Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Regnum Christi Prayer Book

Letter from the General Directive College

Lord, Teach Us To Pray [https://www.regnumchristi.org/en/prayer-book/]gives continuity to the previous Regnum Christi Prayer Book. It is a guide and an aid to personal and communal prayer, as well as a tool of formation for the lay Regnum Christi member. It draws together a good part of our tradition of prayer, facilitating a prayer life in communion with the Church and the whole of Regnum Christi, from its foundation up to the present. However, Lord Teach Us to Pray is more than that. In reality, it is the name we give to our response to the motion of the Holy Spirit, to contribute to the renewal of Regnum Christi through the prayer of the laity. For now, this response is expressed in this text, but it does not end here. We trust that this prayer book will be an occasion for all vocations of Regnum Christi to continue discovering how the Lord wants us to pray together. The renewal of the lay members’ prayer does not conclude with this writing, just as the renewal of the prayer of the consecrated branches has not concluded. The important renewal happens in real life. Prayer that is lived out enlightens this text and will demand its periodic renewal, at the pace of our life of prayer. We invite all Regnum Christi members and all communities of prayer to share their experiences of renewed prayer with each other. On the Regnum Christi website, there is a ‘contact us’ form you are welcome to use to offer suggestions and share experiences aimed at improving eventual updates of Lord Teach Us to Pray.

Introduction: “Lord, teach us to pray!”

(2:41) - What is a prayerful life? (5:38) - How is "Lord, Teach Us to Pray" structured? (6:41) - How can I benefit most from "Lord Teach Us to Pray"? Today, together with the first disciples, we address this petition to the Master: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1). Jesus answers by teaching us the Lord’s Prayer and tells us the parable of the persistent friend. He shows us what to pray for and invites us to pray insistently, in season and out of season: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened” (Lk 11:9-10). He has written in our hearts the desire to pray, to pray better, to make our life a prayer, a liturgy; to pray always (Lk 18:1-8), not in the sense of reciting prayers at every moment, but in the sense of always being attentive to the Holy Spirit, in the presence of God, so that all our activities become a response to his will, an offering to our Lord. Praying in the school of Jesus, in the Church, is the way to meet the Lord every day, as he constantly walks and rests at our side. Jesus, the fount that quenches our thirst, awaits us by the well at the hottest and driest hour of the day to say, “Give me a drink.” He thirsts for us and we thirst for God, even if we do not know it: “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst, for the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:13-14). What you have in your hands, Lord, Teach Us to Pray [https://www.regnumchristi.org/en/prayer-book/], is a path of initiation. It is an introduction to the life of prayer, so that the lay members of Regnum Christi may learn to pray by praying, as part of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church,  in the style of Regnum Christi. When we pray, we unite ourselves to the prayer of Christ, to his Person and to his Body – the Church – to address the Father in communion with the Holy Spirit. Common prayers and guidelines help us experience communion with the Church and Regnum Christi even when we pray alone, and facilitate times of community prayer.

Sunday, the Eighth Day

(1:08) - The Eucharist (3:13) - Preparation for the Eucharist (4:12) - Celebration of the Eucharist (6:48) - Prayers in the Presence of the Eucharist Sunday is the center of the Church’s life. It is the first day of the week, the memorial of the first day of creation. It is also the eighth day, when the Sabbath finds its fulfillment and culmination in Christ’s Resurrection. Chronological time, in which death comes for all that are born, intersects with transfigured time, which participates in the eternal. Sunday marks the beginning of a new time and space: life in the Kingdom. On Sunday, we practice how to live each day of the year in a holy way. It is a day of celebration and rest; a family, cultural, and social day; a liturgical day and a day of prayer par excellence. The Church prescribes the obligatory participation of the faithful in the Sunday Liturgy, although she also strongly encourages participation in the Eucharist more frequently, even daily, as a privileged means for Christ to be all in all. "Lord, Teach Us to Pray" [https://www.regnumchristi.org/en/prayer-book/]

A Prayerful Day: On Rising

“Day unto day pours forth speech; night unto night whispers knowledge” (Ps 19:3). God always speaks to us and invites us to converse with him and offer him everything that we undergo. This makes the day – and the night – a constant prayer. As we begin our day, we lift our eyes with a watchful heart (cf. Ps 57:9), attentive to the Lord who comes to meet us in daily life, in every circumstance, amid the cares of this life (cf. Mt 6:34). We thank him for the gift of a new day and offer our work to the Lord. "Lord, Teach Us to Pray" [https://www.regnumchristi.org/en/prayer-book/]

A Prayerful Day: Morning Offering

Offering our works is a sign of offering our life. It is about becoming an offering ourselves. We propose here three vocal prayers to God and one to the Blessed Mother. We begin them with the sign of the cross to place ourselves in the presence of the Lord. You may find it helpful to incorporate a personal prayer. You can substitute the Lauds of the Liturgy of the Hours for the prayers of the morning offering. In any case, we encourage you to keep the Prayer to Jesus Christ, common to all members of Regnum Christi. "Lord, Teach Us to Pray" [https://www.regnumchristi.org/en/prayer-book/]