A Critique of The Proper Way of praying that was taught by Christ to His Apostles and Among the Members of the Church of God Whose Prayers are Heard by God According to the Bible. Part 1 and 2

Part I

by F. Mascariña

Summary of original article: No need for any of those "graven Catholic idols," and Catholic sacramentals, incense, Hail Marys, vain and repetitious Rosaries, etc. Just pray the way Jesus taught, as exemplified in the Our Father. The components of a prayer are: request, supplication, and thanksgiving. Women should veil their heads while praying. Prayer frees us from worries. God is a busy Deity so make your prayers quick and snappy. We must pray all the time. Prayer requests are granted if they are in accordance with God's Will.

Summary of my article: Catholic prayers are not vain, nor repetitious, but are of necessity. Another component of prayer is sacrifice. Women should veil their heads while praying. Prayer frees us from worries. God is not a human that He should be restricted by Time. The ancient Christians had a myriad selection of prayers, among them are prayers to Mary. We must not assume that God, Mary, and the Saints cannot come to the aide of the thousands of people that call upon them daily.

"In 2 Tim. 3:15-17, it says, "And that from a child thou has known the hole scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ."

It would be impossible for Timothy to know about the New Testament since the New Testament was not written during his childhood. The "[w]hole scriptures" being referred to in 2 Tim. 3:15-17 is the Old Testament. There is where the logic fails: the definition of "scripture" in 2 Tim. is "Old Testament Scripture", but the ADD want to change the definition to make 2 Tim. say "New Testament Scripture." Timothy was an old man when he came in contact with the Apostles. I think he died before Revelation was written? The point is, the ADD's sense of timing is off. That is where their 2 Tim. error arises from.

"Always remember that, no matter how good the act may be, there is the devil ready to oppose it. God teaches man to be good, but the devil wants him to be the opposite. If God teaches, the devil teaches, too. Are you agreeable to that? Let us read I Tim.4:1. It says, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, the doctrines of devil” . All the while, we were thinking that all teachings emanate from God. However, there are also teachings that come from the devil, as St. Paul told Timothy during the first century. He said, in the last days, after the days of the Apostles, there would appear men who will propagate the teachings of the devil. In other words, if God prescribed a proper way of praying, there is also a kind of prayer that is inspired by the devil. Hope you wouldn’t be surprised if I read unto you the prayer that was taught by the devil; my only wish is that you won’t get mad at me inasmuch that I will just read whatever is written in the Bible. The prayer that came from God was taught differently from the way prayers were taught by false preachers, that are used by the devil to lead people astray – for them not to be worthy in the eyes of God. And for you to understand what is covered in the topic, let us begin."

"Jesus Christ taught his people a specific prayer. Remember, we are to take no other teaching except the one that came from Jesus Christ. Christians acknowledge only one teacher, and that is Jesus Christ, not Moses, not Elijah, and not anybody else. There is but a single teacher of the Christian faith – Jesus Christ – who assumed human form during the first century. And Jesus Christ, himself, was the one who taught the early Christians of the proper way of praying."

It's interesting to note that many Catholic symbols and prayers which the ADD criticize come from the first four centuries of Christianity; the Catholics in India have had the Holy Mass since 52 a.d. (though according to the Syro-Malankar (?) rite). There is great evidence of a development in the understanding of prayer; the Sub Tuum Praesidium, a prayer to Mary said by no less than the early Christians themselves, is evidence of that development. There arose also churches dedicated to Mary; some of them were built by the Apostles themselves (ex: The Church of the Virgin Mary, Egypt was founded by St. Mark. The Church of St. John in Ephesus were built over St. John's grave). We must conclude that Soriano's idea of prayer differs much from the idea of prayer had by the ancient Christians; his is flat and tasteless compared to the prayer insights had by the martyrs who asked for the Blessed Eucharist before their deaths. By the way, the word "Christian" was synonymous with "Catholic." It still is, but proud, false teachers always attempt to change the ancient definition of "Christian" (i.e. Catholic) in order to include themselves into the picture. And their congregation buys this cheap trick!

What kind of God is the God in heaven? Titus 1:2 says, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie,” Therefore, God is incapable of lying. The Catholics say that God is capable of doing all things. That is a big lie, because there is one particular thing that is impossible for God to do – It is impossible for God to lie! Let us read it again: “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world begun.” To further concretize this, Heb.6:18 say, “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie.” The Holy Scriptures reiterates that, it is impossible for God to lie.

JesusMaryJoseph-- why is this man attempting to screw up Catholic philosophy also? He already does not understand Catholic theology; what makes him think he can tackle Catholic philosophy? What makes him think he has understood the sense in which Catholics understand the doctrine of God's omnipotence? With God nothing is impossible, right (Mt. 19:26)? But he says God cannot lie. Therefore we must conclude that God is not the Almighty? And that the Bible contradicts itself? That there is a God more powerful than the God we know? That's too many gods already. If that is what he is saying, then here is where he missed the boat: God is almighty (Luke 1:37, Mt. 19:26, Mt. 3:9). Speculatively, God's omnipotence flows from His being pure act.The efficacy of a thing is determined by the grade of its real being. To God's Infinite Reality of Being there corresponds an (intensively) Infinite Power. This extends over the whole sphere of real and possible beings (extensively infinite). As God's power is identical with God's Essence, it cannot imply anything which contradicts the Essence and the Attributes of God. Thus [in that sense] God cannot change, cannot lie, can make nothing that has happened not to have happened, cannot realise anything which is contradictory in itself. The sense in which "...there is one particular thing that is impossible for God to do..." is presented could be taken in the sense that God is not as powerful as we thought He was. The Catholic sense is very different. The Catholic sense of God not being able to lie stems from the fact that God is Truth, and that the essence of lies are not truth but deceit, and deceit is lower than truth. So if God is almighty He posseses the greatest of Truth and is Truth Itself. If He could lie, and a lie's essence is not truth, then He would be depreciating the high value of His Essence since He has come to a lower level of holiness, truth, power, etc. He became "second best." But God cannot be second best. Therefore He cannot lie since lying lowers Who He Is. He also cannot lie because his Essence is Goodness and Truth, while the essence of a lie is deceit and evil. That then, is how the ADD destroy the omnipotence of God.

"However, there are those, whose prayer takes the form of a narrative. “Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed are you …” Why? Is Mary that forgetful that she needs to be reminded repeatedly? "

The underlying assumption above is that Catholics are only using their mouths to pray and not their hearts and minds. Anyone who presumes that that is what Catholic spirituality is all about-- i.e. wasting oxygen, wasting words-- then he/she does not know Catholic spirituality. Many great Catholic Saints have done whole books attempting to explain the Hail Mary alone-- the Hail Mary is definitely not as simple as it seems. Nothing in Catholicism is as simple as it seems! What a superficial understanding the ADD have, then, of Catholicism! And I am sure they have not read the tiny little book on the Rosary which St. Louis de Montfort wrote.

"Later on, towards the end, the suppliant is already giving orders to Mary to pray for the forgiveness of his sin. Is it fair that you transgress and assign another person to pray for the forgiveness of your transgressions? That is a very big insult to Mary. The one that was commanded by God to pray is YOU. Every individual who recognizes God has a responsibility to pray. Why turn over the responsibility to Mary? Imagine, commanding Mary to pray for him, and worse, Mary is urged to pray for him until the hour of his death. It will turn out to be an endless job now for Mary to pray for his sins – until his death. It is wrong to ask Mary to do your own obligation. Besides, your prayer is not at all a prayer. “Hail, Mary full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us…” What “pray for us”? Is there a teaching in the Bible that gives you the liberty to give orders to Mary? There is none. We are the ones who were commanded to pray. "

Jesus is the One Mediator. But we, too, can be "mini-Mediators." :-) (cf. 1 Tim. 2:1-5). Here are examples of people praying for each other: Matt. 5:44-45, Rom 15:30, 2 Cor. 1:11, Eph. 6:18, Eph. 6:19 , Col. 1:9 , 1 Thess. 5:25, 1 John 5:16-17.

"The Bible teaches us only one, definition of prayer --- it is a supplication to God; it is a request to God. In times of great distress, in times when nobody can no longer help you, in times when you have nobody to turn to, always remember, there is the Almighty Father in heaven, our creator, who is always ready to listen and understand. He knows how you feel. If you are in pain, He is in pain, too. If you are hurt, He is hurt, too. Let us read Psalms 103:14, “For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust” . God knows very well who we are. He knows our weaknesses; He knows our limitations. God knows the very depths of hearts. For this reason, you do not have to make your prayer very long. Say it straight what you need... You don’t have to pray “Hail Mary, full of grace. Bendito alabado saya santisimo Kerie Eleison. Kristi Eleison. Kristi odinus. Amen.” Say straight your needs to God. He knows what you want. He knows how you feel. Just pray and He’ll surely give you all your needs."

Not all the teachings of Christ are in the Bible. God does know the very depths of hearts, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't pray the Hail Mary. To not pray the Hail Mary, as well as other prayers, is to miss out on much help and graces from heaven. It is proof also of one's ignorance of Catholic spirituality.

"Jesus said, when you pray, pray this way: “Our Father which art in heaven.” In other words, we are not supposed to pray to anybody else, except to the Father only."

One word: "Mini-mediators."

"Therefore, Christ did not teach us a lengthy and flowery prayer. He wanted it concise and direct to the point. "

Did you notice how David's lengthy, flowery prayers made God happy? And isn't Christ God?

"Now, you want to pray. The question, still, is to whom are you going to pray? To graven images or idols? No matter how hard you pray repeatedly, a statue cannot hear you. Even if you writhe in pain, that statue will simply smile at you. In fact, even if you are already in the brink of death, that statue will just remain smiling – unmoved, unaffected. What the Bible said is very clear - pray to the Father, not to a graven image. And what has God to say to those who pray to graven images? Habakkuk 2:18-19, “What profiteth the graven image that the maker graveth hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies; that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake, to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.” It is, therefore, ridiculous to keep on praying to a dumb and mute idol graven from wood or stone! ...Psalms 115:4-8 tells us how abominable it is to God. “These idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not; feet they have, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.” See the kind of god we were taught to worship? We were taught to kneel before them and pray to them, when in reality, they cannot even see, nor hear, nor speak, nor walk. That is why; they need to be carried for them to reach another place..."

"...I don’t care if you get mad at me! What can I do, that is what the Bible says. I am just trying to show you what is right. Shoot me if you wish, but I will still proclaim that it is wrong to bend one’s knees to false gods. That is even stated in the Catholic Bible."

"Shoot me if you wish," he says.

Anyway, just because he can quote a Catholic Bible doesn't mean he has understood Catholic doctrine. The errors in his statements have their root in a lack of understanding of Catholic doctrine, and of the intentions of the pagans when they prayed, coupled with a lack of logic. Hear us: Statues are NOT alive NOR are they idols. I think it is obvious from the fact that statues have to be carried from one place to another that they are not alive. Statues are not idols because the nature of a statue is not that of an idol. The pagans created idols, thinking that what they have produced was a god (Psalms 115:4-8). Catholics know that the statue of Mary is made of wood/plaster/etc. but unlike the animists and Hindus, they do not believe that the statue itself is divine. In Catholicism there is "Latria" (worship due to God alone), "Hyperdulia" (veneration of Mary) and "Dulia" (veneration of the Saints). The ADD think that we are offering Latria to Mary. That...would be contrary to Catholic doctrine (cf. Council of Trent).
The Council of Trent declared in connection with the veneration of images, that "through their images we honour the saints which they represent."
...The veneration shown to images of the saints is "Relative Dulia." The Seventh General Council of Nicaea (787), appealing to [Sacred] Tradition , declared against the Iconoclasts of the Greek Church, that it is permissable to set up "the venerable and holy images" of Christ, of the Mother of God, of the angels and of all the saints, and to show them a reverent homage, but not adoration in the true and proper sense which is due to God alone; for the veneration of the image refers to the prototype.
The Old Testament prohibition of the making and veneration of images (Ex. 20:4 et seq.), on which the opponents of the veneration of images rely, was intended to prevent the Israelites from relapsing into the idolatry of their pagan milieu. The prohibition is valid for Christianity only in so far as it prohibits the idolatrous veneration of images. Further, even the Old Testament knew exceptions from the prohibition of the making of images: Ex. 25:18 (two cherubims of gold on the ark). Numbers 21:8 (the brazen serpent).
...The Iconoclasts of the eighth and ninth centuries saw in the veneration of images a relapse into paganism. Against them St. John Damascene, the Patriarchs Germanus and Nicephorus of Constantinople and the Abbot Theodor of Studium defended the Church practice.

"To worship false gods is loathsome to God. Even the ‘Pasyon’ of the Catholics say it. I just wonder why, despite the fact that they read it every Lenten season, they still don’t understand. The Pasyon proclaims, great is the sin of the children of Eve who practice idolatry – treating these idols as gods. (“Lalong dakila and sala, ng tanang anak ni Eva. Anakin idolatria, kahit ano sinasamba, pinaparang dios nila”) . Knowing now that idolatry is hateful to God, why is it that when a Chinese businessman gives away a calendar with a picture of Mary, you cut out her picture? Why do you put it in a picture frame and hang it on the wall? Why do you light a candle in front of it, in addition to a sampaguita garland? … And then you start praying “Hail! Mary, full of grace...” right to that picture taken from a calendar? What the ‘Pasyon’ says is very true: great is the sin of the children of Eve who worship idols … including a cross that is merely painted on the door. Will you be ably to falsify it? If you deny it, you are great liars. Be honest to yourself. It might even lessen the intensity of your sin if you’ll just ..."

Assumptions, assumptions, assumptions! Tsk, tsk, tsk!

"The Scriptures did not say, let your request be made known to the pictures, or to the wood, or to Mary, or Peter, or Tiago, of Fernando, or Agustin. Who are they, anyway? Do you know who those saints are? Most of them are Italian. There is one Filipino saint in the person of Lorenzo Ruiz. But most Filipinos prefer foreign saints rather than the Filipino saint. Have you seen a saint with a snub nose? No. Catholicism has been in this country for 500 years, yet, there is but a single Filipino saint, and he is not even pure Filipino; he is more of a Chinese."

Catholicism has been in the Philippines for 500 years; it has been in Italy for close to 2,000 years. Perhaps if the Philippines were given another 1500 years we could have two saints! Imagine that!

"Proof is that, despite practicing Catholicism for the past 500 years, our country remains the same. Why? Because we have set aside the commandments of God and practice instead things that are wrong. We worship the wrong way; we pray the wrong way, too. Consider “Litania Lauritana” (from Catholic Catechisms, p76). It says, “Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us… God in heaven, have mercy on us. Mary, mother of God …” Too many attributes to Mary. Do you think that, if Mary is alive today, she’ll be happy with those acclamations? “Powerful virgin, compassionate virgin, etc. … Tower of David …” Even the tower is called upon. Even towers are summoned to pray. “Ark of the covenant, Heaven’s door…” Is a door capable of praying? It can’t do anything. Teaching that kind of prayer is a great stupidity. Brothers and sisters, you do not have any right to give orders to anybody (or to anything) to pray for you. What you should do is, pray personally to God. That is a commandment of God."

"Tower of David" and "Heaven's door" are good examples of what is called "metaphor." If it's not metaphor, then it's an anthropomorphism or some other such thing. So the ridiculous question "Is a door capable of praying?" and the hasty comment "Even the tower is called upon" arise from a lack of understanding of rhetorical devices and the (subconscious?) act of making reality fit into one's deluded imagination.

"...That is wrong, brothers and sisters. Let us change our ways; let us obey God. Don’t be angry with Soriano. Instead, you ought to be thankful that there is a Brother Eli Soriano who exposes what is wrong, at the same time, always ready to teach what the priests fail to teach you."

I don't think we have much to thank him for.

"If you’ll only observe the way some religious leaders pray, including the members of these different religious organizations, you will be confused. And for you not to be confused, turn to our Lord Jesus. The Bible has already taught us what to include in our prayers (request, supplication, and thanksgiving), now, let us ask God what is the proper manner of praying. Matthew 6:5 says, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.” Our Lord Jesus is telling us not to imitate the ways of the hypocrites and the pretentious because they love to pray in public places, like the synagogues and street corners...The prayers of the hypocrites and the pretentious … the prayers of those who show themselves to the public as they pray … are all without merit. And God is telling us not to imitate these people...But just look at what the Catholics do: they pray right in the streets. Right? Sometimes, their prayer is even highlighted by fireworks and firecrackers. According to our Lord Jesus, people who pray in the streets and in other public places are hypocrites and pretentious. Let us continue Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when you prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Examine Matthew 6. The verb used to describe the idea of "reward" in the mind of the hypocrites (i.e scribes and Pharisees, cf. Mt. 23, 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29) is not the verb used to describe the idea of "reward" in the mind of the Christians.The Greek used to describe the hypocrite's "reward" is "...apecho, a commercial term for giving a receipt for what has been paid in full (NAB)." The hypocrites desired praise and have received it; they did not have God in mind, like the Christians did and (hopefully) as the Catholics in that rosary prayer group did also.

One more thing, if you are going to pray, more so if you are a woman, there is another requirement set for you. II Corinthians 11:4-5 says, “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonored his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoured her head.”

Women do need to wear a veil (mantilla) in Church. Go find yourself a Traditional Latin Mass, women. You men also. This custom has not been abolished in the Catholic Church, but lamentably this practice has suffered in recent years. In my (Traditional Catholic) Church, women must wear veils. There is no reason why any woman should refuse! It is most befitting of an upright, Christian woman to cover her head in humility and chastity and adoration before the Blessed Tabernacle, before Our Most August Lord. Before the Presence of Our Lord and the Heavenly Court present at each Mass, why would any woman dare to bare her head? Why would any man or woman dare to dress inappropriately before their Creator, for that matter?

Part 2

"In the Catholic Church, who is the head? In a book entitled “Hear Unto Ye” (Siya ang Inyong Pakinggan - in Filipino language) there is a doctrine that came from Vatican, Rome which says that, the Roman Catholic Church is united because she is one in holy faith. All her members abide by specific teachings and facts only. She is one in leadership. And the highest leader of the Catholic Church is the Pope in Rome. According to that book, who heads the Catholic Church? It is the Pope in Rome. And according to the Bible, who is the head of the Church? It is Jesus Christ. They are completely different, aren’t they? "

In my critique of The Teacher article, I have already explained how the statement "Jesus is the Head of the Church" is not in conflict with the statement "The Pope is the head of the Church." Please see the article A Critique of The Teacher.

"Please, don’t be angry, Catholics, we are just making a thorough study. If what I said is untrue, report me to your priests and I am ready to face them and prove to them the veracity of my pronouncements! I will never retract, so long as what we are going to talk about are the teachings of God. Actually, even if you want to talk about personal matters, I am not at all afraid. Perhaps, more or less, you already know me; maybe you have heard me over the radio and television, and maybe, that is the reason why some of you are reading this reading material. If you want to confront me on television, even if it is going to be a worldwide broadcast, that’s fine with me. In fact, this discussion that we are doing now is being sent via the worldwide web. Wherever it may be, I will still say that the Catholic Church is not the Church spoken in the Bible because the head of the Catholic Church is the Pope, while the head of the Church in the Bible is Christ."

Perhaps we can have a debate someday, Mr. Soriano? Or actually, perhaps I can buy for you a Catechism, Mr. Soriano? We can't have a debate if you don't have a single clue about Catholic doctrine, now can we, sir? Of course not; you would be an easy target for me and that would make you look bad, and I don't think you'd want that, would you (especially if your opponent was a very young Catholic)?

"If you will just refer to the Catholic Bible, 1 Corinthians 11:14 states that, if a man have long hair, it is shame unto him. Apparently, that was true to them in the past but not anymore because the men, at present, are no longer ashamed if their hair is long. In the past, we make sure that we have a regular hair cut. Once somebody’s hair has grown long, he’ll become the subject of ridicule. He’ll be alleged of having no money for a hair cut. "

How long is "long"? If you would only research the length of Jewish men's hair in the time of the Apostles, you will see that they wore their hair down to the shoulders. Did you ever see an Orthodox rabbi? He has long hair and a beard (the old ones :-). And how long was "long" for Jewish women? It was down to the waist. If a Jewish man wore his hair down to the waist (i.e. the length of a Jewish woman's), that was un-manly, according to St. Paul. Let us recall Samson and the length of his hair. Correct me if I'm wrong but are not Nazarenes forbidden to cut their hair?

"Let us continue, 1 Corinthians 11:15 says, “But is a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.” See? The head cover can’t be bought in Quiapo Catholic Church! The head covering refers to a woman’s long hair."

A woman's hair is symbolic of her humility and submission. But much evidence from Egypt (cradle of monasticism) and Syria show that religious women cut their hair short to show penance, among other things. Women also wore veils. The wearing of veils is not doctrine but discipline. I think I will let St. John Chrysostome take care of this for me while I read some more on the customs of nuns and monasticism: St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians.

"Now, another important aspect of this doctrine that we must understand is that, whenever we pray, we must enter into our room, shut the door, and pray to the Father in secret. And the Father who sees in secret will reward you. Let us go to Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter unto thy closet.”

I think it's best to rely on the professionals (ex: Padre Pio, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. Martin de Porres, etc.) when it comes to prayer. I have already demonstrated how flat and tasteless is Soriano's understanding of Christian spirituality. He cannot help you to progress, but St. Anthony Marie Claret can.

"Now, let us find out more of God’s doctrine pertaining to correct prayer. Matthew 6:7 says, “And when ye pray, use not vain repetitions ...” Meaning, it is not right to recite the same prayer repeatedly. But that is exactly what the priests taught us. “Holy Mary, mother of God. Pray for us sinners, until the hour of our death. Amen. Hail, Mary! Full of grace. The Lord is with thee…” In the other subdivision where I used to live, there was a woman there whose name was Dalmacia. Whenever she would pray the rosary, she would even position the amplifier right in front of my house. “Hail, Mary! Full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed are you among women. And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners until the hour of our death. Amen. Hail, Mary! Full of grace …” As if she was boasting of what she was doing; as if what she was doing was correct. Was it correct? It was wrong! Why? Because the Bible says, when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, like what the Gentiles did because (Matthew 6:7) “for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

Matthew 6:7 was referring to the pagans, thus "In praying, do not bable like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him." How did many pagans pray back then? It was never like the prayers of the Catholics. The pagans read off lists of divine names in hopes that one of those divine names would force a response from their deity; they were appealing to the vanity of their deity. Catholics have never had to appeal to God's vanity for God cannot be bribed with words. Catholic prayers should be offered with sincere hearts, right intentions, etc. I am not an expert on prayer but the Catholic Saints are. Read something by the Catholic Church's two greatest mystics: St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Notice how their explanation of the nature of Catholic prayer is very different from the nature of pagan prayer. The inner castles of St. Teresa of Avila and the nada doctrine of St. John of the Cross are foreign to pagan hearts and souls. Here are some examples of non-vain but repetitious prayers, verses from which the Catholic understanding of prayer arose: Matt. 26:44, Rev. 4:8, Psalm 136.

"When you pray, make it as concise and as brief as possible. Remember, you are talking to God. Isn’t it that if you are going to talk to the President, you will just be given a limited time because the President has so many things to attend to. You just can’t stay the whole day puffing your cigarette, chatting with him (the President of a country), as you sat on a rocking chair. That should not be the case because of the many obligations of the President. How much more with God! God has to attend all his suppliants all over the world. So, when you pray repeatedly, you are taking much of his time. Do you think God will listen to you if you recite a litany? He will perhaps be irritated. "

Jesus, being God, prayed three times in Matt. 26:44. And what of litanies? Psalm 136 is quite a litany. In heaven, why is it that "Day and night they [the angels] do not stop exclaiming: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almight, who was, and who is, and who is to come." Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship him... (Rev. 4:8-11)" if God does not like repetition. The emphasis on Matthew 6:7 was not on the repetition of the prayer but the vanity of some prayers. In Matt. 26:44, some prayers that have repetition are good. So the intent of the prayers is what is being examined by Matthew and the verses Matthew 6:7 and Matthew 26:44 are not contradictory. And let us not attempt to think that God is limited by time just as the President is limited by time for God created Time. And since He is omnipresent He can hear everyone's prayers, all the while listening to non-vain, repetitive prayers.

Blessings.

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Copyright 2003 F. Mascariña. All rights reserved.