How About A KISS Prayer?

Last year, it was the Oratio Imperata. Now, it's the National Prayer for Peaceful Elections, or something like that.

I remember one time there was a parishioner who offered her services to shorten the Oratio Imperata. I guess that didn't push through because until November 2009, we were still uttering the prayer in mass (To digress, Mama had floated the idea that the prayer was a product of reflective meditation and, as such, was too difficult to pare down by the author).

And now, there's this other prayer that, although shorter, is still definitely way too long. As an English major and a writer, I find this appalling for I've always admired brevity or conciseness in every piece of writing (although I don't often observe these in my works, as you can see). A prisoner of our education, we were taught to always Keep It Short and Simple.

I also believe that any prayer longer than the Our Father's Prayer is and must be considered a product of poor editing. If Jesus could distill all his needs and wants into a prayer consisting of only a few simple sentences, why can't our clergy do the same?

One problem I see with long prayers is that they can always diminish the experience. If I were praying the rosary, how many of those Hail Mary's really came from the heart? If I be a more prayerful person, I would say almost all of the words I've uttered were sincere and weren't simply products of robotic repetition. But I cannot say that each and every one of those words did come out as honest because I'm still human after all.

It's worse with long prayers, which aren't repetitive. The longer they are, the shorter the attention spans of those who pray it. This is because, with long prayers, you can be assured that most of the words written are simply highfaluting expressions, devoid of any emotional impact, and are intended merely to impress or to cover all possibilities and situations. These prayers take on the appearance of legal documents, as if you are petitioning God to heed your request by the elaborate phrasings being uttered and not by the depth of the heart's desire.

To end this post, I would say that the best prayers are always the simplest. Nothing is as poignant as one person uttering, "God help me!" or "Lord, be with me" or the famous, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" Now, that's something the archdiocese should consider reflecting upon, for a change. In the meantime, while everyone is praying the long and tedious National Prayer for Peaceful whatever, I'd be somewhere else, praying for the same intention. In my own words.