The vocal prayers
I. Vocal prayer is pleasing to God, but it must be true prayer: the words are to express the feelings of the heart. It is not enough merely recite formulas, for God does not want an external worship, want our intimacy (St. Cyprian, Treatise on the Lord's Prayer). Our Lord wanted to leave us quintessential vocal prayer, the Our Father, which, in a nutshell encapsulates everything that man can ask God. (St. Augustine, Sermon 56). Neglect vocal prayer mean a great impoverishment of the spiritual life. Conversely, when these prayers are appreciated, sometimes very short but full of love,-as an aspiration-, greatly facilitates the path of contemplation of God in the work or in the street.
II. The secret of fertility of many Christians in their prayer, they pray a lot and well, because prayer connects us with God and pushes us to know and love Him more. The real pity is that attitude that allows the Christian stable value from God, the daily grind, where he finds occasion for the exercise of the virtues, the offering of the finished work, the small mortification.
A look at the crucifix, or an image of the Virgin, an aspiration, a brief vocal prayer, help maintain "stable thereby being of the soul" and so we can pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians). The Our Father has taught us the same Christ, the Hail Mary spoken by the Archangel, prayers of the liturgy, others were composed by men and women with love of God, which our mother taught us, they are all vocal prayers help us to keep the presence of God, since we offer the day when we wake up until bedtime.
III. It is necessary to draw attention to what we say to the Lord, and we do fight sometimes very small but necessary details: pronouncing, with pause, and away from it. We need a special grace of God to maintain a continuous and perfect attention to the meaning of words. Sometimes the focus will be the way it is pronounced, and at other times they will look at the person speaking.
We will need to reject any outside activity which by its very nature prevents inner attention and make an effort to concentrate well. Moreover, the simple involuntary distractions are imperfections apology when the Lord sees us put effort into praying. He and His Mother with complacency and we will bless us.
