Category Archives: Prayer

Marian Prayer Night

Mary

To all those who helped contribute to the Marian evening, thank you very much. Such a successful evening does just happen by itself. From the those who decorated the church, to those who provided music, from those who helped in the planning and those who provided refreshments, and of course those who helped to tidy up: you all did your bit. Well done and thank you.

Fr Liam has had many comments from those who enjoyed the video presentation and found it informative… and many more comments from those who liked the candle-lit Rosary prayer service.

Marian Prayers by Candlelight

Marian Prayers by Candlelight

A fitting end to the month of the Rosary! More pictures can be found here.

An evening with Mary

Mary

An evening of Marian devotion to end the Month of the Rosary.

Thursday 30th October, 7pm, St David and St Patrick Catholic Church.

The evening will start with a video presentation looking at Marian apparitions and theology. Then there will be chance for tea, coffee and some light bites, which will be followed by a candle-lit prayer service incorporating many Marian Prayers and devotions – including the Rosary.

October – the Month of the Rosary

The month of October has traditionally been dedicated to praying the Rosary.

Rosary Picture

There are many useful websites which can help understand this prayer and how to pray it. A few of those sites are included below.

Instructions on how the Rosary are here. While the Wikipedia page can be found by clicking here. Pope Pius XII wrote an Encyclical on the Rosary and Pope John Paul II wrote an Apostolic Letter soon after he’d added the Mysteries of Light.

To Celebrate the Month of the Rosary, Fr Liam is going to conclude the month by leading the parish in an evening of Marian Devotion on Thursday 30th October at 7pm in the Church of St David and St Patrick.

A day of prayer for the Synod of Bishops on the Family 2014

Today, Sunday 28th September, has been marked out as a special day of prayer for the preparations of the Synod on the Family.

Synod family pic

The Synod – a meeting of bishops – will take place from the 5th to the 9th October and will discuss the matters which were raised last year when the Church invited every member to fill out a questionnaire on family life. Pope Francis has asked for the following prayer to be recited by all the faithful during liturgical celebrations.

Prayer to the Holy Family for the Synod

 Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

in you we contemplate

the splendour of true love,

to you we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

grant that our families too

may be places of communion and prayer,

authentic schools of the Gospel

and small domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

may families never again

experience violence, rejection and division:

may all who have been hurt or scandalized

find ready comfort and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

may the approaching Synod of Bishops

make us once more mindful

of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,

and its beauty in God’s plan.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

graciously hear our prayer.

AMEN.

The bishops’ conference of England and Wales have more information which can be found here.

St Bernard of Clairvaux

Today is the feast day of St Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church.

Bernhard_von_Clairvaux_(Initiale-B)

“Love is the only one of the soul’s motions, senses and affections by which the creature in his inadequate fashion may respond to his Creator and pay him back in kind. When God loves, he wishes only to be loved in return; assuredly he loves for no other purpose than to be loved.”

St Bernard; Sermon 83, 4-6, ‘on the Song of Songs’.

Munificentissimus Deus

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION OF
POPE PIUS XII 

MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS

DEFINING THE DOGMA OF THE ASSUMPTION

November 1, 1950

This document infallibly defined, for now and forever, the dogma that “the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”.

Assumption

Mary, having been conceived immaculately, was spared the pain of original sin and never succumbed to actual sin. As such, she never received the wages of sin, that is, the corruption of the body at death. No, being so perfect, more perfect than any other human person, she entered heaven in full bodily glory. Today is the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Loom Bands

Loom Bands

This is Fr Liam’s loom band. The loom band craze has been sweeping the country for some time now. But did you know they can be a way of prayer too?

Praying with loom bands

Loom bands are everywhere, and children love them. Why not use them as a way of praying with your children? Faith in Homes’ Jane Butcher shows us how
  1. Buy some loom bands – from basic colours to glittery, scented, glow-in-the-dark varieties, available in single colours or multi-packs from a wide selection of shops and on the Internet.
  2. Choose a prayer focus from the list below.
  3. Choose the colours for your prayer focus – each colour of band can represent something different for your prayer focus no matter which style you create.
  4. Choose the style of loom band you want to create – from a simple single-linked band that only requires two band colours and two fingers and is quick to do, to the more creative fishtail, diamond and railroad styles (see the Internet for instructions and other ideas, or ask your children).

God and me Choose two colours of bands – one colour to represent you and another to represent God: for example, purple for God and white for you.

Use the single-linked method to make a band with alternating colours (as shown above). Add the link to make a bracelet and wear it as a reminder that God is with you wherever we go – in front and behind as in the bracelet. Praying for our friends and family Choose three colours of band – one colour to represent you, one to represent your family and friends, and one for those who need God’s help.

Using the single-linked method to make a band with alternating colours or with a block of each colour (as shown above). Add the link to make a bracelet and use it as a prayer bracelet – praying for each person or group as you move from colour to colour around the bracelet, or block of colour to block of colour. You could sit down as a family or with friends before you pray to talk about what you want to pray about and who will lead the prayers. Praying for the world Choose three colours of band – one colour to represent you, one to represent your country and one to represent the world.

Using the single-linked method to make a band with alternating colours or with a block of each colour (as shown above). Add the link to make a bracelet and use it as a prayer bracelet – praying for each person or group as you move from colour to colour around the bracelet, or block of colour to block of colour. You could sit down before you pray to talk about what you want to pray about – for example:

  1. Pray for you and your family and your place in this world – caring for the people, animals and environment.
  2. Give thanks and pray for those in authority who make decisions to keep your country safe.
  3. Thank God for his amazing world. Pray for countries where there is war or sadness.

God, you and me Use the three-colour alternating band method to pray for children who struggle with being away from a parent/carer/sibling/school/group and so on. The three colours represent God, the child and the parent/carer/sibling/school/group. As you make your band, the colour representing the child should be in the middle of the other two colours. Jane Butcher is responsible for developing the Faith in Homes ministry, is a member of the Barnabas Children’s Ministry team and is a parent. This resource was originally published on the Faith in Homes website.