Raising the Mind and Heart to God

There are many definitions of prayer and one of the most popular, quoted from St John Damascene in the Catechism, speaks of prayer as the "raising of the mind and heart to God.” To pray is to make ourselves aware of God, to spend some time in His presence and listen to Him: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” To pray is also to present ourselves to God, as we are, to offer ourselves and other people to him, giving him thanks for all that is good, and to ask asking his help and strength with all that is weak.

In this section, you can find some basic information about some of the characteristic ways in which monks pray.