What do catholics think of Matthew 6:7?

Question

"And when praying, do not use needless repetitions as the Gentiles do, for they expect to be listened to because of their multitude of words.

you're taking it out of context

dreamonsa.... jesus said: "pray in this manner" not pray this prayer. he gave the pattern on how to pray:

praise god(our father hallowed be your name)
ask what you need (bread)
deliver from temptation.... etc. you get the drift.

i will not choose a best answer for this one.

Answer 1

Catholicism includes a rich tradition of both informal (in our own words) and formal prayer just like our Jewish forefathers.

The Church teaches "the memorization of basic prayers offers an essential support to the life of prayer, but it is important to help learners savor their meaning." In other words, the Church emphasizes that formal prayer should not be mindless lip moving but instead a formal expression of clearly understood and heartfelt sentiments.

The verse in question reads, in the King James Version, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."

The important Greek word here for "vain repetitions" is battalogeo, or babbling. The heathens had a magical perception of prayer and thought the more they babbled to their gods, the more that that god would respond. I Kings 18:26 is an example of this:

"And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered."

Then, two verses after the warning in Matthew against "vain repetitions," Jesus gave us the "Lord's" prayer, which most Protestant Christians pray with no qualms about praying "in vain."

The same command in Luke 11:2 reads: "And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father..." -- "when you pray, say..."

In addition, Christ prayed in repetitions:
+ Matthew 26:44: "And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words."
+ Mark 14:39 reads: "And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words."

The angels pray repetitiously:
+ Revelation 4:8: "...and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."

God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites:

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

The Psalms are a collection of prayers and litanies, which were prayed formally in the Jewish synagogues and early Christian churches, are still prayed in synagogues and Catholic churches today -- and were even prayed by Christ from the Cross.

The liturgy of the synagogue was (and is) filled with repetition and formalized prayer. Christ said "use not vain repetitions, as the heathens do.” Were the Jews heathens? Jesus also prayed in the synagogue in this way.

They prayed (and still pray) the sh'ma twice a day and, in their liturgy, the Shemoneh Esrei, the Kaddish, the morning blessings, the Aleinu, etc. Check out a Jewish siddur (missal) sometime; does it look more typically Protestant or Catholic?

Hymns are prayers. Is it "vain" to sing "Amazing Grace" more than once?

Catholics do not babble but pray from the heart in formal and informal prayer.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

the st joes bible (Rcc) gives their explaination of that verse:
(footnotes)
6, 7-15 Matthew inserts into his basic traditional material an expansion on the material on prayer that includes the modelof the prayer, the "Our Father".
6:7 the example of what Christian prayer should be like sontrasts it now not with the prayer of the hypocrites, but with that of the pagans. their babbling probably means their reciting a long list of "divine" names hoping tha one of them will force a response from the deity.

i think father K said it best.

while teaching about prayer in Matt 6:5-15 we are taught and told that prayer is sacred, humble and private. you need not be like those who stand and shout so that people can see -- oh (s)he's praying - (s)he must be holy. that is prayer that is not to God but rather so others will be "impressed".

to the matter of the rosary.... the rosary is not about Mary. the rosary is "from" Mary, IMO. the rosary is a way to look at the life of Christ through His mothers eyes. All Catholics know - Mary is nothing without Jesus. If you were to really look at the roasry and what it is about - you would see it's a walkthrough the new testament - the glorious, joyful, sorrowful and luminious mysteries. each of these focus' on the life of Jesus. the scriptural rosary even adds a scripture verse prior to each prayer. the rosary started as actually 150 psalms that the monks would recite daily. as they had work to do they would often "loose count" and thus, knotted rope. it became the rosaty of today. while yes, i'm sure some recite the rosary instead of praying it -- all sincere prayer - even if it is someone on their death bed who can only mutter God's name, can be sincere prayer.

BTW - yes the CAtholics read the bible. they also stud and are taught from it each and every day at mass.

Answer 3

Matt. 6:7 - Jesus teaches, "do not heap up empty phrases" in prayer. Protestants use this verse to criticize various Catholic forms of prayer which repeat phrases, such as litanies and the Rosary. But Jesus' focus in this instruction is on the "vain," and not on the "repetition."

Matt. 26:44 - for example, Jesus prayed a third time in the garden of Gethsemane, saying the exact same words again. It is not the repetition that is the issue. It's the vanity. God looks into our heart, not solely at our words.

Luke 18:13 - the tax collector kept beating his breast and praying "God be merciful to me, a sinner." This repetitive prayer was pleasing to God because it was offered with a sincere and repentant heart.

Acts 10:2,4 - Cornelius prayed constantly to the Lord and his prayers ascended as a memorial before God.

Rom. 1:9 - Paul says that he always mentions the Romans in his prayers without ceasing.

Rom. 12:12 - Paul commands us to be constant in prayer. God looks at what is in our heart, not necessarily how we choose our words.

1 Thess. 5:17 - Paul commands us to pray constantly. Good repetition is different than vain repetition.

Rev. 4:8 - the angels pray day and night without cessation the same words "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty." This is repetitious prayer that is pleasing to God.

Psalm 136 - in this Psalm, the phrase "For His steadfast love endures forever" is more repetitious than any Catholic prayer, and it is God's divine Word.

Dan. 3:35-66 - the phrase "Bless the Lord" is similarly offered repeatedly, and mirrors Catholic litanies.

Answer 4

Simple - prayer is about what's in your heart, not how many times you say it. Like my boyfriend says "once your call and order your pizza, hang up the phone." This does not devalue prayer forms such as litanies; it simply states that just because you say something over and over and over again doesn't mean it'll become more important.

Funny, somewhere else in the gospels Jesus talks about the woman who keeps bothering the judge until he decided a case in her favor... guess we have to actually put the verses BACK INTO CONTEXT to do some serious thought and discussion on a passage. Who'd've thunk it?

Answer 5

“Please explain how it is possible for Peter to be the "first pope" of the Catholic church, when the Catholic church didn't start until after all of the apostles had died.” The Church started WITH the apostles, WITH the Faith Christ had given them. “Peter had a wife (Matthew 8:14, Mark 1:30, Luke 4:38), he had a filthy mouth and denied Christ (Matthew 26:69-75), and he died around 67 A.D., which makes it impossible for him to be the head of a church.” ??? So his being a sinner means he couldn’t have been the pope? “What I know of the Catholic church isn't much, but I know that priests aren't supposed to be married, though some have in recent years, and priests aren't supposed to swear, cuss, drink, use drugs, etc.” NONE of us are supposed to swear, cuss, drink (excessively), or use drugs. Priests ARE married; they’re married to the Church. Now, there are priests who families. Usually they are converts from other faiths who converted to Catholicism and were ordained to the priesthood.

Answer 6

I'm suprised I thought every denomination had a set of words known as the lords prayer? In fact I believe it is even in the bible somewhere around mathew 6 vs 8-15 oo isnt that right after your quote?


PS. I think its you taking it out of context - were you waiting for someone to put it into context?

not a christian but I used to be

Answer 7

The gentiles of the time were not of God, they were mere pagans, praying to powerless, false gods.

Catholics pray to the one true God, the God of power and might.

Jesus gave us the Lord's prayer, which is the most often repeated prayer of all time ... and rightly so.

Here, he promises that God will surely hear those elect who cry out to him, day and night.

Luk 18:1 And he spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray and not to faint,
Luk 18:2 Saying: There was a judge in a certain city, who feared not God nor regarded man.
Luk 18:3 And there was a certain widow in that city; and she came to him, saying: Avenge me of my adversary.
Luk 18:4 And he would not for a long time. But afterwards he said within himself: Although I fear not God nor regard man,
Luk 18:5 Yet because this widow is troublesome to me, I will avenge her, lest continually coming she weary me.
Luk 18:6 And the Lord said: Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7 And will not God revenge his elect who cry to him day and night? And will he have patience in their regard?

1Timothy 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

How many time can one sing "Amazing Grace" before it becomes vain repetition?

How many times can one read the Bible before it becomes vain repetition?

This Catholic thinks you lack a basic understanding of authentic Christian theology!

Answer 8

I think the emphasis is on 'needless' - as in, repeating yourself to gain the attention or admiration of men. This is distinct from repeating yourself as a sign of dedication to God (or Christ or whoever). Frankly I've rarely seen any religious writings that did not include some element of repetition, so it can't be considered unique or original to the Catholic Church.

I do, however, think that 'Me ves' thinks he will be heard for his much speaking...

Answer 9

The Catholic Bible (NAB) completely omits Matthew 23:14 as well...

Mt 23:14 -
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

The explanations they give is that it's similar to the verse in Mark 12:40.

Answer 10

I think Robert's answer had me laughing for the past five minutes.

Now that I can respond without giggling, I think seeing an argument between Protestants and Catholics on here would be a welcome change from the usual Atheist/Agnostic/Free Thinker vs. Christian/Muslim fight. Obsessive-compulsiveness is most often taught (nurture), and the Bible is a fine example of this phenomena.