Prayer in the Catholic Church Common vocal prayers include the Lord's Prayer (Our Father, Pater Noster), the Hail Mary (Ave Maria, Angelic Salutation), the Glory Be (Gloria Patri, Minor Doxology), and the Apostles' Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum). Catholics consider vocal prayer an essential element of the Christian life. Vocal prayer can be as simple and uplifting as “Thank you, God, for this beautiful morning,” or as formal as a Mass celebrating a very special occasion. When two or more people gather together to pray, their prayer is called communal prayer. Examples of communal prayer are the Rosary, devotional prayers including novenas and litanies, classroom prayers, and,
Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church and other reasons. In Roman Catholic teachings, the veneration of Mary is a natural consequence of Christology: Jesus and Mary are son and mother, redeemer and redeemed. This sentiment was expressed by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical "Redemptoris mater": "At the centre of this mystery, in the midst of this wonderment of faith, stands Mary. As the loving Mother of the Redeemer, she was the first to experience it: 'To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator'!" In the Roman Catholic tradition Mariology is seen as Christology developed to its full potential. Mary is seen as contributing