THE P RTAL
September 2014
Page 23
Putting prayer at
the heart of mission
orientated communities
Some thoughts on the Rule of St Benedict from Donato Tallo
“
Whatever good
work you begin to do, beg of the Lord Christ with most earnest prayer to
perfect it.” (Rule of St Benedict. Prologue.) In his rule, St Benedict emphasises prayer as being at the very
heart of Christian living. Members of Benedictine orders and many clergy, religious and lay people, have for
centuries prayed some or all of the seven daily offices (Vigils, Lauds, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline)
as an act of witness to the one God, living and true.
prayer at the centre of our lives
Within the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of
Walsingham there is a strong emphasis on the concept
of mission. All of us, through our baptism, have a
mission to be witnesses of the faith, to be Christ in
our world and to see Christ in others. In order for
Ordinariate groups, parishes and families in addition
to all Catholic communities, to be focused on mission,
love, hospitality, outreach, friendship, fellowship,
support, witness and worship, prayer must be at the
heart of all that we do. We must seek to be missionary
disciples through our thoughts, words and deeds and
in order for us to do this, prayer must be at the centre
of our lives.
St Benedict writes that prayer enables us to connect
with God, and through God to those around us. In
our busy lives, it is often difficult to find the time to
pray properly. Participation in Holy Mass nourishes us
in body and soul, but prayer is needed to sustain the
gifts we receive at Holy Mass and to keep us constantly
focused on the one who made us. We as Catholics need
prayer in our lives the same way a fish needs water to
survive.
quality better than quantity
work of God”. We must seek to put God at the heart of
our communities. Praying one of the Divine Offices, or
the rosary, as a group are two examples of such prayer.
what God says to us and through us
Community prayer can help us to foster communities,
but all of us also need private prayer in order for us to
open our hearts to God. Mother Teresa, in The Love
of Christ, stated, “The more time we spend in silent
prayer the more we will be able to give out in our daily
lives.” It is clear that when we pray it is not about what
we say, but about what God says to us and through us.
When we are silent and still we can open our hearts to
God.
St Benedict states that prayer should be made with
pure devotion and purity of heart and undertaken
with humility and reverence. Therefore, ]X[] H\