Prayer

Prayer

Its Value Seems To Have Escaped Me

I don't pray.  I don't think I every really prayed, not even when I was a little girl in Catholic school. So I marvel at the people who put so much value in to prayer.  Here are a few moments when I reluctantly participated in prayer:


1- Prayer at the Start of Every Class- from 1966 to 1973, I had to participate in a prayer before each class. That would have been 4300+ times that I said this prayer. "In the name of the father who created me and the son who redeemed me and the holy spirit who ...". I don't remember the rest  of this monotonous prayer.

2- The Rosary- 1965-67- I had a teacher who made us say the rosary every day after lunch. There were joyful mysteries and sorrowful mysteries of prayers.  but mostly. this was a time to daydream.

3- Saying Grace Before Dinner-  my dad said a standard grace every night at dinner.  On special occasions, he would say his own grace and he always talked about how blessed he was.  Inevitably, he would start to cry with gratitude and my mom would make fun of him for crying.  Her comments would put an abrupt end to his sermon.

4- Hail Mary- I can start the Hail Mary but I can no longer finish it.  I don't remember it anymore even thought I have said it thousands of times in my former Catholic life.

5-Moment of Silence- I had to lead students in a moment of silence when I was a high school assistant principal.  One teacher complained that my moment was too short and asked if I cold recite the Lord's Prayer in my head so that she could say this prayer each morning before school.  I raced through the prayer in my head but then I remembered that she was protestant and they had another whole verse than the catholics.

6- Praying for Good Weather- 1966- I was in 5th grade.  My parents had just joined a swim club and it had rained the first few days of summer which meant no swim club.  My siblings and I met in my room and decided that we would say a rosary and pray for sunshine.  My mother  came in and asked why we were praying.  We told her and she exploded on us.  Her brother was fighting in Viet Nam and we were praying so we could go to the pool.  I was only 10 at the time but I got the selfishness of the moment.

7- Mass- OMG, it's the same, exact sequence of prayers for the last 1000 years.