"As the deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you, my God (Psalm 42:1).”  

 

Prayer is a hunger, a thirst, a natural inner desire, planted deep within us all, to seek and be nourished by the very source of our lives:  the mercy and loving-kindness of the God who made us.  If the goal of our lives is to become holy as God is holy, to be a “chosen nation, a royal priesthood, a people set apart (1 Pet. 2:9),” then prayer is the path that every Christian must follow.  

 

All of the world’s great religions teach the importance of cultivating an inner relationship with God through prayer.  In the Catholic tradition, prayer can be meditative, contemplative, public worship, intercessory, song, dance, or any combination of these.  The definition and practice of prayer is so broad that it defies a simple example or explanation.  The links on this page intend to serve as a guide and a doorway into the many paths to God through prayer.  At one link, you may even light a real candle in a real church in London to pray for a loved one.  Consider buying a book from our parish’s online bookstore to learn more about prayer. 

 

Contemplation ~ Meditation ~ Spiritual Direction ~ Prayer songs ~ SacredSpace: an online prayer site ~ Light a candle ~ Bookstore ~ Prayer requests/ Catholic prayers on the diocesan website

 

 

Featured prayer

 

Prayer to Mary, Undoer of Knots

 

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain, and how I am bound by these knots. Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot. 

 

[Mention your request here] 

 

I beg you to undo it for the glory of God, once for all. You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and, with Christ, the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea. Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!