Is he suggesting setting aside the rote memorized “prayers” in favor of talking to God like the Person He is?
I will not speak for others, but I have found rote prayers to be a gateway to the conversation with God. They put me into a meditative state where I can hear him speak to my heart.
No, he is not. Prayer can be celebrated individually, and most perfectly in communion with the Church. The Liturgy, the highest prayer of the Church where the Eucharist is received. The Liturgy is not my Liturgy, nor My Priest or Bishops nor is it the Pope’s. It is the Church’s Liturgy received from the Apostles and early Church Fathers down thru the centuries with organic developments [to quote From Pope Benedict]. Individual prayers of ones own making in many cases come from individual ideas and when not reconciled with orthodox Tradition and Doctrine can lead to “crazy ideas” to paraphrase Pope Francis and that can lead to outright heresy.
The Nicene Creed and Apostles Creed are rote prayers but they are beautiful and theologically have depth that reflect orthodoxy unlike anything that I could ever come up with myself. The Gloria, the Agnus Dei [Lamb of God], The Doxology of the Liturgy are rote prayers but again, 100% orthodox in its words and doctrine.
Many of these Individualistic prayers that I hear said among Protestants are just that individual prayers and many of them are theologically suspect. They are just as Theologically suspect when uttered by Catholics, in particular these LCWR nuns and some of the prayers they have been spouting. In fact, much of what they are proposing is downright heretical.
“The first door is praying to Jesus.
“The second door is celebrating Jesus.
“The third door is imitating Jesus.
Even Jesus taught the apostles and disciples how to pray the Our Father. Memorized prayer is OK since we are imitating Jesus.
Is he suggesting setting aside the rote memorized “prayers” in favor of talking to God like the Person He is?
Why do people assume that one cannot pray with memorized or written prayers and still pray sincerely and from the heart? There is a difference between praying like a parrot, and praying with sincerity and understanding something which you didn't spontaneously come up with. A person who studies, considers and seeks a deeper knowledge of God and his revelation through those prayers which come to us from the saints and Fathers of the Church, not to mention the scriptures themselves, will pray truly and efficaciously and not like a parrot, even though they do not make up the words themselves on the spot. After all, what Christian refuses to pray the Our Father or the Psalms because they are not spontaneous?