Video Transcript

Edmund: Hey, can I tell you a secret? I never really memorized my multiplications table. Not all of it. 

So it’s true. I don’t remember all the multiplications tables. For some reason, I just never really memorized it. But there is one that I do remember: the 7s. And I always thought of memorized things as just things we do in school, and we repeat them, and they’re not that important. But then I think about memorized prayers. 

I used to think memorized prayers were just things we said together out loud; kinda  like the National Anthem. You just memorize it and recite it; you don’t really think about it too much. These are prayers that most of my life I would recite—from memory—without thinking much about them. 

The Church gives us these gifts of formulas of prayer not so that we just recite them like a multiplication table, but to be an aid for our spiritual lives. So I’m going to give you some tips on how you can do this. And I also want to tell you a little bit about the brain. 

So let’s talk about not just memorizing, but internalizing prayers like the Lord’s Prayer. 

Memories don’t actually have a “fixed position” in your brain. Unlike files in a computer, memories are stored all throughout the brain across a network of neurons that involve multiple different areas. And that means starting to retrieve a memory actually activates all these other areas of the brain as well. And this is why strong emotions—either positive or negative—make certain memories easier to recall. 

So, you probably hear “9 x 9” and you think “81.” At some point in your life, you committed these multiplications to memory, and it’s just something you just don’t think too much about now anymore. 

And like I said, I have some gaps. But the 7s? Well, fortunate for me, there was a hurricane coming through Biloxi, Mississippi, during the time I was trying to memorize the 7s. And my mom was out of town, so me, my dad, and my grandmother (who was visiting), and my sister; we had to evacuate and go on base and stay in this office building. 

So there was this emotional connection to the 7s. And anytime now “7 x 2,” “7 x 3,” there’s a little bit of that memory that comes up when I’m doing this basic math. And maybe you have some prayers you’ve memorized; maybe there’s some prayers that you haven’t fully memorized. But the point of these prayers that we often recite either together or every day—and that become part of our memory—is not so that we just recite them passively. 

In fact, listen to what the Catechism says about the Our Father. Or at least the Our Father is what we called it growing up—it’s called the Lord’s Prayer more officially. Now before I read this, I want you to imagine a time before hearing the Lord’s Prayer. So the disciples are asking Jesus how to pray. And He teaches them the Lord’s Prayer. 

Now in Jewish tradition up until this point, many prayers were memorized. And the fact that the Lord’s Prayer is concise, and the fact that the early Christian communities really adopted this prayer and recited it often as a core part of worship, means that Jesus probably meant it as a prayer that we could memorize. But, He didn’t want us just to memorize it. 

It says in paragraph 2766—speaking of the Lord’s Prayer—the Catechism says this: “But Jesus does not give us a formula to repeat mechanically. As in every vocal prayer, it is through the Word of God that the Holy Spirit teaches the children of God to pray to their Father.”

So, Jesus revealed the Lord’s Prayer to teach us to speak to God as our Father. And He gave us a formula that we could memorize. But imagine if every time your son spoke to you, it was just a kind of carelessly performed and recited speech; as if you’re just reciting the multiplications table. So there is another way. 

So when we memorize prayer, we can do it in a way that we really internalize it. And then when we’re reciting it either by ourselves or with others, it’s reminding us of the ways that we’ve been taught to speak to God as our Father. 

So it’s a lot more like the way “7 x 5” and “7 x 6” starts stirring up in me these feelings I had of being in a hurricane with my family, and how much I love my family, and care about my mom and was concerned for her. Prayer can become that for you; memorized prayer can become that for you. It can become this thing that stirs up in you true prayer. 

So here’s where I want to encourage you maybe a little bit. In the same way that there were some gaps in my math skills that I had to go back and brush up on; I had to study as a full grown adult—maybe there are some memorized prayers that you would benefit from returning back to. Not just so that your brain has an easier time remembering it, but also so that it’s internalized much more. And it becomes this more powerful aid when we are praying. 

So here are some different tips for doing this: breaking it down and making it visual, making connections, taking it slow, or—always one of my favorites—using a prayer journal. I mean, one easy way to start breaking it down and making it visual is just really understanding and committing to memory that the Lord’s Prayer is seven petitions. The first three are about God’s name, His kingdom, and His will. And then the next 4 concern our needs. 

So that can be really helpful. These first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer direct our minds towards God, and then we bring God our petitions. 

We can also make connections. Think about when you’re studying a subject. You’re sitting down and you’re often pulling from a lot of different areas; you’re trying to draw connections between a subject that you don’t know that well and other subjects that you DO know well, and your own memories. 

Really start to draw connections between the Lord’s Prayer and other parts of the faith. And if there are parts of this prayer that are hard to understand, well spend time with that! Try to draw connections to other areas of the faith that are going to help you understand it. 

It’s actually good for this prayer to highlight some of these things for you. The Catechism says in paragraph 2783 “Thus the Lord’s Prayer reveals us to ourselves at the same time that it reveals the Father to us.” Jesus wants to reveal to us individually; Jesus wants to reveal to you personally this new relationship with God the Father. 

Okay, next is take it slow. St. Teresa of Ávila had a very deep prayer life. And there’s a story of her mentioning that sometimes she would just pray the Our Father very, very slowly; meditating on every word. So you could do this yourself. You could sit down and just start with the first few words. 

Also if you want to combine this with making things visual, take those seven petitions, write them down, and place them in different areas around your house. And anytime you see one of them, just have a quick conversation with God about that petition. 

Okay and then finally, a prayer journal. Again, one of the best ways to study a subject is not just to read it or listen to a lecture about it, but to actually be engaged; to engage a lot more of our senses. I mean, think about it: when you’re in college or high school, you’re engaging with paper and books; you’re writing in markers and highlighters. 

And you could even take a lot of these reflections that you’re having—prayer time that you’re having—and write it out in a prayer journal. Take that into prayer and actually engage your senses as you reflect on the Our Father. 

You see, because ultimately what we’re really trying to do is make history with God our Father; to attach personal significance and meaning and memories to this prayer when we recite it. So then it becomes more than just a routine, repetitive, mechanical action and it becomes an actual conservation with God your Father. 

And in this way—hopefully—the next time you hear the Lord’s Prayer, you’ll remember that it’s meant to come from the heart. And you’ll remember that this is why Jesus teaches us to pray “Our Father” by revealing the Lord’s Prayer.