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ShareThisPrayer in the Age of the Church
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Simplified
Prayer after Pentecost (2623-2624)
After Pentecost, the Spirit formed the Church in prayer. The early believers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42).
Spirit-Led Formulations (2625)
The prayers of Scripture, especially the Psalms, are fulfilled in Christ. Also, the Spirit leads to new formulations of prayer in the Church's liturgical and spiritual Traditions. The prayer forms revealed in the apostolic and canonical Scriptures remain normative.
Ascent and Descent (2626-2628)
The two fundamental forms of prayer are an ascent in the Spirit through Christ to the Father (our blessing of God) and a descent of the Spirit's gift through Christ from the Father (his blessing of us).
By adoration man exalts the greatness of the Creator and the power of the Savior. Adoration gives homage to the "King of Glory" (Ps 24:9-10) by silence in his all-holy presence.
