Oratio simply means PRAYER in Latin, it is literally a prayer with the mouth.
This time of the retreat day, too, is born naturally after a well done Meditatio.
Oratio is an experience of dialogue with that Word with which we have just been filled. It is entering into a dialogue with the Word, with the Person.
Our prayer is a response to the Word of God that we heard, accepted and contemplated.
So, what is this dialogue? “It is first and foremost a conversation with the One whom I know loves me” (St. Teresa of Jesus). If it is a dialogue, then we can talk to God and we are sure that He listens to us, is not surprised by what we say, does not judge, will not say that “it’s stupid, unnecessary, small, irrelevant, what do you care about?” He will not reveal the secret. God will not take offense at us for what we feel or for what we say to Him. God, our good Father, knows our thoughts and loves us in our difficulties. Also, don’t be ashamed of not being able to express ourselves fully or precisely. God knows not only our thoughts but also our heart and looks at them with great mercy.
Oratio is born spontaneously as a prayer after experiencing the Word in Meditatio, as a prayer to God, but a prayer of the heart.
Prayer, in which the heart hugs the heart, and in this embrace, we can freely express to God our life, our worries, sadness, joys, telling Him about events that hurt us, worry us, and which we fear. We trust Him to trust the future we are fearing of, trusting that He will take care of all this.
This prayer can take many forms. The Eucharist is the summit. We come with the gift of our time, of sticking to the Word. The Rosary is also Oratio, which is essentially rooted in the words and events of the Gospel. Oratio’s special experience is the sacrament of penance and reconciliation – confession. Confession of sins, opening of the heart to the Lord. The Oratio is also updated in the practice of the Liturgy of the Hours, or the breviary. After all, it is based on the Book of Psalms, which contains a wealth of prayers in various shades.
The encounter with the living Word results in a change of thinking and conversion.