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Prayer
"Lord, teach us to pray." Luke 11:1
What exactly is prayer? If God knows our hearts why do we still pray? How did Jesus pray, and why? What can we learn from the prayers of the patriarchs and saints? How can we hear God speaking through our prayers? How can we pray despite our weaknesses? What can Mary teach us about prayer?
Wherever we are on our spiritual journey, we all have questions about prayer. Even the first disciples asked Jesus how to pray.
Pope Benedict XVI considered prayer such an important topic that he devoted nearly a year to it in his Wednesday audiences. Those talks have been gathered into one volume, Prayer. Here the Holy Father, in his deeply theological, yet approachable manner guides us through the many questions to find answers that ultimately draw us closer to God through Christ in prayer.
What exactly is prayer? If God knows our hearts why do we still pray? How did Jesus pray, and why? What can we learn from the prayers of the patriarchs and saints? How can we hear God speaking through our prayers? How can we pray despite our weaknesses? What can Mary teach us about prayer?
Wherever we are on our spiritual journey, we all have questions about prayer. Even the first disciples asked Jesus how to pray.
Pope Benedict XVI considered prayer such an important topic that he devoted nearly a year to it in his Wednesday audiences. Those talks have been gathered into one volume, Prayer. Here the Holy Father, in his deeply theological, yet approachable manner guides us through the many questions to find answers that ultimately draw us closer to God through Christ in prayer.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
8 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Pope Benedict XVI
943 books941 followersOriginally
Joseph Ratzinger
, a noted conservative theologian before his election in 2005, Benedict XVI strove against the influence of secularism during his papacy to defend traditional Catholic teachings but since medieval times first resigned in 2013.
After Joseph Ratzinger served a long career as an academic and a professor at the University of Regensburg, Pope Paul VI appointed him as archbishop of Munich and Freising and cardinal in 1977. In 1981, he settled in Rome as prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, one most important office of the Roman curia. He also served as dean of the college of cardinals.
Benedict XVI reigned 265th in virtue of his office of bishop of Rome, the sovereign of the state of Vatican City and the head of the Church. A conclave named him on 19 April 2005; he celebrated his inaugural Mass on 24 April 2005 and took possession of his Lateran cathedral basilica of Saint John on 7 May 2005.
Benedict XVI succeeded Saint John Paul II, predecessor and his prolific writings on doctrine and values. Benedict XVI advocated a return to fundamental Christian values to counter the increase of many developed countries. Relativism denied objective truth and moral truths in particular; he viewed this central problem of the 21st century. With the importance of the Church, he understood redemptive love of God. He reaffirmed the "importance of prayer in the face of the activism" "of many Christians engaged in charitable work." Benedict also revived a number and elevated the Tridentine Mass to a more prominent position.
Benedict founded and patronized of the Ratzinger foundation, a charitable organization, which from the sale of books and essays makes money to fund scholarships and bursaries for students across the world.
Due to advanced age on 11 February 2013, Benedict announced in a speech in Latin and cited a "lack of strength of mind and body" before the cardinals. He effectively left on 28 February 2013.As emeritus, Benedict retained the style of His Holiness, and the title and continued to dress in the color of white. He moved into the newly renovated monastery of Mater Ecclesiae for his retirement. Pope Francis succeeded him on 13 March 2013.
(more info on Ratzinger Foundation: https://www.ewtn.com/library/Theology...)
After Joseph Ratzinger served a long career as an academic and a professor at the University of Regensburg, Pope Paul VI appointed him as archbishop of Munich and Freising and cardinal in 1977. In 1981, he settled in Rome as prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, one most important office of the Roman curia. He also served as dean of the college of cardinals.
Benedict XVI reigned 265th in virtue of his office of bishop of Rome, the sovereign of the state of Vatican City and the head of the Church. A conclave named him on 19 April 2005; he celebrated his inaugural Mass on 24 April 2005 and took possession of his Lateran cathedral basilica of Saint John on 7 May 2005.
Benedict XVI succeeded Saint John Paul II, predecessor and his prolific writings on doctrine and values. Benedict XVI advocated a return to fundamental Christian values to counter the increase of many developed countries. Relativism denied objective truth and moral truths in particular; he viewed this central problem of the 21st century. With the importance of the Church, he understood redemptive love of God. He reaffirmed the "importance of prayer in the face of the activism" "of many Christians engaged in charitable work." Benedict also revived a number and elevated the Tridentine Mass to a more prominent position.
Benedict founded and patronized of the Ratzinger foundation, a charitable organization, which from the sale of books and essays makes money to fund scholarships and bursaries for students across the world.
Due to advanced age on 11 February 2013, Benedict announced in a speech in Latin and cited a "lack of strength of mind and body" before the cardinals. He effectively left on 28 February 2013.As emeritus, Benedict retained the style of His Holiness, and the title and continued to dress in the color of white. He moved into the newly renovated monastery of Mater Ecclesiae for his retirement. Pope Francis succeeded him on 13 March 2013.
(more info on Ratzinger Foundation: https://www.ewtn.com/library/Theology...)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 2, 2023
I read this when it came out and then decided to reread it just before Pope Benedict died. It is truly the perfect choice as each chapter is just enough to make me appreciate this wise pope's writing and love of God. Also, of course, it is perfect to help me with my prayer life. The original review is below.
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I accidentally deleted this book, and hence the review, from my "read" books. Aaargh!
Let it suffice to say that this is a work of inspirational genius, especially since it was carefully communicated the first time round as a series of teaching homilies by Pope Benedict XVI.
Beginning with ancient civilizations concurrent with Old Testament events, we look at how people have prayed throughout time. It is then brought closer and closer to our own time and to prayer as expressed by and through Jesus Christ. This is not only a superb series of easy-to-digest lessons, it is inspirational and mind opening.
Highest recommendation.
============
I accidentally deleted this book, and hence the review, from my "read" books. Aaargh!
Let it suffice to say that this is a work of inspirational genius, especially since it was carefully communicated the first time round as a series of teaching homilies by Pope Benedict XVI.
Beginning with ancient civilizations concurrent with Old Testament events, we look at how people have prayed throughout time. It is then brought closer and closer to our own time and to prayer as expressed by and through Jesus Christ. This is not only a superb series of easy-to-digest lessons, it is inspirational and mind opening.
Highest recommendation.
April 12, 2018
These are the transcriptions of a series of talks the former pontiff gave on Wednesday evenings. The content is clear and understandable, while also quite orthodox and orderly.
This text may be a definite go-to resource for congregants looking for a little bit more insight about the different prayers one finds in the Scriptures (Old and New Testament) and in liturgical life. It was a pleasant read; some interesting thoughts.
Of course, the final chapter is a concise distillation of his thoughts on liturgy, which I think is worth more than most everything that came before it. However, I found that part altogether too brief, and will have to search elsewhere for those contents he is passionate about. But in short, with all the controversy about the Liturgy Wars (Traditional? Conservative? Charismatic? the Rebuilt model?) the key text is that this liturgy is for an audience of ONE, and our openness to being faithful to the liturgy as it has been passed down will lead to an encounter with the divine.
Catholics, according to at least one notable blogger, really stink at thinking outside the box. There is a crisis of epic proportions that has affected all denominations, in which entire generations may be lost to the faith, and yet... the liturgy is not meant to be evangelistic, it is meant to be worship. Books like this may help congregants get inside the thinking of our last pontiff, and it is profound to one's spiritual walk, but while it excels in scholarship, and while it may provide wonderful ideas for individuals searching for inspiration, it may fall short in finding a way for this to catch on beyond the Church's four walls.
This text may be a definite go-to resource for congregants looking for a little bit more insight about the different prayers one finds in the Scriptures (Old and New Testament) and in liturgical life. It was a pleasant read; some interesting thoughts.
Of course, the final chapter is a concise distillation of his thoughts on liturgy, which I think is worth more than most everything that came before it. However, I found that part altogether too brief, and will have to search elsewhere for those contents he is passionate about. But in short, with all the controversy about the Liturgy Wars (Traditional? Conservative? Charismatic? the Rebuilt model?) the key text is that this liturgy is for an audience of ONE, and our openness to being faithful to the liturgy as it has been passed down will lead to an encounter with the divine.
Catholics, according to at least one notable blogger, really stink at thinking outside the box. There is a crisis of epic proportions that has affected all denominations, in which entire generations may be lost to the faith, and yet... the liturgy is not meant to be evangelistic, it is meant to be worship. Books like this may help congregants get inside the thinking of our last pontiff, and it is profound to one's spiritual walk, but while it excels in scholarship, and while it may provide wonderful ideas for individuals searching for inspiration, it may fall short in finding a way for this to catch on beyond the Church's four walls.
October 7, 2024
Beautifully written little chapters that inspire you to pray whenever you read them.
September 27, 2013
Throughout his reign as pope, Benedict XVI has given many talks on various aspects of the Faith, including the Apostles, the Fathers of the Church, Doctors of the Church, etc. Our Sunday Visitor has done an excellent job compiling these texts into published volumes and keeping the appearance of the books uniform throughout the series. This makes for not only a superb collection of writings but also an aesthetically pleasing section on your bookshelf when you line up the many tomes of our retired Holy Father. When I heard that there was a book being released on Prayer, I knew had to read it.
The text of this book includes General Audiences that Pope Benedict XVI gave from May 2011 through October 2012. He stopped giving these talks in February 2013, when he resigned from the papacy to pursue a life of prayer. That makes this series of catechetical talks one of his very last, and a must-own for any serious student of Pope Benedict. A thought struck me while reading through this book. I'm not sure if it's true, but it seems like he was not only educating his flock on prayer but also preparing for the next chapter in his life.
Spanning forty-five chapters (or talks), this book covers a wide range of topics on prayer. I won't list them all here, but some of the highlights include chapters on Moses, Elijah, Peter, Paul, Stephen, and various psalms. Of particular interest to me was the Chapter Thirteen, which discussed Psalm 22 (21). As Pope Benedict pointed out, this psalm is very Christological. For those of you unfamiliar with this psalm, it begins with, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" We hear these words of the psalmist David echoed from the lips of Jesus on His cross. However, as Pope Benedict is quick to explain, this lamentation in the psalm turns into a song of praise. By explaining this, it brings to light the fact that Jesus didn't actually lament God forsaking Him, because God did not forsake Him. It also reminds us that we should always trust God, even in moments of persecution and humiliation.
If you would like to learn more about prayer, I can think of no better teacher than our previous Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. Each talk is spiritually deep and full of wisdom. However, they remain clear and concise too. Reading some of these chapters made me feel like I was in Rome listening to him deliver these addresses in person. Pick this book up, and read it. Then, re-read it, and follow his lessons and example on how to develop and cultivate a prayerful life. Lastly, let us remember to pray for both him and our current Holy Father, Pope Francis.
The text of this book includes General Audiences that Pope Benedict XVI gave from May 2011 through October 2012. He stopped giving these talks in February 2013, when he resigned from the papacy to pursue a life of prayer. That makes this series of catechetical talks one of his very last, and a must-own for any serious student of Pope Benedict. A thought struck me while reading through this book. I'm not sure if it's true, but it seems like he was not only educating his flock on prayer but also preparing for the next chapter in his life.
Spanning forty-five chapters (or talks), this book covers a wide range of topics on prayer. I won't list them all here, but some of the highlights include chapters on Moses, Elijah, Peter, Paul, Stephen, and various psalms. Of particular interest to me was the Chapter Thirteen, which discussed Psalm 22 (21). As Pope Benedict pointed out, this psalm is very Christological. For those of you unfamiliar with this psalm, it begins with, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" We hear these words of the psalmist David echoed from the lips of Jesus on His cross. However, as Pope Benedict is quick to explain, this lamentation in the psalm turns into a song of praise. By explaining this, it brings to light the fact that Jesus didn't actually lament God forsaking Him, because God did not forsake Him. It also reminds us that we should always trust God, even in moments of persecution and humiliation.
If you would like to learn more about prayer, I can think of no better teacher than our previous Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. Each talk is spiritually deep and full of wisdom. However, they remain clear and concise too. Reading some of these chapters made me feel like I was in Rome listening to him deliver these addresses in person. Pick this book up, and read it. Then, re-read it, and follow his lessons and example on how to develop and cultivate a prayerful life. Lastly, let us remember to pray for both him and our current Holy Father, Pope Francis.
April 18, 2022
Finally finished! Nice and short meditations read weekly with my family. The first few chapters of content were good but after the first 20%, a lot of repetition of content. As these were originally delivered as homilies, it makes sense that depth was lacking given the time the Pope had to work with.
Read
March 27, 2014Really good short studiea. Great for use duing Lent.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews