Msgr. Rossetti

Response: Often people ask me for an prayer that will "work" to relieve them of a particular problem or grant them a specific desired grace. The question of whether a prayer will "work," whether praying live online or a video or any prayer, can easily slide into a kind of mechanistic or magic approach.

Those into magic believe that their spells and curses are effective only if they say the right words and perform the right actions. But we Christians are not into magic. (Although in the seven sacraments the Church, with its authority given by Christ, stipulates that the minister dispensing the sacraments follow the specific words and ritual prescribed.). Our regular prayers are simply that: prayers. Prayers always "work" because God always hears our prayers.

So, God hears our prayers even when we pray with a video or struggle to express ourselves to Him. And God responds with the graces that He knows we need. But He does not always give us what we want. This does not mean the prayers were not effective or didn't "work." It means that God has other plans for us and His plans are always the best for us. So, we pray whenever and wherever we can and we trust in Him. Prayer always "works"