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INTRODUCTION
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"Prayer is the raising of one’s mind
and heart to God or the requesting of good things |
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from God."1
It is a gift freely given by God, but requires our will and our
cooperation. God |
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always initiates all forms of prayer in us.
Prayer is our response to God’s invitation, through the |
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Holy Spirit.2 |
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Prayer can include a wide range of things,
from simply listening and talking directly to |
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God, to reading and reflecting on Sacred
Scripture, to Christian forms of praise, meditation and |
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contemplation, to good deeds and acts of
love, always done through the help of the Holy Spirit. |
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Even the most simple and mundane things of
life, such as changing a diaper or fixing the |
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photocopier if done in love and on behalf
of God can become a prayer to the Father. |
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All these things are part of our
relationship with God and make up our prayer life. Our |
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lives should be completely centred around
our relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. |
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St. Paul encourages us to "pray
always,"3 promising that the Holy
Spirit will help us "for we do |
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not know how to pray as we ought." 4 |
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Humility is the foundation of prayer,5
knowing that every good thing comes from God |
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and is not our own doing or a source of
pride, for apart from Jesus we can do nothing.6
The |
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Christian family is the first place of
education in prayer. The Holy Spirit is our teacher in prayer.7 |
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The Church is our guide in prayer. Faith,
hope and love are the reasons for prayer. |
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In the first community of Christians in
Jerusalem, believers "devoted themselves to the |
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Apostles’ teachings and fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and the prayers."8 There
is a |
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sequence, which is characteristic of
Christian prayer founded on the apostolic faith, |
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authenticated by charity, nourished in the
Eucharist," 9 and this sequence needs
to be kept always |
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in the Church. Archbishop Exner has asked
us "In our diocese do people pray individually and |
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as a family on a daily basis? Or is prayer
limited to Sunday Mass? What can we or should we be |
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doing to foster individual, family and
group prayer outside the Mass?"10 |
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The Preliminary Commission on Prayer will
respond to these questions by attempting to |
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describe the present situation in the
Archdiocese and then present some recommendations in light |
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of our findings. |
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SITUATION IN THE ARCHDIOCESE |
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[1]
A summary of the Synod survey results
(both Mass distribution and telephone) for the |
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focus area of prayer apart from the Mass |
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 Of the 5 areas studied, prayer is second
only to Mass and the Sacraments in |
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importance, and more than 1 in 3
respondents consider it the most important focus |
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area |
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Approximately 3 out of 4 respondents report
that they pray every day in some form |
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Women seem to pray significantly more often
than men (almost twice as much in |
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some cases) |
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Generally, the perceived importance of
prayer shows little variation by level of church |
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involvement (e.g. attending Mass) |
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Over half of those questioned consider
"prayer in the home" the most important |
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activity but only about 1 in 3 say that
they always pray with their families |
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"Eucharistic adoration and other
devotions" ranked second with 35% considering |
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them the most important prayer activity |
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Almost three quarters of all respondents
consider "teaching on how to pray" an |
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important prayer activity also, while
prayer groups and weekend retreats ranked well |
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behind the other prayer activities in
importance (4th and 5th respectively) |
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3 out of 4 people surveyed on the written
survey say that they only sometimes, |
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seldom or never pray with their family;
this was 2 out of 3 in the telephone survey |
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Only a small percentage of those questioned
(14%) read their Bibles regularly and |
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almost half seldom or never do |
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More than 3 out of 4 people surveyed read
Catholic literature and papers at least |
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sometimes or always, while 22% rarely or
never do |
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Reasons for prayer vary. Leading with 43%
are asking for help and guidance, |
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followed by thanksgiving/honouring God,
habit obligation (21%), relaxation/peace of |
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mind, talking with God |
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Notably, those less involved with the
parish community or who attend Mass less than |
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once a year are more likely to pray for
help and guidance than other respondents |
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Prayer is not seen as a community
experience and fewer than 1 in 3 of those who pray |
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daily feel a strong sense of community |
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Prayer outside of Mass appears to be mostly
a private activity |
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Frequency of prayer increases with age. In
general, teens and young adults pray the |
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least, and 15% of those aged 16 to 24 say
they never pray |
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[2]
Examples of the ongoing prayer life in
the Archdiocese |
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a) Prayer life for individuals and families |
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Morning and evening private prayer |
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Personal devotions i.e. Rosary, Divine
Office |
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Personal scripture study and spiritual
reading |
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Meditation |
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Personal devotion to the saints |
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Contemplative prayer |
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Articles of devotion i.e. Crucifix, medal,
image or heirloom |
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Requests for blessings |
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Praying over family members |
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Prayer before meals |
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Bedtime prayer with children |
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Family communal prayer i.e. rosary |
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Prayer at special times / needs i.e.
births, sickness, deaths, anniversary, decisions |
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b) Prayer life in parishes and deaneries |
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Liturgy of the Hours with parishioners |
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Liturgy of the Word services in Lent and
Advent |
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Penitential services |
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40 hours devotion |
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Prayers for the dead |
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Prayer request books or boards |
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Visiting priests/religious presenting
parish missions |
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Stations of the cross |
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Living rosary |
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Twilight retreats for various groups |
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Prayer for Reverence for Life and Prayer
for Vocations |
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c) Prayer groups in the Archdiocese |
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Charismatic prayer groups |
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Rosary circles |
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Scripture prayer groups |
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Centring prayer groups |
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Meditation prayer groups |
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Eucharistic adoration groups |
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Third order spirituality groups i.e.
Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites |
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Shared prayer groups i.e. Young adults,
ecumenical gatherings |
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Particular ministry prayer groups i.e.
Eucharistic ministries, servers before Mass |
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d) Catholic Schools, Universities, PREP
Programs and Youth Ministry in the Archdiocese |
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Living rosaries and communal prayer |
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Prayer request boards or books |
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Prayer corners in classrooms |
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Liturgy of the Word services at Lent and
Advent |
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Penitential services |
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Stations of the Cross |
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Student led prayer ministry |
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Outreach programs |
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[3]
Current Archdiocesan resources related
to prayer |
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a) Sources of information / facilitators |
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Archdiocesan website links i.e. www.universalis.org |
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Synod office |
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Archbishop’s office |
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Office of Religious Education |
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Catholic Independent Schools of the
Vancouver Archdiocese |
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Archdiocesan Vocations Office |
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Religious Communities |
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Service groups i.e. Catholic Women’s
League, Knights of Columbus, Legion of |
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Mary |
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Guest speakers and facilitators |
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Ministry to Seamen |
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Lending libraries |
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b) Special places of prayer in the
Archdiocese |
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Parish Churches |
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Rosemary Heights Retreat Centre |
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Westminster Abbey |
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The Cenacle |
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Convent chapels |
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High school chapels |
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Chapels for Eucharistic devotion |
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Other houses of prayer |
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Catholic cemeteries |
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Shrines to Our Lady |
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Airport Chapels |
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Hospital Chapels |
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RECOMMENDATIONS & ACTION ITEMS |
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[1]
Encourage families to pray more
frequently together |
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a) Provide sessions during Marriage
Preparation Course on how and why to pray |
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together and also offer follow-up sessions
for young married couples |
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b) Prepare resources |
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i) Leaflets on how and why to pray with
your family |
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ii) Booklets on prayer for distribution
across the Archdiocese |
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c) Offer in church bulletins or the BC
Catholic some suggestions for liturgical |
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season prayer times in the family
gatherings (i.e. Advent, Lent) |
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[2]
Encourage the faith community in our
Catholic schools to a more mature prayer life |
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a) Offer Catholic teachers various general
courses on prayer and spirituality |
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b) Prepare some in-service courses or plan
some evening or weekend course at our |
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Catholic colleges |
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c) Review and strengthen the teaching
through all grades on prayer |
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d) Share Prayer Ministry programs that are
working effectively in schools by having |
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students visit and meet with other students |
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e) Materials to be taken home and shared
with student’s families on prayer in each |
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liturgical season |
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f) Develop peer and student led ministry
programs within schools and universities |
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[3]
Make more prayer resources available
from the Archdiocese |
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a) Have a guest column in the BC Catholic
to teach prayer forms, models and share |
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resources |
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b) Use the Archdiocesan Website to provide
links to good prayer resources |
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c) Have the Office of Religious Education
produce a catalogue of prayer videos, |
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speakers and other recommended resources |
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d) Have each parish describe what
activities, events and resources it has in place that |
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are working well and distribute these to
all parishes to share and provide contacts |
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for new initiatives |
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e) Develop a "Life in Prayer"
seminar following the model of "Life in the Spirit" |
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f) Catholic Family Services to be equipped
with resources to use and introduce |
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prayer in counselling |
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[4]
Plan more ways in Parishes and
Deaneries of promoting prayer in common and |
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individually |
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a) Preach sermons on prayer life and styles
so that families can pray together and |
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incorporate the liturgical year into their
prayer life (support materials for priests) |
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b) Encourage parishioners to gather for
Liturgy of the Hours and other prayer forms |
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c) Develop a parish lending library with a
good emphasis on books on prayer and |
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meditation |
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d) Pool resources in a deanery to bring in
special speakers on prayer and spirituality |
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e) Offer short evening courses for various
groups within the parish such as young |
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couples, mothers, seniors and youth on
developing a prayer life. |
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f) Make one church or chapel in each region
accessible 24 hours a day for prayer |
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(perpetual adoration chapel) |
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g) Promote quiet and prayerful atmosphere
before, during and after Mass for |
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personal devotion, preparation and
thanksgiving |
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h) Encourage times of silence during the
Mass and Liturgy |
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i) Follow-up sessions for Marriage
Preparation, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults |
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(RCIA) and Confirmation preparation, newly
graduated, new parents and others |
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on living their new vocations and lives
with prayer |
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[5]
Promote the continuing spiritual
formation of all who belong to Prayer Groups (i.e. |
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charismatic, rosary circles) or Catholic
organizations (i.e. Catholic Women’s League, |
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Knights of Columbus, Legion of Mary) |
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a) Arrange for prayer groups to have
displays at a Charity Fest or other parish |
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gatherings including after masses |
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b) Encourage prayer groups to be involved
with service projects in the life of the |
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parish |
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[6]
Encourage some of the special groups
within the Archdiocese to develop a ministry of |
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prayer. |
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a) Those with limited mobility residing in
private homes, care homes or hospitals, |
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those served by VANSPEC, retired clergy and
religious could be encouraged and |
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given the mission of an active prayer
ministry to which others in the Archdiocese |
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could request intercession |
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b) Provide those with physical limitations
alternate resources, such as Sacred |
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Scripture on tape and youth reading
scripture to the elderly |
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[7]
Promote the reading of Sacred Scripture
and other spiritual writings as a form of prayer. |
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a) Provide resources for personal and group
scripture studies in parishes |
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b) Offer instruction and perhaps a
certificate program to facilitators willing and able |
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to lead group studies |
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c) Offer evening classes on reading and
using scripture in one’s personal prayer life |
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d) A column in the B.C. Catholic could
review and suggest spiritual writings for a |
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variety of age groups on various topics |
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e) Bible studies in people’s homes could
foster a sense of community, communal |
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prayer and an opportunity to learn from
each other’s personal experience in living |
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the faith |
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f) Provide a list of recommended Catholic
translations, study editions and |
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commentaries on the Bible |
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Endnotes |
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1 CCC 2559 |
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2 CCC 2567 |
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3 1 Thes 517 |
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4 Rom 826 |
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5 CCC 2559 |
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6 John 15.5 |
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7 CCC 2685 |
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8 Acts 114 |
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9 CCC 2624 |
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10 Most Rev
Adam Exner OMI Pastoral Letter on the Synod |
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SEE: Study
Paper Review Handbook
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