RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 4_WORSHIP, LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS_MODULE 1: PRAYER

Module 1_Prayer
Introduction
Prayer is important in the life of a Christian. It is important to the soul as breathing
is important to the body. Jesus showed us the way to prayer as He himself prayed to God
the Father. This module will discuss prayer, forms of prayer, kinds of prayer, the basic
Christian prayers and the Holy Rosary.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, the learner is expected:
1. to know what is prayer
2. to appreciate and give value to prayer
3. to learn how to pray the basic Christian prayers and the Holy Rosary

Learning Content
Lesson 1_What is Prayer?
• Prayer is the elevation of the soul to God.
• It is the raising of the mind and heart to God- St. John Damascene
• “Prayer is the turning of the soul to God. When a person prays, he enters into a
living relationship with God.” - Youth Catechesis #469
• “If you are seeking God but do not know how you should begin, learn to pray and
make the effort to pray every day.” -St. Theresa of Calcutta
• “For me, prayer is the 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.” -St. Therese of
Lisieux

Prayer is the “lifting of mind and heart to God,” then every feeling and every thought
we have is a valid and apt entry into prayer, no matter how irreverent, unholy, selfish,
sexual, or angry that thought or feeling might seem. Simply put, if you go to pray and you
are feeling angry, pray anger; if you are sexually pre occupied, pray that preoccupation; if
you are feeling murderous, pray murder (but do not do it, just pray it); and if you are
feeling full of fervor and want to praise and thank God, pray fervor. Every thought or
feeling is a valid entry into prayer. What’s important is that we pray what’s inside of us
and not what we think God would like to see inside of us. (Ronald Rolheiser)
Forms of Prayer
1. Adoration- is to prostrate ourselves in silence before God and to recognize God
alone as the Supreme Being worthy of our homage.
2. Contrition – is the internal consciousness of sin that induces a change of heart.
3. Thanksgiving – is to thank God for everything He has given us.
 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 4_WORSHIP, LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS_MODULE 1: PRAYER
4. Supplication – known also as petition; it is to ask God for spiritual and material
graces.
5. Offering – to offer to God all our thoughts, words and deeds.

The Holy Mass (or Holy Eucharist) is the highest form of prayer. All these
forms of prayer, we pray in the Holy Mass.

Kinds of Prayer
1. Vocal – is to pray with words
2. Meditation – search in the silence of our hearts for God’s love and will.
3. Contemplation – silent loving contemplation of God’s love
Prayer of the Heart
• It is the condition of continuous prayer in which we repeat endlessly: “Lord
Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Prayer for the souls in Purgatory
• Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let your perpetual light shine upon
them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

Lesson 2_The Lord’s Prayer: The Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven,

In Latin:
Pater noster, qui es in caelis;
sanctificetur nomen tuum; adveniat regnum tuum,
fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie;
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris;
et ne nos inducas in tentationem;
sed libera nos a malo. Amen.
 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 4_WORSHIP, LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS_MODULE 1: PRAYER
➢ The Our Father is the only prayer that Jesus himself taught his disciples (Mt 6:9-13;
Lk 11:2-4). That is why the Our Father is also called “the Lord’s Prayer”. Christians
of all Christian denominations pray it daily, both in the liturgy and privately.
➢ The Our Father is “the most perfect prayer” (St. Thomas Aquinas) and the
“summary of the whole Gospel” (Tertullian). The Our Father is more than a
prayer—it is a path that leads directly into the heart of our Father. The early
Christians recited this original prayer of the Church, which is entrusted to every
Christian at Baptism, three times a day. We, too, should not let a day pass without
trying to recite the Lord’s Prayer with our lips, to take it to heart, and to make it
come true in our lives.
Seven Petitions of Our Lord’s Prayer
As we discussed above, the Lord’s prayer can be divided into sections called
petitions, called so because a petition is a humble request for something, in this case from
God. Our Father Prayer has seven such petitions and an ending referred to as the
doxology. Every petition has a specific request to God for ourselves and some are requests
for our fellow human beings. The petitions are:
Introduction – Our Father Who Art in Heaven
We refer to God as our Father because we all become the adoptive children of the Lord
through baptism. We use “Our” to indicate that the prayer is not just from one person but
from a group of people (His children).
First Petition – Hallowed Be Thy Name
The word “Hallow” is used to mean honour as Holy. We, therefore, honour the
Heavenly Father’s Name as Holy and should thus respect and revere His Name.
This means recognizing who we are talking to and the seriousness involved in invoking
His name.
Second Petition – Thy Kingdom Come
This petition is believed to be a reference to the coming of the reign of God through
the return of his son Jesus Christ in his final return. The coming of God’s Kingdom is
usually seen as a divine gift that should be prayed for. We pray for the Kingdom of God in
our everyday lives.
Third Petition – Thy Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven
In this petition, we are asking for God’s glorious plan to actualized here on Earth as
it already is in Heaven. It is God’s invitation to make things on Earth the way they are up
in Heaven. Through prayer, we can understand what God’s will is, and obtain the strength
to do it.
Fourth Petition – Give Us This Day our Daily Bread
Our daily bread in this instance does not only mean nutritional nourishment, but all
the nourishment life requires both material and spiritual. In the world today which is
ravaged by world hunger this petition calls on Christians to take responsibility towards the
poor, to share with love both our spiritual and material goods.
It also addresses the spiritual hunger of the world, and we as Christians are supposed
to proclaim the good news (the Bread of Life); the Body of Christ received in the Holy
Communion.
 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 4_WORSHIP, LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS_MODULE 1: PRAYER
Fifth Petition – And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, as We Forgive those who Trespass
against us
We are all sinners asking for forgiveness from our father, not unlike the prodigal son
returning home after realizing the error of our ways. As Pope John Paul II said,
“Forgiveness is the key to peace.” Presbyterian churches and some other ‘reformed’
churches are more partial to debts as in the Gospel of Mathew in place of sins, and debtors
in place of those who trespass against us.
Sixth Petition – And Lead Us Not into Temptation
We ask our Heavenly Father not to let us stray along the path that leads to sin, it can
also mean not being caught up in the material pleasures. Though some earlier texts
referred to God as leading us into sin, that is not the case as Satan is the only one seen
tempting both Job in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament.
Seventh Petition – But Deliver Us From Evil
We use ‘us’ because we are praying with the church for the salvation of the entire
human family. There are certain biblical scholars who believe evil refers to the state of
being as opposed to the dark prince Satan.
But most believe evil is a reference to the Devil, and we ask God to deliver us from
his grip. Victory over the dark prince was won once and for all when Jesus Christ died for
us on the cross.
Lesson 3_The Holy Rosary
➢ The word Rosary means "Crown of Roses". Our Lady has revealed to several people
that each time they say a Hail Mary they are giving her a beautiful rose and that
each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses.
➢ The Holy Rosary is a contemplative and Christocentric prayer. With the Rosary, we
meditate the mysteries of joy, of sorrow and the glory of Jesus and Mary. It's a
simple prayer, humble so much like Mary.
Mysteries of the Holy Rosary
O The Joyful Mysteries (Monday, Saturday)
1. The Annunciation
2. The Visitation
3. The Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ
4. The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the
Temple
5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
O The Luminous Mysteries (Thursday)
1. The Baptism in the Jordan
2. The Wedding Feast at Cana
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
with its call to conversion
4. The Transfiguration
5. The Institution of the Holy Eucharist
 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 4_WORSHIP, LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS_MODULE 1: PRAYER
O The Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesday, Friday)
1. The Agony in the Garden
2. The Scourging of Jesus at the Pillar
3. The Crowning of Jesus with Thorns
4. The Carrying of the Cross to Mt. Calvary
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
O The Glorious Mysteries (Wednesday, Sunday)
1. The Resurrection
2. The Ascension
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
5. The Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven
6.
Prayers in the Holy Rosary
Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into
hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the right hand of God, the Father almighty. He will come again in glory to
judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the
life everlasting. Amen.
Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, And
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Fatima Prayer - Oh My Jesus
O my Jesus, forgive us of our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls into
heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. Amen.
 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 4_WORSHIP, LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS_MODULE 1: PRAYER
Hail Holy Queen
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our Life, our Sweetness, and our hope. To thee we
cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee we send up our sighs, mourning and
weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then most gracious advocate, Thine eyes of mercy
toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us, the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us O Holy Mother of God, that we
may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
Final Prayer
Let us pray. O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has
purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating
upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may
imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our
Lord. Amen.

Learning Resources
Catechism for Filipino Catholics. Manila: Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines, 1997.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. Makati, Metro, Manila: ECCCE and Word and Life
Publications, 1994.

https://catholicreadings.org/the-lords-prayer-our-father/

https://www.rosarycenter.org/homepage-2/rosary/prayers-of-the-rosary/

https://www.theholyrosary.org/

Miller. Michael J. trans. YOUCAT (Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church). San
Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011.

Rolheiser, Ronald. Prayer. Cincinnati, Ohio: Franciscan Media, 2013.