The first priority in Archbishop Mark’s Apostolic Priorities for the Archdiocese of Brisbane, documented in With Lamps Ablaze, is Teaching Prayer. He says, “Often we urge people to pray but don’t really teach them how to pray… Now is the time to teach ways of prayer which are mature and all-embracing. Christian prayer begins not with speaking but with listening; and learning to pray is therefore learning to listen – to listen even to the silences of God. If all we do is speak, then in the words of Jesus we “babble like the pagans” (Matt 6:7). But if we speak after listening and in response to God who always has the first word, then we speak according to the mind of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we need to teach and learn. In the Gospel of Mark, we read that Jesus called the twelve apostles to himself, first of all, “that they might be with him” (3:14). This is where the mission starts: being with Jesus, which is what prayer is.”
Join us for our new weekly series, Let’s Pray, where we invite you to pray along with us. Each week we will invite you to pray a new prayer with us – maybe you don’t know what to pray, or want to pray along with someone, or want to practice your faith through prayer. Our Let’s Pray series is for everyone.
As we celebrate the World Marriage Day today, and in the spirit of the upcoming Feast Day of Saint Valentine on February 14, we invite you to join Lilly and Mario, who have been happily married for 47 years, in a special prayer for marriage. We are grateful to God for blessing the sacred union of marriage, which mirrors the bond between Christ and his Church. Let us pray for married couples to grow in kindness, forgiveness, and perseverance, strengthening their bond in the beauty of life together. May they reflect the deep love Christ has for his Church. Let’s pray.
- A Prayer for Marriage
A Prayer for Marriage
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
Hi, I’m Lilly, and I’m Mario and we’ve been married for 47 years. Today, we’d like to offer a prayer of encouragement and support to married couples.Let’s Pray.
Almighty and eternal God, thank you for blessing the union of marriage, so that they might reflect the union of Christ with his Church. We pray today for married couples that they may grow in kindness, forgiveness and perseverance with each other. We ask that you strengthen their bond so that they may rejoice in the beauty of life together.
We pray that married couples would reflect the deep love that Christ has for his Church and be renewed in their promises they have made before you, to each other. We pray for those who are raising children that you will provide them with Godly wisdom and patience. We pray for your hand of blessing throughout the joys and tragedies of life, that they will find in each other and in you, strength and peace, together.
We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thank you for joining us today. We hope to see you again soon.