TradCatKnight: What Should We Pray For?

Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part IV 

WHAT WE SHOULD PRAY FOR
Under the head of each petition we shall point out in its proper place, what is, and what is not a proper object of prayer. Hence it will suffice here to remind the faithful in a general way that they ought to ask of God such things as are just and good, lest, praying for what is not suitable, they may be answered in these words: “You know not what you ask.”(l) Whatever it is lawful to desire, it is lawful to pray for, as is proved by our Lord’s ample promise: “You shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you,”(2) words which ensure all things to pious prayer.

I. SPIRITUAL GOODS
In the first place, then, the standard which should regulate all our wishes is that we desire above all else God, the Supreme Good. After God we should most desire those things which unite us most closely to Him; while those which would separate us from Him, or occasion that separation, should have no share in our affections.

2. EXTERNAL GOODS AND GOODS OF BODY
Taking, then, as our standard the supreme and perfect Good, we can easily infer how we are to desire and ask from God our Father those other things which are called goods. Goods which are called bodily, such as health, strength, beauty, and those which are external, such as riches, honors, glory, often supply matter and give occasion to sin, and, therefore, it is not always either pious or salutary to ask for them. We should pray for these goods of life only in so far as we need them, thus referring all to God. It cannot be deemed unlawful to pray for those things for which Jacob and Solomon prayed. “If,” says Jacob, “he shall give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, the Lord shall be my God.” (3) “Give me,” says Solomon, “only the necessaries of life.” (4)
But when we are supplied by the bounty of God with necessaries and comforts, we should not forget the admonition of the Apostle: “Let them that buy, be as if they possessed not, and those that use this world, as if they used it not; for the figure of this world passeth away;”(5) and again, “If riches abound, set not your hearts upon them.”(6) God Himself teaches us that only the use and fruit of these things belong to us and that we are obliged to share them with others. If we are blessed with health and strength, if we abound in other external and corporal goods, we should recollect that they are given to us in order to enable us to serve God with greater fidelity, and as the means of lending assistance to the wants and necessities of others. 

3. GOODS OF THE MIND 
It is also lawful to pray for the goods and adornments of the mind, such as a knowledge of the arts and sciences, provided our prayers are accompanied with this condition, that the advantages which such learning affords serve to promote the glory of God and our own salvation. 
The only thing which can be absolutely and unconditionally the object of our wishes, our desires, our prayers, is, as we have already observed, the glory of God, and, next to it, whatever can serve to unite us to that Supreme Good, such as faith and the fear and love of God, of which we shall treat at length when we come to explain the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer.

FOR WHOM WE OUGHT TO PRAY
The objects of prayer being known, the faithful are next to be taught for whom they are to pray. Prayer comprehends petition and thanksgiving; and we shall first treat of petition.

THE PRAYER OF PETITION SHOULD BE OFFERED FOR ALL
We are to pray for all mankind, without exception of enemies, nation, or religion; for every man, be he enemy, stranger, or infidel, is our neighbor, whom God commands us to love, and for whom, therefore, we should discharge a duty of love, which is prayer. To the discharge of this duty the Apostle exhorts when he says: “I desire that prayer be made for all men.” (7) In such prayers we should first ask for those things that concern the spiritual interests of our neighbor, and next for what pertains to his temporal welfare.

THOSE FOR WHOM WE SHOULD ESPECIALLY OFFER OUR PETITIONS: I. PASTORS
Before all others our pastors have a right to our prayers, as we learn from the example of the Apostle in his Epistle to the Colossians, in which he asks them to pray for him, “that God may open unto him a door of speech,”(8) a request which he also makes in his Epistle to the Thessalonians.(9) In the Acts of the Apostles, we also read that prayers were offered in the church without intermission for Peter.(10) St. Basil, in his work “On Morals,” urges to a faithful compliance with this salutary obligation. “We must,” he says, “pray for those who are charged with preaching the word of truth.” (11)

2. RULERS OF OUR COUNTRY
In the next place, as the same Apostle teaches, we should pray for our rulers. Who does not know what a singular blessing a people enjoy in public officials who are just and upright? We should, therefore, beseech God to make them such as they ought to be, fit persons to govern those who are subject to their authority.(12)

3. THE JUST
To offer up our prayers also for the good and pious is a practice sanctioned and supported by the authority of holy men. Even the good and the pious need the prayers of others. Providence has wisely ordained it so, in order that the just, realizing the necessity they are under of being aided by the prayers of those who are inferior to them in sanctity, may not be inflated with pride. Read more »