“I do not need to go to church, I can pray at home.”

If you have heard this phrase more times than you can count, then this article is for you!

Consider the Cross
Private prayer is not just prayer that is done in the privacy of the person’s life. It is prayer between you and God, and may take place anywhere, at any time. Communal prayer is prayer with a community. It can be the community of believers at liturgy or a group of teens that meet on a regular basis.

As humans and Christians, we need both forms of prayer. Jesus would pray with his followers, but also go off alone to pray. He sets the example we are asked to follow as disciples. Both forms are important and interconnected. At a training I attended some years ago it was best explained this way: Consider the cross.

We need private prayer. This is illustrated by the vertical line of the cross. It is the connection between me and God. Christians must make time to not only talk to God, but to listen to him speak to us. But we also need communal prayer, illustrated by the horizontal line of the cross. It takes both lines, both types of prayer, to form the cross.

Prayer Is Necessary
Pope John Paul II, in a general audience message titled Prayer is the One Thing Necessary, on January 4, 1995, stressed the importance of both forms of prayer.

It is known that in the Christian tradition there are various forms of prayer, especially prayer ‘in common’ and ‘private’ prayer. Both are necessary and are generally prescribed. Prayer in common should never cause one to become unaccustomed to private prayer, nor should the latter become so prevalent that community prayer is eliminated or disparaged. A genuine spirit of gospel prayer regulates both forms in a beneficial balance for the soul, a balance which the founders and legislators of religious institutes establish in harmony with the authority of the Church.

Jesus recommended humble, sincere prayer: ‘Pray to your Father in secret’ (Matthew 6:6). He warned that it is not the quantity of words which insures that prayers will be heard (cf. Matthew 6:7). But it is likewise true that interior prayer tends by human nature itself to be expressed and extended in words and gestures, in a series of acts of so-called external worship, whose soul is always the prayer of the heart.

For many youth, it is easy for them to understand the importance of private prayer. It is the most important way to nurture our relationship with the Holy Trinity. At the same time, our private prayer needs to combine with the prayer of others. “Public prayer can be a powerful support for other people, especially those who have recently experienced some tragedy. After September 11, 2001, Masses and prayer services for those who died, were injured or were missing, or for their friends and relatives, drew great numbers of people far beyond New York City, Washington, D.C., or Shanksville, Pennsylvania. That was not a time to exalt private prayer at the expense of public prayer. Both are urgently needed.” (Faith Must Lead to Action: Ask a Franciscan, Fr. Pat McCloskey, O.F.M., St. Anthony Messenger)

This Little Light of Mine
Saint John Vianney (1786-1859) provides a great illustration of the importance of communal prayer, “Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: If you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that.” (from AmericanCatholic.org) Just as in the old Bible School song, “This Little Light of Mine,” we must shine our light every day through the flames of faith. But to gather all those flames into one fire you must join with others in community.

For those who have the privilege of ministering to and with youth, we must continue to find ways to show them the importance of both private and communal prayer. These illustrations are just some of the ways we can do that.

Share with others on the NACYML Discussion Forum: How do you help youth understand the difference and importance of private and communal prayer?