Introduction to Real Prayer
Lesson 9
Making Real Progress
Ascend Toward God in the Science of Sainthood
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Introduction to Real Prayer is based on Prayer Works: Getting a Grip on Catholic Spirituality by Matthew Leonard.
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Workbook Review Question Answers
Lesson Nine
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- Why do we need perseverance in order to make progress in prayer and the spiritual life?
Answer: We need perseverance because there are going to be many days where we just don’t feel like praying and we need to fight that impulse. That’s part of why the Catechism calls prayer a “battle”.
Paragraph 2725 says, “Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle.” Perseverance gives us the ability strengthen ourselves and continue to seek God.
- Why is the virtue of humility so key to the life of prayer?
Answer: Humility is an absolute necessity because it’s the virtue that crushes the most powerful of all the deadly sins—pride. It was pride that led Adam to commit the first sin back in the Garden of Eden. It is the humble obedience of the New Adam, Jesus Christ, that saves us.
Humility is necessary for progress because it makes us like Christ, which is the ultimate goal. In fact, the Catechism says that humility is the “foundation of prayer” (CCC 2559). Similarly, St. James declares, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
- What parable did Christ use to teach about the necessity of humility?
Answer: The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke chapter 18.
- According to Fr. Nicholas Grou, what act of God proves the dignity and value of our soul in his eyes and should fill us with confidence?
Answer: Fr. Grou points to Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Jesus’ death for us “proves that the dignity of a soul is beyond understanding; for God to abase Himself, for God to annihilate Himself, for God to sacrifice Himself, only to save that soul, and make it happy for ever!”
- How does a person’s vocation or state in life affect their prayer life?
Answer: State in life dramatically affects our prayer life because different vocations place upon a person different demands. For example, the spiritual life of a father or mother of a family of kids is going to look very different from a Bishop, priest, or nun’s. Each has duties and responsibilities that are required by their particular station in life.
