Q&A for Dr. L's class (Fall Semester 2020)

[@Ankoian]

For a lay person would you recommend the rosary or the shorter christian prayer book (i.e, praying the Psalms) on a daily bases? Also, what book would you recommend for getting introduced to theology? Thank you.

[@AustinOSB]

Good questions. I would first say that the most important thing is to do something. So, whichever one is likely to be what you'd faithfully pray each day, that’s the one I'd recommend. With prayer, there are two basic moments, meditation and contemplation. For meditation, you need something that faithfully communicates God's revelation, and you ponder and reflect on that. With the Rosary, this is provided by the mysteries of Christ that are pondered for the decades. A prayer book with the psalms offers the psalms for the object of meditation. Then there is contemplation, in which you rest in God's presence. This follows meditation, for God's revelation communicates His presence and, so, by pondering that revelation, there arise moments when we come into His presence and rest in that. As for an introductory book to theology, the Catechism is not a bad place to start. Also, some of Vatican II's documents are good introductions, such as Dei Verbum and Lumen Gentium. For more of a textbook introduction, Fr. Aidan Nichol's The Shape of Catholic Theology is good.