Learning About the Catholic Approach to Prayer

I listened to a couple episodes of the Catholic Answers Live podcast on the topic of prayer and a few things stood out to me. I should preface these notes by saying I feel I have struggled with prayer most of my life, especially as I have gotten older. Latter-day Saints believe in praying “from the heart,” as in no written or rote prayers except in the case of prayers said when ordinances are performed. I know the form of prayer as taught in the LDS church, and I know what to say vocally in settings like church meetings when public prayer is expected. But personal prayer has been hard for me. Sometimes I am focused and the prayer is heartfelt. Most of the time my thoughts wander and I feel like I am mostly asking for what I want rather than truly praying to God. LDS tend to avoid saying rote prayers, especially repetitive prayers like the Rosary, which they would say is “vain repetition.” But w hen I came to see written prayers as merely hymns without music, I no longer had problems…