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.
This week, we invite you to pray for the poor as today the Church marks the seventh annual Day of the Poor. His Holiness states that the verse ‘Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor’ (Tob 4:7) helps us to understand the essence of our mission. Every day in our cities and towns there are reminders our efforts to help the poor are still not enough. On this day, the Pope urges us to gather around the Lord’s Table, to receive from Him the gift and strength to live lives of poverty, and to serve the poor. On this World Day of the Poor, let’s pray that we might carry out the Lord’s mission by offering friendship, solidarity and care to the poorest of our sisters and brothers. Let’s Pray.
- Prayer for the Poor
Prayer for the Poor
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
On this World Day of the Poor, I invite you to pray that we might carry out the Lord’s mission by offering friendship, solidarity and welcome to the poorest of our brothers and sisters.In the name of the Father and the of Son and of the Holy Spirit.
God our Father, we raise up to You the needs and sufferings of those among us who are experiencing extreme poverty. Do not abandon them in their difficulties. Make us Your instruments of kindness and generosity; to better serve our brothers and sisters who are feeling marginalised and in urgent need of assistance. Light within us the fire of hope, and a passion for change. May the plight of the marginalised move us from indifference to care, from distance to deep connection; to never stop seeking a world transformed, one in which riches are freely shared and all may live life to the full. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord, Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you for praying with us. We hope to see you again soon.