A friend recently asked me to rewrite her letter talking about Catholic prayer to her Buddhist friend. Here is the rewritten letter (with names deleted for privacy reasons):
Dearest _____,
How are you? _____ here. I’m writing this letter to tell you about some common Catholic prayers. It’s my hope that you will find them beautiful and worthy of learning.
Catholic common prayer 1#: Our Father
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the test,
but deliver us from evil. Amen
In Mandarin it sounds like this:
我們的天父，
願祢的名受顯揚，
願祢的國降臨，
願祢的旨意奉行在人間，
如同在天上。
求祢今天賞給我們日用的食糧，
求祢寬恕我們的罪惡，如同我們寬恕別人一樣，
不要讓我們陷於誘惑，
但救我們免於兇惡，
In Bahasa Melayu it sounds like this:
Bapa kami yang ada di syurga
Dimuliakanlah nama-Mu
Datanglah Kerajaan-Mu
Jadilah kehendak-Mu
Di atas bumi seperti di dalam surga
Berilah kami rezeki pada hari ini
Dan ampunilah kesalahan kami
seperti kami pun mengampuni yang bersalah kepada kami
Dan janganlah masukkan kami ke dalam percubaan
Tetapi bebaskanlah kami dari yang jahat. Amin
Catholic common prayer 2#: Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
In Mandarin it sounds like this:
萬福馬利亞，你充滿聖寵，
主與你同在，你在婦女中受讚頌，
你的親生子耶穌同受讚頌。
天主聖母馬利亞，
求你現在和我們臨終時，
為我們罪人祈求天主。亞孟。
In Bahasa Melayu it sounds like this:
Salam Maria, penuh rahmat.
Tuhan sertamu.
Terpujilah Engkau di antara wanita,
dan terpujilah buah tubuh-Mu, Yesus.
Santa Maria bonda Allah,
doakanlah kami yang berdosa ini,
sekarang dan waktu kami mati. Amin.
Catholic common prayer 3#: Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Catholic common prayer 4#: I Believe
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Catholic common prayer 4#: Prayer before eating
Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts,
which we are about to receive from your generosity,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Catholic common prayer 5#: Prayer after eating
We give you thanks, almighty God, for all your gifts,
you who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
Catholic common prayer 6#: Prayer before sleeping
Dear Lord I ask you to protect me against all harm and evil that may attack me tonight.
Into Your hands dear Lord I commend my body, mind, soul and spirit. Amen.
Catholic common prayer 6#: Prayer after sleeping
Good morning Lord, it's great to be with You again today.
I'm glad You are going to walk with me today.
Help me in all I do and say today, bring a smile to my lips for everyone I meet today,
place on my tongue kind and gentle words for everyone I speak with today.
And when my work is over grant me a safe journey home. Amen.
You may ask who is this Lord I’m taking about. Basically Lord means ‘boss’ and one of the ways of naming God. Like we call our parents Pa or Ma, so we Catholics call our God Lord.
You can also create your own prayer. After all, God wants to be our friend, so we should talk to him like we talk to our friends. Here is the formula:
1. Stop thinking of other things. One way to do this is to close your eyes and think of God.
2. Present yourself to God by bowing your head, putting your hands together, and/or making the sign of the cross
3. Talk to God- you can thank him for something, talk about how good he is, and/or ask him for something.
4. Invoking the name, glory or life of Jesus, e.g. “in the most holy and precious name of Jesus I pray”
5. Closing your prayer, often with ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Let it be so’)
It’s good to pray for your friends and family. This way you not only help them by asking God to do something for them but also allow God to work through you and in this way helping you too. Why don’t you start by praying for me? And don’t worry: I’ll pray for you too.
Please do visit me anytime. Take care of yourself. I miss you and can’t wait to see you.
May God bless you always.
Love,
Monday, 26 November 2007
Sunday, 25 November 2007
Today's Readings
Yet more of the readings 4 dis day (Sun 25 Nov):
Luke 23: 35-43
The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the king of the Jews.” One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
2 Samuel 5: 1-3
All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron saying, “Look, we are your very flesh and blood! In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel. The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over Israel.’” When all the leaders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, King David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord. They designated David as king over Israel.
Colossians 1 :12-20
...giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Luke 23: 35-43
The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the king of the Jews.” One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
2 Samuel 5: 1-3
All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron saying, “Look, we are your very flesh and blood! In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel. The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over Israel.’” When all the leaders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, King David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord. They designated David as king over Israel.
Colossians 1 :12-20
...giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Saturday, 24 November 2007
Today's Readings
Today is Sat 24 Nov & the readings are as below:
Luke 27: 20-40
Now some Sadducees (who contend that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died without children. The second and then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. Finally the woman died too. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For all seven had married her.” So Jesus said to them, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are regarded as worthy to share in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. In fact, they can no longer die, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, since they are sons of the resurrection. But even Moses revealed that the dead are raised in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live before him.” Then some of the experts in the law answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well!” For they did not dare any longer to ask him anything.
1 Maccabees 6: 1-13
King Antiochus was going through the upper provinces when he heard that Elymais in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold. Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian who first reigned over the Greeks. So he [Antiochus] came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not, because his plan became known to the men of the city and they withstood him in battle. So he fled and in great grief departed from there to return to Babylon. Then some one came to him in Persia and reported that the armies which had gone into the land of Judah had been routed; that Lysias had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before the Jews; that the Jews had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant spoils which they had taken from the armies they had cut down; that they had torn down the abomination which he had erected upon the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as before, and also Beth-Zur, his city. When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from grief, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. He lay there for many days, because deep grief continually gripped him, and he concluded that he was dying. So he called all his friends and said to them, "Sleep departs from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry. I said to myself, 'To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power.' But now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem. I seized all her vessels of silver and gold; and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason. I know that it is because of this that these evils have come upon me; and behold, I am perishing of deep grief in a strange land."
Luke 27: 20-40
Now some Sadducees (who contend that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died without children. The second and then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. Finally the woman died too. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For all seven had married her.” So Jesus said to them, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are regarded as worthy to share in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. In fact, they can no longer die, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, since they are sons of the resurrection. But even Moses revealed that the dead are raised in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live before him.” Then some of the experts in the law answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well!” For they did not dare any longer to ask him anything.
1 Maccabees 6: 1-13
King Antiochus was going through the upper provinces when he heard that Elymais in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold. Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian who first reigned over the Greeks. So he [Antiochus] came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not, because his plan became known to the men of the city and they withstood him in battle. So he fled and in great grief departed from there to return to Babylon. Then some one came to him in Persia and reported that the armies which had gone into the land of Judah had been routed; that Lysias had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before the Jews; that the Jews had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant spoils which they had taken from the armies they had cut down; that they had torn down the abomination which he had erected upon the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as before, and also Beth-Zur, his city. When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from grief, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. He lay there for many days, because deep grief continually gripped him, and he concluded that he was dying. So he called all his friends and said to them, "Sleep departs from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry. I said to myself, 'To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power.' But now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem. I seized all her vessels of silver and gold; and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason. I know that it is because of this that these evils have come upon me; and behold, I am perishing of deep grief in a strange land."
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