The Duty of Prayer
Recently, I gave a session to the youth community of the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea about the necessity of prayer. I explained that we should not merely pray when we feel like it, but regularly. I would even say that it is worthwhile to pray as often as possible. The key reason for this call to pray more is simply love. Love is the identity of God, and it underlies the identity of us as the Church, God’s beloved (1 John 4:8). Scripture emphasizes that the Church is God’s Bride multiple times (2 Corinthians 11:2, John 3:29, Revelations 19:7). But if the union of God and Church is understood to be a marriage, what are the implications of this marriage?
What is the difference between a married couple and one that is dating? For one, there are less commitments for the latter. One is not expected to regularly be with a girlfriend or boyfriend every single day of their lives while the same is expected of husband and wife. This leads to the second difference in commitment. While dating couples are not expected to interact with each other daily, the same is expected of married couples. These differences stem from the nature of the relationship. A dating couple may separate but a married couple, especially a Catholic one, is expected to stay together until death comes. What can we glean from these observations? The nature of a dating couple is the partial joining of two parties interested in a full union. The nature of a married couple is the complete union of two persons with a bond not easily broken. This idea of an indissoluble bond in marriage does not merely originate from humanity but from Holy Writ. God has ordained marriages to be binding by declaring that a man shall be joined to his wife as one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Let us then assess the full reality of the marriage of God and the Church. Divinity shall be fully united to humanity in an indissoluble bond that will last for eternity; for while human marriages cease in heaven, the heavenly marriage of God and Church will last forever (Matthew 22:30, Revelation 21:2,9). According to the tradition of both Eastern and Western Church Doctors, this union of the Divine with the human is known as divinization, the process by which humanity partakes of the Divine nature and becomes immortal (CCC 2022, 460). Divinization means that the human nature is not a distant stranger to the Divine one, but shares a common abode, that abode which we call the saint.
The Transfiguration is a classic example of divinisation since Peter, James and John look upon Moses and Elijah who are glorified by Christ and dwell with Him in glory (Matthew 17:2-3) (School of Mary 2024).
Moses and Elijah are not dead, despite being gone from the present life for centuries by the time of the disciples. They live forever in God. This is because they have partaken of the Divine nature and become immortal (2 Peter 1:4).
If we are to aim and seek this reality of divinization, then we must seek to be intimately close to God. Even with human partners, as discussed, intimacy builds through more frequent interaction. That is why a human couple interacts more upon marriage compared to before. Their union causes them to be more intimate. How then are we to be intimate with God without frequently interacting with Him? We must therefore pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). To do this, we can adopt two main traditions from the East and the West. Let’s start with the Rosary, the tradition most familiar to many of us who are Roman Catholics. Historical sources generally agree that the tradition of the Rosary arose as a monastic means of counting prayers, first with the 150 Psalms and then with the Lord’s Prayer and finally the Hail Mary (Knight nd). That means that the recitation of the Rosary is done to practice St Paul’s call to pray without ceasing, thus making it an invaluable method of uniting oneself to God. The power of the Rosary is magnified further by the fact that Mary is the perfect person who prays (Orans) and cooperates with the Divine will without hesitation (CCC 2022, 2674-2675, 2679). She is therefore the best intercessor of the Church, being able to draw the Church to God most effectively (CCC 2022, 2679). But sometimes, being a bulky prayer discipline with the Our Fathers and Hail Marys, it may be difficult to continue the prayer of the Rosary for a prolonged period of time. Padre Pio would pray 35 full sets of Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries a day, but I am not sure whether they would fully encompass the entirety of the day (Marians of the Immaculate Conception 2025). Most of us would likely not have the energy or perhaps the patience to have that prayer discipline. There would then be a struggle to pray without ceasing through the Rosary. This is an area where we might be interested in trying the prayer discipline of the Eastern Churches, the Jesus Prayer.
The prayer rope, like a Rosary, is supposed to assist the praying person in counting the number of prayers that are done. This rope, however, is specifically designed for the reciting of Jesus Prayers (Etsy nd).
The Jesus Prayer is a short but effective prayer that draws its power from the Most Holy Name of Jesus. This is the prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This prayer chiefly draws upon the cry of blind Bartimaeus towards Jesus as He passed by, that he may receive sight (Mark 10:46-52). Perhaps sinners like me can see themselves in the perspective of Bartimaeus, that being blinded by sin, we may receive the necessary purity from God to perceive Him and be with Him (Matthew 5:8). The Catechism agrees by highlighting that this prayer opens the human heart to its wretchedness so that it may be open to receiving the Saviour’s mercy (CCC 2022, 2667). Being a short prayer, it can be said very regularly, even in periods of time which are not directly set aside for prayer. It is said that some Eastern monks use this prayer so often that they can pray it in their minds without speaking the words. This prayer then becomes a potent method to be immersed in the continuous presence of God despite the busyness of life. It is a prayer that I can wholeheartedly encourage, since it is a discipline that I adhere to regularly. This serves as a great way to end this article. We the Church are duty-bound, as the Bride-to-be of the Lord, to be united to Him fully through prayer. There are many types of prayer that can be used, but the Jesus Prayer stands out as one that can be easily prolonged, even by busy people. This would allow for a more perfect union with God, which is our desired final end. Let us therefore pray without ceasing so as to be deeply in communion with God.
Bibliography:
Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church Ascension Edition. West Chester, PA: Ascension Publishing Group, 2022.
Knight, Kevin. “The Rosary.” CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Rosary. Accessed October 19, 2025. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13184b.htm.
Etsy. Black eastern orthodox prayer rope Chotki 100 count barrel - etsy UK. Accessed October 19, 2025. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1226828157/black-eastern-orthodox-prayer-rope.
“Transfiguration and Mass.” School of Mary, June 21, 2024. https://schoolofmary.org/transfiguration-and-mass/.
Marians of the Immaculate Conception. “In the Spirit of Padre Pio, Pray the Rosary, and Pray It Well | Marians of the Immaculate Conception.” Marians of the Immaculate Conception, September 23, 2025. https://marian.org/articles/spirit-padre-pio-pray-rosary-and-pray-it-well.
