Catechism of the Catholic Church

638 Part Four meditating; knock in mental prayer and it will be opened to you by contemplation.” 5 The Liturgy of the Church 2655 In the sacramental liturgy of the Church, the mission of Christ and of the Holy Spirit proclaims, makes present, and com­ municates the mystery of salvation, which is continued in the heart that prays. The spiritual writers sometimes compare the heart to an altar. Prayer internalizes and assimilates the liturgy during and after its celebration. Even when it is lived out “in secret,” 6 prayer is always prayer of the Church; it is a communion with the Holy Trinity. 7 The theological virtues 2656 One enters into prayer as one enters into liturgy: by the narrow gate of faith. Through the signs of his presence, it is the Face of the Lord that we seek and desire; it is his Word that we want to hear and keep. 2657 The Holy Spirit, who instructs us to celebrate the liturgy in expectation of Christ’s return, teaches us to pray in hope. Con­ versely, the prayer of the Church and personal prayer nourish hope in us. The psalms especially, with their concrete and varied lan­ guage, teach us to fix our hope in God: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.” 8 As St. Paul prayed: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” 9 2658 “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” 10 Prayer, formed by the liturgical life, draws everything into the love by which we are loved in Christ and which enables us to respond to him by loving as he has loved us. Love is the source of 5 Guigo the Carthusian, Scala Paradisi: PL 40, 998. 6 Cf. Mt 6:6. 7 GILH 9. 8 Ps 40:2. 9 Rom 15:13. 10 Rom 5:5. 1073 368 1812-1829 826