Prayer to Jesus is answered by him already during his ministry, through signs that anticipate the power of his death and Resurrection: Jesus hears the prayer of faith, expressed in words (the leper, Jairus, the Canaanite woman, the good thief)84 or in silence (the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with a hemorrhage who touches his clothes, the tears and ointment of the sinful woman). The urgent request of the blind men, "Have mercy on us, Son of David" or "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" has been renewed in the traditional prayer to Jesus known as the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" Healing infirmities or forgiving sins, Jesus always responds to a prayer offered in faith: "Your faith has made you well; go in peace." CCC 2616
In today's reading, the Catechism discusses both Jesus' hearing of our prayers and the prayer of the Blessed Theotokos Mary. Christ hears our prayers and our cries out to Him are efficacious because they are united to His prayer. In Him, Christian prayer is a communion of love with the Father; thus, our petitions are heard by God (Jn 16:24). With the Blessed Theotokos, she intercedes for us with her Son.
The Catechism Compendium summarizes how she prayed:
Mary’s prayer was characterized by faith and by the generous offering of her whole being to God. The Mother of Jesus is also the new Eve, the “Mother of all the living”. She prays to Jesus for the needs of all people. Along with the prayer of Mary at Cana in Galilee, the Gospel gives us the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55), which is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church, the joyous thanksgiving that rises from the hearts of the poor because their hope is met by the fulfillment of the divine promises. (#546-47)
The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:
Prayer is not a mantra. Prayers are addressed to a Person. We do not simply recite words, we talk to God. Even if we pray while driving or doing something else, we are directing our attention to God and being reminded that God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - holds us in his gaze... Mary sets an example for us to have trust and openness to whatever God wants... The Magnificat of Mary is a model of a prayer of praise. (p. 188)
Matt Fradd at Ascension Presents has a good video on the Jesus Prayer, a simple, yet amazingly beautiful prayer popular among Eastern Christians (both Catholic and Orthodox):
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