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20120611 Church teaches us to pray 教會教導我們祈禱

According to the Baltimore Catechism “Sacramentals are holy things or actions of which the Church makes use to obtain for us from God, through her intercession, spiritual and temporal favors.”
“The chief benefits obtained by the use of the sacramentals are: first, actual graces; second, the forgiveness of venial sins; third, the remission of temporal punishment; fourth, health of body and material blessings; fifth, protection from evil spirits.”
Father Bennet Kelley, C.P., pointed out that sacramentals “are something like sacraments, but there is this big difference: The sacraments were instituted by Christ to produce grace of themselves and are signs of His direct action on souls. The sacramentals were instituted by the Church and obtain graces for us indirectly by arousing us to those acts of virtue which draw down God’s grace on us.”
Types of sacramentals
The chief kinds of sacramentals are blessings, exorcisms, and blessed objects.
In the Book of Blessings, there are blessings directly pertaining to persons (e.g. members of families, the sick, catechumens, students, teachers, pilgrims, and travelers), blessings related to buildings and to various forms of human activity (e.g. building site, home, places of business, farms, crops, cars, tools, animals, and food), blessings related to feasts and seasons (e.g. Advent wreath, and Christmas tree), and blessings for various needs and occasions (e.g. parish council, officers of parish, and inauguration of a public official).
Some acts of consecration are normally performed by the bishop: the consecration of churches, altars, and holy oils.
Exorcism is the freeing of persons or things from the power of the devil.
The Baltimore Catechism states: “The blessed objects of devotion most used by Catholics are: holy water, candles, ashes, palms, crucifixes, medals, rosaries, scapulars, and images of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and the saints.”
The liturgical life
The liturgy is the public worship given to God by the Church. The first purpose of worship is to glorify God, and its second purpose is to sanctify man.
Liturgy of the Church includes: the Mass, the sacraments, the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours), and the sacramentals.
The liturgical year are seasons and special days fixed by the Church for: first, worshipping God; second, remembering with gratitude the great blessing of the Incarnation and Redemption; third, honoring the Blessed Virgin and the saints.
During the year, the Church makes use of different liturgical colors: white symbolizes purity and joy; red is the color of fire and blood; green is the symbol of hope and growth; purple is a penitential color.
The prayer life
Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God.
The reasons for and the ways of prayer can be summed up by A-R-T-S: “A” for adoration, “R” for reparation, “T” for thanksgiving, and “S” for supplication. In short, we pray because God is God and we are we.
Prayer can be divided into public or private; it can also be divided into mental or vocal.
Some of the important vocal prayers are: the sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and the Creed.
We should cultivate a personal prayer life which includes: morning and evening prayers, spiritual reading, rosaries, meditations, and visit to the Blessed Sacrament.
In the Gospels, Jesus teaches us that we should not only pray much, but also pray well. The qualities of good prayer can be summed up by P-A-T-H: “P” for perseverance, “A” for attention, “T” for trust, and “H” for humility.
“How to pray? This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any way you like, so long as you do pray.” —Blessed John Paul II

根據「博迪模天主教要理」:「教會藉著神聖的聖儀,為信眾轉禱,祈求天主賜予靈性或暫世的恩惠。」
「聖儀的神恩主要是:一)寵祐;二)赦免小罪;三)寬恕現世的罪罰;四)賞賜健康或物質祝福;五)保護免受惡魔攻擊。」
苦難會會士嘉里神父說:「聖儀相似聖事,但彼此有大分別。聖事由基督親自建立,利用有形質的事物指向祂直接賦予靈魂聖寵。聖儀則由教會設立,藉着激法我們去修德行而間接地為我們得到聖寵。」
聖儀的種類
主要的聖儀有降福、驅邪和祝聖物件。
「降福手冊」內,有予人的降福(如家庭成員、病患者、慕道者、師生、朝聖者及旅客等);也給予建築物或某些活動祝福(如地盆、家居、辦公室、農場、汽車、工具、動物、五穀和食物等)。此外,有不同時節用品的特別降福(如將臨期花環、聖誕樹)。在不同需要或情況下,亦有不同的祝福(如堂區議會成員、堂區職員和公職人員就職典禮等)。
有些祝聖聖儀,一般需要由主教主持:如祝聖聖堂、祭台和聖油等。
驅邪聖儀是祈求免陷於魔鬼的凶惡。
「博迪模天主教要理」指出:「教會常用聖物有聖水、聖燭、聖灰、聖枝、苦像、玫瑰珠、聖衣、及主耶穌、聖母及聖人們的聖像。」
禮儀的生活
禮儀是教會向天主行公共欽崇禮。欽崇的首要目的是光榮天主,其次是聖化人靈。
教會的禮儀包括彌撒聖祭、聖事、時辰誦禱及聖儀。
教會的禮儀年曆,規定了一些特別禮儀季度和節日,都是用來:一)恭敬天主;二)向降孕和救贖奧蹟感恩;三)向聖母及聖人致敬意。
教會的聖儀也會用不同顏色作標誌:白色象徵純潔或喜樂,紅色象徵火或血,綠色代表希望和增長,紫色含有補贖之象徵。
祈禱的生活
祈禱是把我們的思想和心神提昇向天主。
祈禱之心,是欽崇、補贖、感恩、祈求。簡單來說,我們需要祈禱,因為天主是天主,我們是我們。
祈禱可以私下或公開,可以默禱或口禱。
一些主要口誦經文有十字聖號經、天主經、聖母經、聖三光榮經、信經。我們應培養個人的祈禱生活,包括有早課、晚課、讀聖書、玫瑰經、默想、和朝拜聖體。
在福音中,耶穌要我們的祈禱,不獨重量,亦要重質。有質量的祈禱要有恆心、專心、信心和一顆謙遜的心。
真福教宗若望保祿二世說:「隨心所欲去祈禱 —— 只要你願意祈禱。」