Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 501 – Part III.

YOUCAT Question n. 501 - Part III. What is vocal prayer?

(Youcat answer repeated) In the first place, prayer is lifting the heart to God. And yet Jesus himself taught his disciples to pray with words. With the Our Father he left us the perfect vocal prayer as his testament to show how we should pray.

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2704) Because it is external and so thoroughly human, vocal prayer is the form of prayer most readily accessible to groups. Even interior prayer, however, cannot neglect vocal prayer. Prayer is internalized to the extent that we become aware of him "to whom we speak"  (St. Teresa of Jesus, The Way of Perfection 26, 9 in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, tr. K. Kavanaugh, OCD, and O. Rodriguez, OCD (Washington DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1980), II, 136).Thus vocal prayer becomes an initial form of contemplative prayer.   

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) While praying we should not try to think pious thoughts. We should express what is in our hearts and offer it to God as complaint, petition, praise, and thanks. Often it is the great vocal prayers -the Psalms and hymns of Sacred Scripture, the Our Father, the Hail Mary - that direct us to the true substance of prayer and lead to a kind of free, interior prayer.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2722) Vocal prayer, founded on the union of body and soul in human nature, associates the body with the interior prayer of the heart, following Christ's example of praying to his Father and teaching the Our Father to his disciples.

(The next question is: What is the essence of meditation?)