
"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." (St. John Damascene, De fide orth. 3,24:
A powerful prayer recited before praying: "Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar."
My Daily Call to God for Help!
Prayers for the Souls in Purgatory
Prayers to the Blessed Trinity
Prayers to the Divine Infant of Prague
Prayers of Penance and Reconciliation
Prayers Before and After Communion
Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Canticles of the Old and New Testament
Prayer Petition for Assistance
The Prayers to St. Catherine of Siena
Prayers to St. Therese, the Little Flower
Prayers to St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
Blessings for Persons, Places, and Things
The Fifteen Prayers of Our Lord to St. Bridget
Prayers for each Day of the Week and Month of the Year
Prayers of Preparation for Mass and Thanksgiving after Mass
Prayer is a necessity for all, both in the name of justice and in the name of charity and love. In the name of justice, it is a partial fulfillment of the creature's acknowledgment of his place beneath the Creator; thus prayers can be prayers of adoration, petition, thanksgiving, praise, reparation. In the name of love, prayer is the answer to love's demand for communion with the loved one.
Vocal prayer, a prayer expressed in word or gesture, is a necessity for human nature. If our prayer is purely external it is meaningless for our heart is not in it; if it is purely internal, it soon withers and dies for we are not angels but men, and all our acts reflect that union of body and soul which makes us what we are. We need the expression of prayer that our love may not be mute; and the very expression feeds the love to which it gives expression. Then, too, in the name of justice, we owe God the submissive reverence of our whole being, of our body as well as of our soul.
Mental prayer can be briefly described as "pondering with love." It is the quick flight of the heart and mind to God which may take place in an instant or may consume any length of time; but it will always take its rise from some insight into the divine lovableness and terminate in a humble, wondering thanks to God and a determination to be more worthy of that divine goodness and love.
Contemplation is a completely free gift of God that comes to us, at His good pleasure, through the Gifts of the Holy Ghost by a movement of the Holy Spirit. By it, we are given a foretaste of heaven, knowing and loving in the divine mode far beyond the slow plodding that is natural to our minds and hearts. We can prepare ourselves for contemplation by keeping our minds in the neighborhood of divine things through vocal and mental prayer, and spiritual reading; and by getting our hearts ready through the practice of the virtues. But our efforts are strictly limited to preparation for contemplation; the gift itself is God's to give.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church covers the subject of prayer and the types of prayer in our daily lives.