inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself. Contemplation, like all prayer, is a pure gift, and not anything one can achieve. Forms of prayer The tradition of the Catholic Church highlights four basic elements of Christian prayer: (1) Prayer of Adoration/Blessing, (2) Prayer of Contrition/Repentance, (3) Prayer of Thanksgiving/Gratitude, and (4) Prayer of Supplication/Petition/Intercession. These elements may be easily remembered using the acronym ACTS: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Adoration/Blessing Adoration is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature before God. Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because he is. In its widest applications the word "blessing" has a variety of meanings in sacred writings. It can be taken in a sense that is synonymous with praise; thus the Psalmist, "I will bless the Lord at all times; praise shall be always in my mouth." The prayer of blessing expresses praise and honour to God and is man's response to God's gifts. Contrition/Repentance Repentance is sincere regret or remorse for sin, resolution to avoid sin in the future, and conversion of the heart toward God, with hope in his mercy and trust in the help of his grace. Contrition, similarly, is a sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again. The Catholic Church further provides the sacrament of penance, by which members may receive forgiveness of their sins by Jesus Christ through his ordained priests, according to the words of Jesus Christ to his apostles, "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." Thanksgiving/Gratitude Thankfulness is thanking God for what he has given and done. Supplication/Petition/Intercession A prayer of petition is a request to God that asks him to fulfill a need. By prayer of petition, Catholics acknowledge their dependence on God. This expression is not intended to instruct or direct God what to do, but to appeal to his goodness for the things we need; and the appeal is necessary, not because he is ignorant of one's needs or sentiments, but to give definite form to one's desires, to concentrate one's whole attention on what is being recommended to him, to help