From Rome Reports. Pretty reliable. At first I really liked this pope, but starting to have some serious doubts about him.
When the head of the Catholic Church starts saying Catholics shouldn’t say “memorized” prayers”, what is one to believe? No more rosary? Memorized prayers are part of the Tradition of the church. We have thousands of different prayers for every conceivable event. And of course we have personal prayers we say alone. What in the world is this man saying. Can a smarter Catholic than me help me out.
I’m a Baptist, so memorized prayers were never really part of our worship. Maybe the Lord’s prayer or quoting prayers from scripture, like the 23rd psalm or others. But mostly we go for honest normal communication with the Lord.
I don’t see anything wrong per se with the Catholic practice of memorized prayers unless it becomes a substitute for that honest communication with the Lord.
Scripture tells us “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Better to ask specifically what you need than a memorized prayer that never gets specific.
And I think perhaps that’s what he’s telling you. Sounds like he’s calling for honest open communication with the Lord.