herefore, to pray with your own prayers. Of
course when the Church gives you certain prayers to say--as it does to
its priests in the divine office--or recommends to you such prayers as
the "Our Father," "Hail Mary," and "Creed," you should say them in
preference to your own, because then the Church adds its petition to
yours, and God is more likely to grant such prayers. I mean, therefore,
that we should not always pray from prayerbooks, and hurry through the
"Our Father" that we may give more time to some printed prayer that
pleases us. Our prayer should be a conversation with God. We should,
after speaking to Him, listen to what He has to say to us, by our
conscience, good thoughts, etc.

I must warn you against some prayers that have been circulated by
impostors for the purpose of making money. They pretend that these
prayers were found in some remarkable place or manner; that those who
carry them or say them will have most wonderful advantages--they will
never meet with accident; they will be warned of their death; they will
go directly to Heaven after death, etc. If there were any such wonderful
prayers the Church would surely know of them and commend them to its
children. When you find any prayers of the kind I mention, bring them to
the priest and ask his opinion before you use them yourself or give them
to others. Never buy prayers or articles said to be blessed from persons
unknown to you. Persons selling such things are frequently impostors,
who by suave manners and pious speeches unfortunately find Catholics who
believe them. These persons--sometimes not Catholics themselves, or at
least very bad ones--laugh at the superstition and foolish practices of
Catholics who believe everything they hear about pious books, prayers,
or articles.

In the early ages of the Church, when the enemies of Christ found that
they could not refute His teaching, they began to circulate foolish
doctrines, pretending that they were taught by Christ, and thus they
hoped to bring ridicule upon Christianity. So also in our time many
things are circulated as the teaching of the Catholic Church by the
enemies of the Church, in hopes that by these falsehoods and foolish
doctrines they may bring disgrace and ridicule upon the true religion.
Be on your guard against all impostors, remembering it is a safe rule
never to buy a religious article from or give money to persons going
about from door to door. If you have anything to give in alms