Catholic Prayer: The Lord's
Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Doxology
No other prayer enjoys the endorsement
of Jesus himself. The Lord's Prayer in the Gospel of Luke
and of Matthew comes from Jesus. The Christian Church cherishes
the Lord's Prayer as the pre-eminent and paradigmatic prayer
among all possible prayers. Yet, most recite the prayer
without much reflection upon its meaning.
No other prayer enjoys the devotion to
the mother of God that the Hail Mary enjoys. It is prayed
innumerable times in the saying of the decades of the rosary,
and indeed, it is the most memorized of prayers, the prayer
most likely to be on the lips of the dying. More prayed
in the Catholic Church than throughout Christendom, the
Hail Mary remains alongside the Lord's Prayer as twined
prayers, the sun and the moon, the father and the mother
of all prayer.
Rev. Ayo’s thoughtful discourses offer
the student deep insight into the most popular prayers in
Catholicism. In addition, he shares rich reflections on
Morning and Evening Prayer and Doxology. Below is an excerpt
from Rev. Ayo’s Unit 5 lecture entitled The Meaning of Prayer:
In the mystery of prayer, there remains
a conviction on my part that two prayers predominate after
the most crucial and holy of prayers, which is our Eucharistic
Prayer. Those two prayers are morning prayer and evening
prayer. Those two prayers comprise the beginning and ending
of our days lived in faith, hope, and love. Those two
prayers are like the bookends of the Eucharist itself,
its overture and its finale. We must never neglect our
morning conversation with God and our evening conversation
as well. Each day we are born anew in daylight from the
death of the night of sleep. Each day we enter the darkness
of unconsciousness from which we may not return in this
life. The mystery of our life from birth to death and
the mystery of God's love for us from Christmas to Easter
are mirrored every day and most clearly in whatever morning
prayer and evening prayer we may be able to offer. It
is our life breath. Ever we breathe in air, warm and color
that air, and we breathe out. We receive our life from
God in the morning, warm and color our world, and breathe
forth our spirit in the evening of our life on earth.
Unit 1: Morning and Evening Prayer
Unit 2: The Lord’s Prayer
Unit 3: The Hail Mary
Unit 4: Doxology
Unit 5: The Meaning of Prayer
- Created by Notre Dame Professor.
- Six weeks in duration, with one week
for orientation.
- Typically 15-20 students in each course.
- Material delivered by video lecture
(via webstreaming). A CD-ROM of lecture also available
for purchase.
- All lecture text available online in
course.
- Supplemental readings are provided
to encourage further exploration of topic, internet links
provided for all readings.
- Weekly written assignments (150-200
words) required.
- Weekly facilitator moderated chat sessions
with students in course.
All course materials are available in
the course.
Requirements for course include:
- Weekly reading or viewing of lecture
text.
- Participation in class discussion using
discussion area (minimum 2 comments, questions or responses
weekly.)
- Weekly written assignment (150-200
words.)
- Weekly chat session with other students
in course (3 required throughout course.)
- Course evaluation.
- 3 to 5 hours a week (time varies from
student to student depending on your learning style and
schedule.)
A Certificate of
Completion awarding 25 Contact Hours will be sent upon completion
of all course requirements.
This course offers an optional Supplemental
CD. While the video lectures for the course are available
in the course via webstreaming, Supplemental CDs containing
the video lectures can be purchased for viewing the lecture
without being connected to the Internet or for reviewing
the lecture after the course has ended.
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Nicholas
Ayo is a priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross.
He holds the S.T.L. degree in theology from the Gregorian
University in Rome (1960) and the Ph.D. in literature
from Duke University (1966). After many years teaching
literature at the University of Portland in Oregon,
Father Ayo became the Director of Novices for the
Congregation of Holy Cross in North America (1974-1980).
He then taught in the Great Books Program at the University
of Notre Dame from 1981 to 2004, when he retired to
Professor Emeritus status. Among his books are several
published by Notre Dame Press: The Sermon-Conferences
of St. Thomas Aquinas (1988); The Creed as
Symbol (1989); The Lord's Prayer (1992)
and The Hail Mary: A Verbal Icon (1994).
The Sacred Marriage: The Wisdom of the Song of
Songs appeared in November of 1997 from Continuum
Press. Where Joy and Sorrow Meet, a book
on the Stations of the Cross, was published by Ave
Maria Press in 1998. Signs of Grace: Meditations
on the Notre Dame Campus was published by Rowman
and Littlefield in the autumn of 2001, and Times
of Grace: Spiritual Rhythms of the Year at the University
of Notre Dame was published by Rowman and Littlefield
in 2004. Saint Nicholas in America: Christmas
Holy Day and Holiday was published by Corby Books
in 2006. Gloria Patri: The History and Theology
of the Lesser Doxology is scheduled for publication
by the University of Notre Dame Press in 2007.
S.T.L., 1960, Gregorian University;
Ph.D., 1966, Duke University
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