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Hello everyone, Today, Sunday 17th August we have 1175 people from all over the world and from many Christian and some non-Christian denominations joining together in prayer. The reflection at the bottom this week is from Bob and Debbie Gass and the The Word for Today. It's called 'The Real Battleground' Last week I mentioned Mothers
Prayers and will fill you all in on another of those little 'mustard seed'
ideas that just take off and grow. Before that I thought we could look
at the whole concept of
"Prayer. An uplifting of
the mind and heart to God. The first mention of prayer in the Old Testament
is made when Enos began to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26;1;
Abraham prayed God to
Our prayers should have certain
conditions. They must come from the heart and not from ostentation (Matt.
6:5.8); they must be humble as shown by the parable of the publican and
the Pharisee
The purpose of prayer, like that of sacrifice, can be fourfold: to adore God, to thank Him, to atone for sins committed and to ask God for favours (Ps. 50; 85; john 11:41) Prayer is an act of the virtue of religion and may be vocal (interior prayer expressed in words) or mental (interior prayer without words). Prayer may aIso be private or public, according as It is offered in the name of an individual or of a society. God hears all sincere prayers and answers them by granting the petition asked for or by substituting something that He knows is better for the petitioner." And so, prayer is being in communion with God, it is acknowledging God as our Creator, our Lifeline, our reason d'etre. For without Him we are nothing. To my mind, prayer is like a protective shield. When we are in prayer we are open to God and His Truths and not to the evil one. That protection covers us as individuals, covers our families, covers our parishes and covers our nations. Prayer has the ability to cover the whole world with the protective shield of God. But look at what happens
when God is dismissed, denied or ignored. His protection is no longer there.
God has been removed from society all over the world, through atheism,
communism, modernism, liberalism, individualism, rationalism - every ism
under the sun has argued against a
So, when God is removed from the picture the door is open to satan to step in and take His place. All over the world satan 'rules'. God's people starve, are exploited, are placed into all kinds of slavery, are murdered, turn to drugs, sex and alcohol to 'fill the empty space' - the void without God. Despair and fear rule supreme. These are satan's tools not what God wants for us. When God goes evil enters and we see it in government, in legislation, in business ethics, in the media, in education and our schools, our science labs, on our streets. It is everywhere and the sight and the stench of it is sickening! At one time I used to argue
that the separation of Church and State was no bad thing - I've changed
my mind big-time! When a state governs with the Church guiding and watching
the moral values God
What happened the moral values within the church? And you're right! They too took their eyes off the ball, ignored God, lost His protective shield. Wrong men were placed and accepted into positions of trust. Seminaries turned away good men in favour of homosexuals and those who follow the liberalist and radical feminist agenda. The Church is being destroyed from within and because of this allows the world to compound that destruction. It has nobody to blame but itself. But we too carry culpability - we stopped praying for the Church and its ministers. As a result, prayer went and sin entered hundredfold! And so, we need to understand
and recognise the protective shield of prayer, in the small things and
in the big issues. We need to pray with trust, knowing that God does hear
us, not always in the way we would like things to be solved but always
in the way that is best for us. We need to be in constant communion with
God, in the good times as well as the bad. When all is going well is the
most important time we need Him, because that is when we drop our defences.
We need
'Jesus I Trust in You' Now on to Mothers Prayers.
In 1995 a woman and her sister-in-law in the UK recognised the need to
pray together for their children.( Who doesn't these days!?!) Both are
grandmothers and together they invited a few friends and so the mustard
seed started to grow. They prayed over its growth and through their prayer
learned that Jesus wants us to pray for our children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren. Jesus all wishes mothers to surrender their children
into His care. (Don't worry
Just 7 years later Mothers Prayers has spread to over 70 countries and there have been many wonderful and miraculous answers to the prayers. This is growing brilliantly in Russia and the Ukraine, the forgotten Church. Mothers Prayers groups can be started with just two growing to a maximum of eight. Remember the promise of Jesus - '...where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst...' Members meet weekly, it is completely non-denominational and they follow the same format: A table is set up with a
crucifix, a candle, a bible and a basket. Prayers open with an invocation
to the Holy Spirit to guide all in prayer, a prayer for protection against
evil, a prayer for forgiveness, a prayer for unity, prayers and hymns of
praise, a unity prayer with all the other Mothers Prayers
(Fathers Prayers follow the same format too) Rules apply, no advice is offered, instead the issue is prayed over, confidentiality is of paramount importance and nothing is ever discussed outside of that room. In some groups mothers bring along their children and the tots are encouraged to pray too and the babies' prayers are offered by another mother on their behalf. So simple yet so powerful! The power of prayer at the local level, the parish level, the national level and the global level. The power of prayer for and with each other and the world's children. Mothers and spiritual mothers gather and now there is a Fathers Prayers too! You don't have to be an actual mother or father, many teachers, nuns, priests and brothers are spiritual parents! One of our own prayer group here is a brilliant spiritual father for his former pupils, praying for them all the time! So there you are now, something to think upon this week. How many of you could get two or three together in your kitchen or living room to pray for your children? If any of you would like to start a Mothers Prayers or Fathers Prayers drop an email to Veronica or Sandra and affiliate by starting your own group. Failing that, drop me a line and I'll ring Veronica in Kent and pass on your details
They will send you on the information and the little prayer booklets and they have a great video made last year that I'm looking forward to receiving this week. They have learned that by following the format the groups thrive and grow, when certain elements are dropped or improvised, these groups start to flounder.Your prayers will be joining the hundreds of thousands of others all over the world. They send out a newsletter on all that's happening and about their travels to start new groups in new countries. Each country has its own co-ordinators so the booklets are available in the various languages. Maybe one of you here could be the one to start it in your own country? Our Ann and I will be starting one in each of our parishes DV as our parishes neighbour each other. Imagine it. if groups only grow to eight, how many different groups could grow within just one parish - it's that mustard seed thingie again! May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you and yours and may Mary keep you in Her heavenly mother's care. Mary in Galway, Ireland ************************************************** The Real Battleground "PRAYING ALWAYS…FOR ALL SAINTS." EPHESIANS 6:18 After telling us to put on the whole armour of God, Paul writes, 'Praying always.' Why? Because prayer is the real battleground. That’s where you take back what the enemy has stolen from you. That’s where you bring to pass on earth what God’s already decided in heaven. It was when Joshua prayed that he received both the strength and the strategy to take Jericho. (Josh 6:2-5). Think: until you pray, what do you have to obey? Until you hear from God, whose authority are you acting on? The large shields used by Roman soldiers in battle could be locked together in such a way that an entire row could move forward as one single unit, each soldier fully protected. They looked like a moving wall! Their protection was multiplied because of their unity! Their power was increased, because of their ability to work together! The call of God to us today is a call to unity. As we join together in prayer, the power of God to save, heal and deliver is released and multiplied – millions of times over! The Bible says, 'One [can] chase a thousand, and two [can] put ten thousand to flight' (Deut 32:30). There are times when we are
alone in the lions’ den, and God delivers us. There are other times when
we are together in the fiery furnace, and our collective faith brings us
through. In most cases, it’s 'the prayer of agreement' that releases the
greatest degree of power, and wins the biggest victories (Matt 18:19).
So today, start looking for some prayer partners!
Prayer for Your Family "O Dear Jesus, I humbly implore You to grant Your special graces to our family this day. In Your Divine Mercy make our home a shrine of peace, love and faith. I beg You, Dear Jesus, to protect and bless all of us and our families absent and present, living and dead. O Mary loving Mother of Jesus and our Mother, pray to Jesus the Divine Mercy for our family, and for all the families of the world. Ask Him to guard the tiny infant in the womb, the cradle of the newborn, the young in the schools and those about to start their vocations in life. Amen" Prayer for Your Adult Children "Heavenly Mother, keep us always in mind of Your Son's great mercy and understanding as we pray for our children. They are grown up now and have left us and are living their own lives according to their own ideals. We feel anxious and worried because they do not seem to feel the need for Christ. to understand the wisdom of His ways, or to be fully at ease with us or themselves. Intervene, dearest Mother, in their lives at the moment You know to be right and help them to understand the things that lead to their peace. Help them to see the need of Christ and to experience the greatness of His love, so that we may all proclaim as You did, that His mercy truly is from generation to generation. Amen" Prayer for the World "JESUS of NAZARETH has triumphed
over Death. His Reign is Eternal. He is coming to conquer the
"Mercy, my God on those who
blaspheme You,
"Mercy, my God, for the scandal
in the world,
"Mercy, my God, on those
who run away from You
"Mercy, my God, on those who come to repent at the foot of the Glorious Cross. May they find Peace and Joy in God our Saviour. "Mercy, my God, so that Your Kingdom may come, but save souls, there is still time; for the time is near, behold, I am coming. Amen Come, Lord Jesus." Recite one decade of the Rosary "Lord, pour out on the whole world the treasures of Your Infinite Mercy." "Through the Mystery of Your
Holy Incarnation,
Through Your Nativity,
Through Your Baptism and
Holy Fasting,
Through Your Cross and Passion,
Through Your Death and Burial,
Through Your Holy Resurrection,
Through Your Admirable Ascension,
Through the coming of the
Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
Through Him whose Name reigns
eternal,
Prayer of Protection Blessed Michael the Archangel, protect us in the hour of conflict. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God restrain him, we humbly pray, and do thou, Oh Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, by the Power of God, thrust satan down to hell and with him all the wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen ************************************************** All of the Reflections to date are available to read in the Archives on the website for anyone who's interested. The Weekly
Intentions are available on a plain page to be able to print off and
kept to hand for your own prayer time. The list has become too long now
to include each week but please say the
"Father, bless all those who have requested prayers in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! Father, we ask You to heal the broken bodies, broken minds, broken spirits, broken hearts and broken marriages and may all their lives be full of Your peace, prosperity, and power as they seek to have a close relationship with You. Amen." "Thank You Jesus for answering our prayers because we know You hear every prayer and never refuse to answer. You are providing answers and healings from the prayers of all these wonderful people. Praise God!" "Breathe in me O Holy Spirit
that my thoughts may all be holy;
"O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me, tell me what I should do. Give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will. Amen" May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless and guide you and yours and may Mary keep you in Her heavenly mother's care. Mary in Galway
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