“For me”, said St Thérèse of Lisieux, “Prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look towards heaven; it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy”.

These words capture a profound truth: prayer responds to the human desire that is deepest of all, communion with God. (Meanwhile, you can find more in-depth material on Christian prayer in the Prayer and Worship section of the website.)

Christ comes to seek us first. Jesus thirsted at the well when he asked the woman for something to drink. His asking, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes it so eloquently, “arises from the depths of God’s desire for us”. As Saint Augustine of Hippo put it, “God thirsts that we may thirst for him” (CCC 2560).

We pray then, because God is calling us to it.

While there are many prayers and types of prayer, the pinnacle of which is the prayer of the Mass, it is the heart that speaks in prayer. Many words are not necessary in prayer, just the “simple look” of St Thérèse. This is not to say that the Mass, or any sacrament, is ineffective if the “heart is not in it”, whether we are talking about the heart of the minister or of the faithful. But the fruit of the sacraments – the good effect that they can have on our lives – most certainly increases when they are celebrated with fervour, attention and piety.