Hoe can a Catholic prayer be sincere if it is rote?

Question

I attend mass from time to time. When I get there early, invariable, there are a couple old women churning out "hail Mary's" like their getting a piece rate for them.

How can Catholics believe their prayers, their rote prayers, reach God? Rote and repitious prayers are forbidden in Our Lord's Holy Word...

tur-b; I go there with family.

Answer 1

You mean like the angels who cry night and day before the LORD in heaven:

"Holy, Holy, Holy..."

????

Matt. 6:7 - Jesus indeed 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 2

The bible ACTUALLY says "do not babble." Any honest and scholarly translation forgoes the anti-catholic change which said do not repeat.

Prayer, to a catholic, is internal. The words have meaning, yes, but the focus is the more important part. Prayer to God is even MORE important, because it is a direct spiritual connection with our Creator and Savior. Prayers like the rosary allow us to focus on special intentions or the mysteries of the faith... and God, who knows our deepest hearts and minds, communes directly with the soul (in other words, God is not constrained by what words come from our lips).

When YOU look at catholic prayer, you see only the words. But don't be fooled like a blind man who asserts that grass does not exist merely because he hasn't seen it, because you cannot, being human, see the prayer behind the words (of anyone, not just catholics)

Answer 3

Rote prayer is never sincere, whether the person praying in rote is Catholic or any other religion.

I do not know the hearts of the women you observed (and likely you don't either), so I leave it to God to know whether or not they are truly sincere.

Repetition is NOT forbidden in the Bible -- if it was, you could only ask God to forgive you ONCE, you could only ask God to show you the way ONCE, you could only ask God for mercy, healing, wisdom, etc, ONCE.

What is forbidden is VAIN repetition. Vain means pointless, hollow, useless.

And by the way, the Hail Mary is a direct quote from two Scripture verses, followed by a request for prayer. Are you seriously telling me that you think it's wrong to quote the same Scripture verse more than once? Or to ask somebody to pray for you more than once?

Or are you just trying to find things to hate about Catholicism?

Answer 4

It is not even as sincere, but certainly less effective than banging your head against a wall (Wailing wall?).. anyway.. point taken.

I have previously argued that since the frequency at which God answers prayers is no different from wishing on a four leaf clover, then prayer is not even valid. If the answers are "Yes" "No" or "Maybe", what good is it?

Answer 5

Pastor Billy says: I'm going to take you to task clearly you have an axe to grind.

Q. are the prayers of Christ rote and vain repetition? how about the saints in heaven who pray Santus Santus Santus endlessly?

Q: A friend of mine says that in Matthew 6:7, Jesus condemns repetitious prayers, which proves that it is wrong to pray the rosary. How do I respond?

A: Your friend read the passage a little too quickly. Jesus isn’t condemning repetition in prayer; he’s condemning vain prayer. When Jesus said, "Do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words" (Matthew 6:7, NAB), he was referring to a belief of the pagans that a god would not listen to your prayer unless you used his correct title, and the title would change every day. Thus, the pagans would begin their prayer with every title they could think of in order to make sure their prayers would be heard (e.g., "O Great Zeus, O Master of Olympia, O Great Father Zeus. . . .") Jesus tells us this is vain because pagan gods don’t exist, and when we pray to God he hears all our prayers. We don’t have to worry about getting the right title.

In fact, Scripture gives us many examples of repetitive prayer. For example, in Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus prayed the same prayer three times. In Revelation 4:8, four living creatures are around and within the throne, and day and night they do not cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty." And then there’s the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14 who is beating his breast repeatedly and praying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" And let’s not forget Luke 11:1-4, where Jesus tells us how to pray: He gives us the Lord’s Prayer. Since most Christians pray the Lord’s Prayer from time to time, they are all "guilty" of repetitious prayer. But it is not vain prayer-after all, we merely are doing as Jesus taught us.

Any prayer can be prayed in vain. What makes a prayer efficacious is the attitude of the heart (cf. CCC 2559). And sadly, "If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain" (CCC 2562; cf. Matt. 15


I would argue non-Catholic formulation of prayer can be vain and repetitious. I have a dear friend who claims to be evangelical and when he prays there is a fear and apprehension of using similar words when he prays. It is as if formal prayers are of the devil to him. In the end he almost all ways follows a similar format with an opening greeting to God and Jesus followed by his request and a closing desire of a blessing. During his request portion he also likes to name every family member and extended family it seems to me he has a great fear of leaving someone or even worse if someone was left out the prayer would not be effectual.
I've observered my friend's apprehension causes him to lose concentration of what is really important that being speaking to God. In attempting to always be informal in prayer he gets more wrapped up in ritual than any formal prayer might seem to do. This reminds me of the pagan example above.

Answer 6

The turning of a Buddist prayer wheel is a similar device. What you are observing is something called 'intent' in philosophical circles, the earnest resolve of a concentrated mind. St Paul said, 'the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,' and just so, dedicated concentrated application of thought is a powerful tool for motivation and group dynamics.
If your prayer is a creation of your desires for the benefit of others, it will bend your personal motivation. Jesus said, 'Go, and do likewise.' The ladies you are observing are giving their all in concentration to the same ends. Respect their faith for it is upon folk like you they rely on to make their prayers effective. The very fact you have noticed them is God's way of seeking your response, not in the negative way you have but in a positive way. The challenge to you is to make their prayers a reality.

Answer 7

Protestant Prayers have design conventions as well. They're not 100% ad lib. In fact, most of the same things are said as in Catholic Rote Prayers.

Answer 8

Depends on the condition of the heart. God knows when we are being sincere. I think it also depends on the prayer. Gods word says that we can only get to the Father through the Son.

Answer 9

If you really want to know, chanting Hail Marys is like meditation. Many religions have some form of meditation - Jews, Buddhists, Catholics, etc. It is usually in the form of prayer. Meditation has a calming effect on the nervous system, and brings peace to the chanter. Many would consider it a connection to God.

Don't tell me what the Lord forbids.

Answer 10

The why does the Bible teach you how to pray The Lord's Prayer? Matthew 6:9-13 KJV
Our Master taught his disciples one brief prayer, which we name after him the Lord's Prayer. Our Master said, "After this manner therefore pray ye," and then he gave that prayer which covers all human needs.