Every person believes in a higher power, so most of the inhabitants of our planet consider themselves to be one or another religious denomination. Christianity is the most widespread religion in our country. It is followed by about eighty percent of Russians. However, it should be borne in mind that religion itself is not one. It is divided into several currents, each of which is represented in Russia. The most numerous confessions are Orthodoxy and Catholicism. As you know, there are no serious contradictions between these two currents today, but there are still certain differences. In many ways, they relate to Catholic prayers. This question is of great interest not only to Catholics, but also to the Orthodox. They often try to find out if they can pray with their brothers in faith and what are the main Catholic prayers that believers use daily. From our article you will receive available information on thistopic.
Christian split
In order to start a conversation about Catholic prayers, it is necessary to understand what exactly happened between believers, dividing them into two often opposing camps. Despite the fact that Catholics and Orthodox wear crosses around their necks, pray to Jesus and are baptized, these two movements have been separated since the middle of the eleventh century.
The split began with disagreements between the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople. Their conflict lasted for many years, but it was by the eleventh century that it reached its climax. After an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile, the Pope ordered the excommunication of the patriarch from the church and announced this publicly. In turn, the head of the spiritual community of Constantinople anathematized all papal legates.
This conflict has affected all believers, dividing them into two large groups. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that Catholics and Orthodox dropped mutual accusations and tried to reach an agreement. In part, they succeeded, but over the long centuries, the difference in the currents turned out to be so noticeable that they were no longer destined to unite.
Today, the differences concern the basic issues of Christianity, so we can say that since the eleventh century the conflict has only deepened and become sharper. Even Catholic prayers differ in many ways from daily Orthodox prayers. But we will return to this topic a little later.
Catholics and Orthodox: main differences
The contradictions between the two currents we have voiced require close attentionattention, because otherwise it will be quite difficult to deal with this issue. The main contradictions of the two Christian currents can be summarized in the seven points of the following list:
- Virgin Mary or Mother of God? This question can cause the most bitter disputes. The fact is that Catholics first of all ex alt the Virgin Mary. They believe that she was conceived immaculately and taken to heaven during her lifetime. But the Orthodox perceive her exclusively as the Mother of the Son of God and can tell the story of her life until her death.
- Attitude towards marriage. All Catholic clergy are celibate. According to this vow, they have no right to carnal pleasures, and even more so they cannot afford to marry. This applies to all levels of the priesthood. In Orthodoxy, the white clergy must marry and have children, but only priests from the black clergy can receive the highest church ranks. These include monks who have taken a vow of celibacy.
- Heaven, hell and purgatory. On this topic, the opinions of Catholics and Orthodox also differ radically. The first believe that the soul can go to hell, heaven or purgatory, where it is cleansed of sins for a certain period of time. At the same time, those souls that are not too pure for heaven and not too burdened for hell fall into purgatory. Orthodox believe only in hell and heaven, and these two places seem to them something vague.
- The rite of baptism. The Orthodox must plunge headlong into the font, while Catholics are simply poured with handfuls of water.
- Sign of the Cross. First of all, a Catholic can be distinguished from an Orthodox one by the fact thathow he is baptized. Catholics tend to do this with fives, starting from the left shoulder. The Orthodox make the sign of the cross with three fingers and from right to left.
- Contraception. Each religious denomination has its own attitude to the issue of protection from unwanted pregnancy. And sometimes opinions can be diametrically opposed. For example, Catholics oppose any means of contraception. But the Orthodox do not agree with them, they believe that protection is permissible in marriage. Both men and women can do this.
- The head of the church. The Pope, according to the deep conviction of Catholics, is infallible and represents Jesus himself on earth. The head of the Orthodox Church is the patriarch, who only leads the faithful and may well stumble.
As you can see, contradictions exist, but from the outside they do not seem insurmountable. But in this list we have not included the main thing - differences in prayers. Let's find out how Orthodox prayer differs from Catholic prayer.
A few words about prayers
Religious scholars argue that believers of the two Christian denominations have differences not only in the words and form of the main prayers, but also in the very structure of the appeal to God. This question is basic and shows how far apart these currents have gone.
So, the Orthodox are ordered to communicate reverently to the Almighty. The believer is supposed to turn to God with all his soul and thought, he must be completely focused on his thoughts. Moreover, at the entrance to the temple they are necessarypurify and turn with an inner gaze into the heart. Prayer itself should be calm, even strong feelings and emotions should not be expressed deliberately defiantly. Believers are strictly forbidden to represent various images. To summarize all of the above, we can say that prayer, according to authoritative theologians, should be "smart-hearted".
Catholics put emotions first when turning to God. They must go ahead of the mind, so a certain ex altation is acceptable in the temple. It is permissible for believers to imagine various images that will stir up feelings and emotions. At the same time, it is not forbidden to show oneself in every possible way in front of other worshipers. This is considered a true manifestation of faith. That is, Catholics in the temple throw out everything that is in their heart, and only then the mind is imbued with Divine grace.
In this section, one cannot fail to mention the stumbling block between Catholics and Orthodox - the prayer "Symbol of Faith". It is basic for all Christians, since its text lists the main postulates of religion. Every believer should understand and adhere to them. However, in some words, Catholicism and Orthodoxy diverge, and they are considered almost the most important in all prayer.
Catholics: a list of basic prayers
Each denomination implies that a person should turn to God as often as possible. Moreover, each time he must do this with an open heart and sincerity. Of course, no one forbids speaking with the Almighty in your own words. But still it is better to read specialprayers.
Catholic prayers are numerous and fall into several categories. They can be pronounced in different life situations when the blessing and help of God is required. They can usually be placed in three large groups:
- Catholic morning prayers.
- Daily appeals to the Creator.
- Catholic evening prayers.
Each group includes quite a lot of texts, so memorizing them all by heart is beyond the power of an ordinary believer. And it is even more difficult for a modern person to turn to God so often, so one or two daily prayers are selected from an extensive list.
I also want to separately highlight the prayers for the Rosary and the novena. We will talk about these types of communication with the Creator in the following sections of the article.
How does the morning start?
If a believer is reverent about his duties towards God, then any of his days must necessarily begin with several prayers. First of all, Catholics praise the coming day and turn to the Almighty with requests for urgent matters.
The first prayer after waking up is the morning doxology. We present its text below.
Next, you can make a request to the Almighty.
After these two prayers, the believer should do all the usual morning things and think over a plan of action for the coming day. Usually, after waking up, any person thinks about work, problems and everything that will surround him outside the threshold of the house. However, believers knowthat man himself is weak and only with God's help can he cope with all his duties. Therefore, Catholics say the following prayer before leaving the apartment:
Prayers throughout the day
The day of Catholics, Orthodox and other people is filled with fuss, but even in it one should not forget about the Almighty. After all, believers try to do their every step with God and His blessing. Previously, Catholics could say up to ten different prayers during the day, this was considered worthy behavior for a Christian. Today, however, the Catholic Church does not impose such requirements on believers. Therefore, the average Catholic usually reads prayers before and after meals, as well as to the Most Holy Theotokos, who is very much revered in all Christian denominations.
Catholic meals should be accompanied by certain words. They are pronounced silently, and it is permissible to read the text very quickly.
But the appeal to the Mother of God requires more careful preparation. The believer must retire, concentrate and completely renounce all vain thoughts.
Evening prayers
In the evening, a Catholic should analyze his day, thank God for help in business and ask for forgiveness for sins. It is believed that a believer should never go to bed without reconciling with the Creator. After all, in a dream a person can die, which means that you can fall asleep, onlyrepenting and resting your heart.
Many without fail say before going to bed a Catholic prayer for the departed. It is short but very important. After all, in this way a person shows that he remembers all his relatives and is ready to meet them.
A few important prayers
All that we have listed above is, one might say, the daily ritual of every Catholic. However, in addition to this, believers from childhood memorize several prayers that can be applied under any circumstances.
Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary is known to every believer. Many start the morning with her and end the day with her, because it is the Mother of God who is the main intercessor for any offended.
The text "Hail Mary" can be found in any prayer book. In Russian, it sounds like this:
However, most Catholics believe it is correct to read "Hail Mary" in Latin. Therefore, we could not help but include a prayer in this form in the article.
Catholic prayer to the Guardian Angel is also considered very important for the believer. Its text is short and designed to be read in various difficult situations, when a person is afraid of something or cannot make a decision.
The third main prayer for any Catholic is the Angelof the Lord." Often it is read in the family circle in connection with joyful events. We give the text of the prayer "Angel of the Lord" in full.
The Novena: theory and practice
When talking about Catholic prayers, one cannot but mention the novena. This particular spiritual practice raises many questions for newly converted Catholics who are just starting to learn the basics of Christianity.
In a nutshell, a novena is a nine-day prayer for a specific purpose. This practice became widespread in the seventeenth century, and it originated in Spain and France.
Today there are several categories of such prayers, but the first were novenas for the holiday. Initially, believers began to pray nine days before Christmas to glorify Jesus and the Mother of God. Each new day symbolized the month that the Son of God spent in the womb of his Mother. In the future, a similar tradition spread to other church holidays.
In addition to the already mentioned category, Catholics distinguish novena-petitions, memorials and indulgences. Each has its own meaning and set of texts, and the clergy always warn that this practice has nothing to do with magic spells that must work.
The spiritual practice of reading prayers for nine days has a very deep meaning, because its implementation requires some preparation and work on oneself. To all believers who are thinking about reading the novena,it is recommended to answer the question about the need for this practice. Once you clearly understand why you need this prayer, you can set the day and hour for it to begin. It is very important to read the text at the same time throughout the day. A novena cannot be abandoned until it is finished. If you missed the appointed hour, it is better to start all over from the beginning. The ministers of the Catholic Church believe that novenas strengthen the connection with God, the church community and purify the soul.
Catholic prayer, Rosary
Praying the Rosary is another type of spiritual practice in Catholicism, to which the Church calls the flock during periods when evil becomes most active. It is also believed that in October every believer should perform a similar practice. This applies even to children who are just beginning to comprehend the basics of faith and service to God.
To understand the essence of prayer, it is worth clarifying that the rosary is a classic Catholic rosary with beads, a medallion and a crucifix. It is on them that prayers are read. It is believed that it has a very important meaning, because the believer seems to acquire a special connection with God, pronouncing the text and at the same time sorting through the beads.
Historians claim that this tradition goes back to the ninth century. Then in the monasteries the monks, sorting through one hundred and fifty beads, read psalms. Over time, both the rosary itself and the list of prayers have changed. Today it is customary to read the following texts:
- "Our Father";
- "Hail Mary";
- "Glory".
Prayer should be accompanied by complete immersion in oneself,meditation on God and the various sacraments.
The meaning of the Rosary prayer is difficult to exaggerate, Catholics advise to resort to it in different life situations. It is important to understand that this practice was conceived as:
- Meditation. A person who prays over a rosary is doing great spiritual work. He does not just pronounce the text, but literally visualizes everything that is written in the Gospel, and is imbued with Divine blessing.
- Oral prayer. It will never be superfluous to turn to God again, and during the Rosary, a person does this many times.
- Contemplation. The combination of words and tactile sensations triggers a special process of internal contemplation in the body. It allows you to better understand yourself and get closer to the Creator.
- Intercession. Usually we turn to God in cases where we need His help or our loved ones. Praying the Rosary allows you to feel the need to ask the Creator not only for your loved ones, but for the whole world.
Many Catholics claim that such a spiritual practice makes it possible to remember and literally experience everything that is described in the Gospel.
