Unlike tired Mom, God doesn't mind repeated pleas

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

Public Litanies Here are the public litanies approved by the church, when they were approved, and web sites where they may be found for reference: • Litany of the Saints (fourth century): www.monksofadoration.org/litanyof.html • Litany of Loretto (1587): www.udayton.edu/mary/prayers/loreto • Litany of the Holy Name (1862): www.fisheaters.com/litanyholyname.html • Litany of the Sacred Heart (1899): www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/litanies/p03426.htm • Litany of St. Joseph (1909): www.rosaryhour.net/prayer_Litany_of_St_Joseph.htm • Litany of the Most Precious Blood (1960): www.scborromeo.org/prayers/litanypb.htm

"Mom, can I have it?"

"No."

"Mom, can I have it?"

"No."

"Mom ... ?"

A constant litany. A child begs and pleads - over and over - for a toy, candy or ice cream.

Eventually, someone wins. Sometimes it's not Mom. Why?

It could be she gives in. Or it can be that she realizes that her child really does need something - maybe not toys or candy, but certainly love and attention.

Litanies are a form of pleading. They, too, have a repetitive quality. The word "litany" comes from the Greek litaneia, meaning entreaty or supplication.

Petitions - placing needs before God - are one form of prayer described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2623-2649). They are similar to intercessions, another prayer form - except that, with intercessions, we pray for the needs of others.

St. John Cassian, a fifth century monk, used the word "supplication" instead of petition - and described it as a sorrowful way of asking "for pardon" for "present or past deeds" (ch. IX,). This definition ties petitions to contrition - yet another form of prayer.

All three prayer forms clearly exist in litanies - a series of short prayers, repeated over and over, with slight variations.

While other forms of prayer - blessing and adoration, thanksgiving and praise - are not as readily apparent in the wording of litanies, they can be found at the root of all litanies.

Litanies can be traced back to our Jewish ancestors. Biblical scholars cite Psalm 136 as an early litany, containing 26 repetitions of the phrase: "God's love (mercy) endures forever." However, unlike our more familiar litanies, Psalm 136 focuses not on pleas but on praise, and it is called a hymn of thanksgiving.

Litanies were common in the early church and even became part of the Mass itself. (Today, only the Kyrie (Lord, Have Mercy) and the Lamb of God remain in the Mass, and in abbreviated forms.)

In ancient Rome - after Constantine ended all persecution of Christians in the fourth century - litanies became part of Christian processions that were organized on the same days as major pagan feasts. It is here that the earliest of the still used litanies - the Litany of the Saints - developed. This litany was commonly used by the fifth century and prayed on April 25 - the feast of St. Mark. April 25 was also the Roman feast of Robigalia, a planting festival. This pagan feast was eventually overcome, supplanted by the church's Rogation Days, which continued until the 1960s.

Litanies became popular and developed around numerous saints, or attributes of Christ and the Blessed Mother. However, just like a child's pleas, some litanies got out of control. They became bizarre, attributing magical abilities to saints and losing their focus on God, through Christ.

Finally, in 1601, Pope Clement VIII prohibited all litanies (there were about 80 at the time) except that of the Saints and of the Blessed Virgin (sometimes called the Litany of Loreto, which is still commonly used during the month of May).

A few litanies were later approved and today there are six (seven, if you count the Litany of the Dying, an abbreviated form of the Litany of the Saints) used for public devotions. (There are other litanies that may be used for private devotions.)

All litanies have common forms - asking for God's mercy, asking certain saints to "pray for us," and beseeching the Lord to "hear our prayer," "hear us" or "save us."

Litanies remind us of the teaching of Jesus who used a persistent, even nagging, widow (Lk 19:1-8) as a model for prayer, and told us to "ask and you shall receive" (Mt. 7:7).

But also, litanies unite us to the entire church. By their public nature, they bring various voices together, all beseeching God for the same needs and wants. And by asking the saints to join in, litanies remind us that we all - on earth and in heaven - are part of the communion of saints.

As Pope Paul VI said of this union, "We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are attaining their purification, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and His saints is ever listening to our prayers, as Jesus told us: Ask and you will receive".

So when we plead, "God, can I have it?" we know God hears - and will answer. It may not be what we ask for, but it will certainly, and lovingly, be what we need.