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- Written by The office
- Category: Prayer Intentions
PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING WHO ARE UNWELL:
Vincenzo Damis, Ricky Bolt, Miriam Bolanos, Tom Grehan, Eileen Bruton, Marguerita Santoro & Tina Blackwell.
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- Written by Anuli Igboaka
- Category: How to Pray
Tired and worn out from a busy day at work, I fret about what I’m going to eat this evening, when I will get a chance to check my emails or whether I ought to give that a miss and just head straight to the gym. I remember all the patients I saw at the hospital during the day and think about their treatments.
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- Written by Fr Damian Cassidy
- Category: How to Pray
A way of prayer that has shaped me ~ Carmelite Spirituality.
What shapes you? I am fascinated by the ‘things’ and attitudes that shape people and their view of the world. We can name people in our own personal histories who have influenced us in such a way that our life changes because of our engagement with them. Our responses to events also shape future attitudes. This might sound a bit psychological, but it is good to have a knowledge of self that acknowledges those things that influence us. A major influence in my life is a spirituality that is centuries old, with origins in the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. I received much of my faith formation under the influence of the Carmelite Order. In many ways Carmel has been the major influence in my life.
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- Written by Fr Damian Cassidy
- Category: How to Pray
Prayer for many people is a stumbling block in life. We pray when we gather as a community for the Eucharist, for popular communal prayers such as the rosary. But when it comes to our personal experiences of prayer we are often dissatisfied or too busy. We fill silences with words and are often lost is the realm of ‘listen Lord your servant is speaking!’ I say we, but I guess it would be more honest to say ‘I’. I have problems with prayer. I know the theory, I have been formed in an ancient spiritual tradition and, thankfully, I have had deep experiences of God’s presence and comfort in times of prayer. But these are the heights, but what of the routine? How can prayer become real and life changing for each of us? A more important question – What of the times in my prayer life when it seems that God does not hear or is apparently disinterested in my plight? As I reflect on my own prayer life, I hope that you will find some echoes with your own experiences.
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- Written by Catholic Bishops of England and Wales
- Category: Believe
Celebrating together
The celebration of the Eucharist commits us to the poor and should flow into social action; our active love for the poor and oppressed, the sick and the sad, leads us back to the Eucharist as the source and summit of all we do. St John Chrysostom challenged those who recognised Christ in the breaking of bread to recognise him also in the broken lives of those around them: ‘Would you honour the body of Christ? Do not despise his nakedness; do not honour him here in church clothed in silk vestments and then pass him by unclothed and frozen outside. Remember that he who said, “This is my body”, and made good his words, also said, “You saw me hungry and gave me no food”, and, “in so far as you did it not to one of these, you did it not to me”. In the first sense the body of Christ does not need clothing but worship from a pure heart. In the second sense it does need clothing and all the care we can give.
cf Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, One Bread One Body, s43