The nature of personal and corporate prayer changes significantly when moving toward Catholicism. This Paradigm Shift will examine some of the prayers that Catholics recite and objections non-Catholic Christians raise regarding those prayers.

Prayers offered in evangelical churches are always improvisational and often conclude with some form of the phrase “in the name of Jesus”. I believe this practice derives from the passage John 14:13

Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; 14if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.

Prayers in the Catholic Church can also be improvisational but more often the Church draws from its huge tradition to say composed prayers, particularly at Mass, but on just about any occasion.  Catholics don’t typically pray “in the name of Jesus” but more often in Trinitarian form, e.g., “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.

Analysis

Catholic prayers are criticized by Bible Christians as being formulaic, mechanical, extra-Biblical and repetitive—especially the Rosary, labeling it “vain repetition” citing:

Matthew 6:7 And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Some have tried to make Jesus’ words into a universal condemnation of long or repetitious prayers, however, according to Catholic theology, this is not the intent. In ancient times there was a pagan belief that the gods could be controlled by special incantations and the enunciation of the right divine title at the right time. We see this in 1 Kgs 18:25-29 when Elijah stands against the prophets of Baal.

And they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Ba’al from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered.

Elijah mocked them:

“Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”

Although the verse above in Matthew condemns vain repetition it does not condemn repetition—in prayer, in worship, in meditation and in other areas. Like it or not, repetition is a large part of life and learning. Without repetition how would we learn the alphabet, words, reading, and for that matter, the Bible. Are not Bible Christians taught to memorize and recite verses of scripture? And how can one accomplish that without repetition? And why is this not vain repetition too?

And why should prayers be any different than verses of Scripture? The Lord himself encourages perseverance in prayer (Luke 11:5-12; 18:1-14), and he himself prays all night (Luke 6:12), and repeats one of the most solemn prayers of his earthly ministry (Mark 14:39-42). And we are exhorted by St. Paul to pray constantly (1Thes 5:17).

So let’s look at the Catholic practice of repetition in prayer, specifically the Rosary, which includes a number of standard prayers often repeated. Is this vain?

More than just a medium of prayers, the Rosary is an educational tool used to pass on the faith, especially at a time when books and literacy were uncommon. The rosary (lower case) refers to the associated prayer beads used to recite the prayers. These beads are grouped into decades and upon each decade, one is to meditate on a particular mystery in the life of Christ and Mary from annunciation, conception, nativity, crucifixion, resurrection and beyond. With four sets of mysteries of five decades each, that’s 20 episodes from the life of Christ (and Mary as part of that life) that Christians are good to meditate upon. Bible Christians might even like the Scriptural Rosary (ca. 1500’s) which recalls a verse of scripture for each bead totaling 150 verses of scripture in the full blown meditation.  In the earliest prototype of the Rosary, monks developed a mechanism with a bag of pebbles to recite the 150 Psalms. Lots of scripture, lots of meditation and to be sure, lots of repetition.

How about the prayers themselves?

The Rosary starts with the sign of the cross—another topic—followed by the Apostles Creed. This creed is an old prayer not found in the Bible but few Protestant denominations object to it. Many even recite it in their church services even though it uses the adjective “catholic” which they take to mean “universal” in the lower case.

Then the Lord’s Prayer is said at the beginning of each decade—still no objection other than what words are to be used for “debts” or “trespasses”—not a game changer.

Then the Hail Mary which is the most repeated prayer of the Rosary and one that Protestants object to a great deal. But the first part (“Hail Mary full of grace…”) is straight from the Bible in the gospel of Luke—so why object to it? The second part was added in the Middle ages (“Holy Mary Mother of God….”) which is only objectionable if one does not believe in the communion of saints or intercessory prayer (See Paradigm Shift on the Communion of Saints)

Then the Glory Be which was a prayer composed by the ultimate Bible scholar of all time, St. Jerome. This prayer is Trinitarian and should not be objected to by Protestants.

Finally, not always but often, the Fatima Prayer which is directed to Jesus Himself. Although stridently Catholic, no one should be offended by a prayer to keep one and others out of the fires of Hell. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

To conclude the Rosary is the Salve Regina (not repeated) which would cause Bible Christians to recoil in horror. This is a prayer to Mary, Queen of Heaven, which is another topic altogether.  Obviously the requirement would have us believe that Mary is the Queen of Heaven and why Catholics believe it so. And yes, it is Biblical.

So understanding what Jesus was saying when he was talking about “vain repetition” is important and that repetition itself is not condemned. Then understanding the origins and nature of Catholic prayers is also important to dispel false perceptions of Catholic teaching.