Thanksgiving is probably the highest form of prayer. The Mass is the most perfect prayer of thanksgiving. A grateful heart simply wants to say thanks – for life, for Faith, for redemption, for others, for this earth. Petition is the most common form of prayer. We should not be shamed to ask God for what we need, but we should be especially attentive to the needs of others and especially to those who have so little in life. Adoration is a special type of prayer that involves a deep love and an awareness of God's "otherness" and our dependence on God. Often in this form of prayer, no words are spoken. It is an attitude, a stance, taken before God's majesty. Reparation is a form of prayer that, through sorrow and self-effacement, seeks forgiveness for sins. The Orthodox tradition is full of such prayer. We begin each Mass with this form when we say or sing: "Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy."