Prayer

Catholic Practices

In this course, Professor Lewis Ayres (Durham University) explores practices in the Catholic Church. In the first lecture, we consider prayer. In the second lecture, we look at piety. In the third lecture we explore pilgrimage, before turning to the funeral rite in the fourth lecture. In the fifth lecture, we consider practices from Jesus’ command to love your neighbour. In the sixth and final lecture, we focus on mission.

Prayer

In this lecture, we explore the nature of prayer within Catholic practices, focusing on: (i) the definition of prayer as a lifting of the mind and heart towards God, emphasising its communal and personal dimensions; (ii) the early Christian tradition of communal prayer, rooted in Jewish practices, often involving the Psalms, which helped shape a collective Christian imagination; (iii) the importance of individual prayer, exemplified by Christ's own prayers, which serves as a means of waiting on God and seeking divine presence; (iv) the Rosary as a key Catholic tradition, involving repetitive prayers that help lift the mind away from worldly distractions and focus on God; (v) the role of prayer as an act of asking, rooted in the acknowledgment of dependence on God, yet requiring the discernment of what to ask for; and (vi) the understanding of prayer as a long-term discipline, shaping one's attentiveness to God's presence beyond moments of crisis.