A Prayer Meme

My friend at Do Not Be Anxious tagged me for this Catholic Prayer Meme in this blog. (I was also tagged at my main blog by another blogger, so this post is doing double duty!)

Here are some of the guidelines:

"Name your three most favorite prayers, and explain why they're your favorites. ... Finally, tell the person who tagged you that you've completed the meme... The Liturgy and the Sacraments are off limits here. I'm more interested in people's favorite devotional prayers."

I had to think about that one. I have a lot of favorite prayers. I have prayers i say for specific purposes. I have prayers that meant a great deal to me at one point, but then I moved on or had other needs.

Three that are especially important to me are:

"The Our Father." This prayer is a gift of Jesus; that alone makes it special. It it a prayer of praise, of longing, of supplication, of challenge. It was one of the first prayers that I learned. It's one I recite as part of the Rosary, but also one I often say just to say it!

"The Apostles Creed." I tend to be a bit of a legalist - I was tempted at one time to be a lawyer, and as my students will grouse, I'm a stickler for guidelines and enforce the rules. I like a clear set of beliefs, and this prayer spells out the basic beliefs of my Catholic faith.

"The Jesus Prayer." (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.) I discovered this prayer years ago. It appealed to me because of its shortness (I like short, as my haiku, clerihews and limericks reveal). It's a prayer I recite often when I need help. When my mind begins to wander along paths it shouldn't 't wander, I recite it to get my mind back in focus (or to break the focus on things I shouldn't be focusing on!). It's also a prayer I recite when I'm trying to deal with something troubling or painful (like when I'm sitting in the dentist's chair!).

There they are, the big three. I'm grateful for the tag, for it got me thinking about prayer, and why these particular ones appeal to me.

Part of this meme calls for me to tag five other bloggers. I prefer to let people decide for themselves if this is something they want to do. If you a reader of this blog, feel free to try it.

Pax et bonum