In this morning's homily on EWTN (Sat. 2/5), the celebrant reminded us to pray to the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, and also, to pray (for example a Holy Hour) 15 minutes each of Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

There are people who begin praying by saying "I want..." but no, when we pray, supplication is last. First we tell the Lord how much we love him, respect Him, and praise Him for his Glory. In the second phase of prayer, we ask pardon for our Sins and thirdly, we give thanks to God of all he has done for us. And at the end of all that, we are privileged to ask Jesus for a couple of favors.

The other day, I was advised that a lady I had been praying for (many were praying for her, not just myself) had been healed, and so we give thanks to God, before asking for additional favors.

The Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God in three Persons. Many people pray only to Jesus. Fine, but please do not forget that Jesus is a part of the Holy Trinity, he has three personalities as it were, and so we pray to the Father to whom we pray, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. When we pray in the Holy Spirit, our prayer becomes perfect, worthy sending it through the Son to the Father. Even in praying the Liturgy of the Hours, the Intersecessions, where we pray for other people, are at the end of the prayers.

Fred Schaeffer, SFO
2-5-2010