PRAYING

Praying

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."

Colossians 4:2 ESV

The Importance of Prayer for Knights

Let's face it, we can't do anything of real, lasting value without prayer. It just won't happen. Our lives as Catholic men must be based on knowing Jesus. That "knowing" is not based on any program, or structure, or even any teaching. It is based on our relationship with a person, with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Prayer, put very simply, is where we get to know Jesus, and where we build a relationship with him. If we don't give time to prayer, that relationship with Jesus, and the gift of the Holy Spirit that he gives to us when we are joined to him, is not going to be there. And without that Spirit guiding us, we might as well be building castles in the sand; nothing of lasting value, eternal value, will come of it.

As Knights, we draw on the Church's immensly rich tradition of prayer to grow in our relationship with Christ. We are, first and foremost, men of the mass. We follow Jesus's own words, to "eat my flesh" and "drink my blood." We go to the Eucharist to hear His Word, and receive His very Body and Blood, so that we can be formed, Sunday by Sunday, day by day, more fully into His image and likeness.

We also, as Knights, take seriously Jesus's words from the cross as he gave his mother Mary to the disciple John as his mother, our Mother. For this reason, we take the Rosary very seriously. We know that Mary is the best guide to come to know her son and the mysteries of his life.
Prayer is something that the Knights take very seriously. Come discover some of the rich traditions we have as Catholic men!

Bible Quotes on Prayer

Our Many Forms of Prayer

Liturgical Prayer

The Rosary

Scripture Reflection

Intercessory

The work "liturgy" comes from the Greek word that means "publiic work or duty." Liiturgical prayer is public prayer, the prayer we do together. The most important public duty we have as Knights, as followers of Jesus Christ, is our participation in the Mass.

Time and time again, through the words of the saints, and through the words of Mary herself, we are told about the power of the Rosary. As Knights we are called to take up this important weapon in our fight for good against the powers of evil.

We are told by the Church Fathers that "ignornace of scriptrure is ignorance of Christ." We cannot leave the study of scripture to the 'experts.' Each of us, but especially us as Knights, is called to discover how God is speaking to each of us personally in his Word.

As Catholics, we believe in what the Church calles the "Communion of the Saints." This simply means that we belong to an immense family of all the baptized, those living and those who have gone on. We draw on that bond as Kniights in our intercessory prayer.

THE THREE 'S's

So much can be, and has been, said about prayer, so we won't attempt to say much. A few basics, however, might help. Try to remember these three 'S's, without which, prayer is pretty darn difficult.

Solitude

Silence

Scripture

As Catholics, we certainly know the importance of praying togther. That is part of the power of the Mass. But God ultimately wants to speak to each of us personally, to introduce himself to us, to tell us of his love and compassion for us, for you, for me. Don't forget to give him some of your alone time.

Though God can speak to us through music and the voice of another, there is something about silence that is essential for meeting God in prayer. This is even more true in our age of constant noice and information. We need to make "audio space" for God to speak to our heart and illuminate our mind.

Silence is important, but we are not called to remain in nothingness. We have a God gave us his Word, a God who speaks, who has revealed himself, and has told us about himself. Scripture is the revealed record of God telling us about himself so we aren't left to our own means to imagine what he might be like. Keep scripture close in your prayer.

The Bible on Silence

The Bible on the Word

The Bible on Solitude

Meeting Jesus in the Mass

"Yet we do not merely look to Jesus. We truly encounter Christ at Mass when we receive the very gift of Himself in the Eucharist. For this reason, I call upon my brother priests to awaken the sense of transcendence in the hearts of men through reverent and beautiful liturgy, helping men to rediscover Jesus in the Eucharist each and every Sunday. I ask my brother priests to teach the faithful about the powerful truth of the liturgy, especially in ways to which men can relate. Teaching men to understand the fullness and power of the Mass must be a top priority. What a joy it is for men of God when they are led by priests who have a confident sense of their own masculinity, their call to participate in Christ’s spousal love, and their generous, life-giving fatherhood!"