Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.

You Who Do Through

by Orin Johnson, Director of Music & Liturgy

Jesus warns the crowds in today’s Gospel to beware of the scribes who, among other things, “as a pretext recite lengthy prayers.”  While they perhaps, because their profession gave them repeated access to all of scripture, had reason (or at least an excuse) to be so long-winded, some of us too, especially in moments of improvised prayer, tend to go on and on.  Likely this is because moments of prayer like these lack structure, often sprung on us at the last moment: “Fred, you go to church on Sundays, why don’t you say the meal blessing for grandma’s surprise birthday luncheon?”  Sometimes it’s because we’re nervous about the moment of prayer as well.

There is no wrong way to pray. Please repeat after me: There is no wrong way to pray. However, the liturgy offers us another pattern to follow, found in most of the presidential prayers (even if obscured by curious syntax), and it is an easy way to create spur of the moment prayers:

YOU – WHO – DO – THROUGH

YOU: Name God. It can be as simple as “Lord” or “God” or something more elaborate like “Good and Gracious God” or “God of Wisdom and Understanding.” Think about what you want to pray for and then think about how that can connect with God. For example, if you are going to pray, broadly, about “love,” you might use, “Loving God.” 

WHO: Name something that God has already done for us. What would you say to thank and praise God or offer God a compliment? What do you want to ask God in prayer? Now think of something similar that God has already done or is doing. Your answer to that question becomes your “who.” Back to our “love” example, “Loving God, who answers all our needs.” 

DO: This is the point in the prayer where we ask or petition God to do something for us. At meals, we might ask a blessing on our food and pray for those who have prepared it and for those who are hungry and do not have food. We can ask God to bless all these people and ask to make something happen – like to bring an end to world famine or to give us more courage to be a better witness, or anything else we want God to DO. Often, the WHO relates to the DO. “Loving God, who answers all our needs, we ask you to guide and strengthen us as we care for those who are in need.” 

THROUGH: Typically, we ask our prayers through Jesus Christ, because that is our connection to God. We are baptized, saved, and set free through Jesus, who is one with God. Some familiar ways to express this relationship are, “We ask this through Christ our Lord” or more simply, “Through Christ our Lord.” Or use your creativity, but be sure that you pray “through Jesus Christ,” who is Lord forever and ever. Amen. You get the idea.

So, a typical YOU-WHO-DO-THROUGH prayer might read like this: 

Loving God,
who answers all our needs,
we ask you to guide and strengthen us
as we care for those who are in need.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen. 

Look and listen for this format in the collects, prayers over the gifts, and prayers after communion at mass, and remember YOU – WHO – DO – THROUGH when it is next your turn to publicly improvise prayer.