Expressions of Prayer

    In a wonderful section on types of prayer, The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: 

    Vocal prayer, founded on the union of body and soul in human nature, associates the body with the interior prayer of the heart, following Christ's example of praying to his Father and teaching the Our Father to his disciples.

    Meditation is a prayerful quest engaging thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. Its goal is to make our own in faith the subject considered, by confronting it with the reality of our own life.

    Contemplative prayer is the simple expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gaze of faith fixed on Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent love. It achieves real union with the prayer of Christ to the extent that it makes us share in his mystery.

    To read more about these kinds of prayer, visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' site which includes an on-line edition of the Catechism.

Link to on-line Catechism.