The Words We Pray: Discovering the Richness of Traditional Catholic Prayers

This book will be useful to non-Catholics who've ever wondered about the difference between a Hail Mary and the Salve Regina, as well as Catholics who would like to delve into the significance of some of the Church's most important prayers. Welborn, author of several books for Catholic youth, writes that as a young adult she was""a bit of a prayer snob,"" finding comfort in extemporaneous personal prayers but not the rote, memorized historic prayers of the Catholic tradition. Her feelings changed around age 30, when she discovered the joys of praying the rosary and realized that there are times when our own words simply aren't enough, and we must rely upon timeless prayers that connect us to something outside our own experience. Here, she presents and analyzes some of the Church's most famous prayers,""worn and prayed by millions,"" including the sign of the cross, the Our Father (the Lord's Prayer), the Hail Mary, the creeds, the Act of Contrition, the Jesus Prayer, the Anima Christi, the prayers of Saint Francis and others. Welborn does a fine job of drawing on her own experience as she unpacks these ancient prayers, making them accessible and beautiful to modern Catholics.