PRAYER SPACE 2021
Easter 2021
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing choirs of angels!
Exult all creation around
God’s Throne!
Jesus Christ, our King has risen!
Rejoice, O earth in shining splendour,
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
The wonder of our Risen Lord breaks through even the continued darkness of the Covid 19.
We are starving for the Holy Eucharist.
However, we believe that Jesus, Risen from the dead,
can come through any barrier.
Just as he came into the locked upper room
where the disciples were hiding in fear,
He can break our ‘lockdown’ bonds and come into our hearts saying:
‘Peace be with you, it is I do not fear.’
Palm Sunday & Holy Week
This is the second Holy Week that we enter in lockdown due to Covid 19.
We miss, and long to return to, our community celebrations in our own Parishes.
The internet offers the opportunity to take part, virtually, in the Ceremonies.
And, even if it is not the same for us,
the Grace of Holy Week is still poured out over us all.
So, Be not Afraid! The Lord has won the victory over death and evil
and He has us under the Mercy of His Love.
Preface of the Mass used
on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week
The victory of the Passion
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
For the days of his saving Passion
and glorious Resurrection are approaching,
by which the pride of the ancient foe is vanquished
and the mystery of our redemption in Christ is celebrated.
Through him, the host of Angels adores your majesty
and rejoices in your presence forever.
May our voices, we pray, join with theirs
in one chorus of exultant praise, as we acclaim
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
March 14th.
4th. Sunday of Lent-
Rejoice! Sunday & Mother’s Day
Gospel Acclamation Jn3:16
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal life.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Today is called Rejoicing or’Refreshment’ Sunday
a little ‘rest’ to mark that we are more than halfway
through Lent and close to Holy Week and Easter.
Lent only makes sense because Christ has Risen,
and we rejoice in that reality even in our darkest hour.
Ephesians 2:4-10 You have been saved through grace.
God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.
This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how infinitely rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it.
This Lent we are in yet another ‘lockdown.’
We could not have imagined another
Ash Wednesday without public worship.
However, the Grace of God has us under the’ Shadow of His wings’
and please God we will be able to
celebrate Holy Week and Easter.
Let us pray for each other.
February 8th. St. Josephine Bakhita
International Day of Prayer & Intercession against Human Trafficking
2nd. February Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple – Candlemas
World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always. and everywhere
to give you thanks through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Today your Son, who shares your eternal splendour,
was presented in the temple and revealed by the Holy Spirit,
as the glory of Israel and the Light of the peoples.
Our hearts are joyful, for we have seen your salvation,
and with the angels and saints we praise you for ever:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest
1st. February – Feast of St. Bridgid: 
Lord, you inspired in St.Brigid
such whole-hearted dedication
to your work
that she is known as
Mary of the Gael;
through her intercession
bless our country;
may we follow the example of her life
and be united with her and
the Virgin Mary in your presence. Amen
From the Liturgy for St. Bridgid celebrated in Ireland.
Year of St. Joseph Dec. 8th 2020-Dec. 8th. 2021
Pope Francis had dedicated this year to our beloved St. Joseph.
The following hymn was written by our Sr. Brid,
who is now in a nursing home.
We share the sorrow of not being able to visit her
with so many who have loved ones in hospitals or nursing homes.
May St. Joseph enfold them with his intercession.
Joseph, our Father, tender and strong one,
Husband to Mary, Father to Christ,
Faithful protector of Him who made thee,
Breadwinner for the true Bread of Life.
In you, the faith of Patriarchs blossomed,
Rooted in silence, nurtured in Prayer,
Bearing its harvest, of love pure and steadfast,
Keep us, loved Father, safe in your care.
Praise we the Father, Whom you reflected,
Praise we the Son, a Child at your knee,
Praise we the Spirit, Whose Spouse you cherished,
For you, St. Joseph, praise ever be.
January 1st. Feast of Mary, Mother of God.
We are blessed to start the Year with Our Lady,
Mother of our God become Man for us.
On the cross, Jesus gave Mary to us as our Mother
and it is to her we fly for protection
as the Covid 19 pandemic reaches its highest level yet.
We do everything we can to keep safe
and to keep others safe but after that our help is
‘in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’
On Sunday 3rd. of January we will remember the Holy Name of Jesus.
Let us pray this holy name to offer glory to Him,
for the power of this Holy Name casts out all evil.
‘At the Name of Jesus,
Every knee shall bow
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father’
‘Christ has been born for us. Come let us adore Him!’
‘Unto us, a Child is given,
Christ our Saviour brings release;
Counsellor, Eternal Father,
God made man and Prince of Peace.
Born of Mary, gentle Virgin,
By the Spirit of the Lord;
From eternal ages spoken:
This, the mighty Father’s Word.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
In Advent ‘the hopes and fears of all the years’
are gathered together in a great cry of:
‘Come Lord Jesus!’
And, in 2020, this cry echoes around our bewildered humanity
as we try to make sense of a pandemic that has traumatized our world.
The hardest part for us all seems to be that
‘We have no one to tell us how long it will last.’
We bring our shared sorrow to the Lord of Mercy
Praying that He will shorten these days for all His children
May Our Lady of Advent
Bless and keep us safe
as we await with her
The coming of Jesus
October 15th. is the Feastday of St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila).
Fifty years ago Pope Paul VI
named St. Teresa
the first woman Doctor of the Church.
Her writings have the blessing of a ‘Teaching Position’ in the family of the Church.
If ever a saint had her heart in heaven
and her feet firmly on the ground –
it was Teresa of Jesus!
St. Teresa’s Bookmark
As a child St. Teresa loved to repeat: ‘Forever! Forever! Forever!’
She was trying to get a handle on the reality of eternity.
She is a great realist who knows, and teaches that:
‘All things pass – save God’ Whenever St. Teresa heard a clock strick she reminded herself, and others, that life was passing and it is not worth spending it on trifles.
The only thing that really matters is Love – love of God and true love of neighbour.
This is the only currency Teresa was interested in – because it is the only thing we can take with us when we die!
If all things pass away, well then, St. Teresa tells us that we better get interested in that which lasts forever
– God, who is Love.
The more love we sow in this life the happier we will be in heaven. so:
‘In You Lord, Creation finds its joy, you have clothed it in your beauty’
St. John of the Cross
Psalm 64:
To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.
To you we pay our vows, you who hear our prayer.
The ends of the earth stand in awe at the sight of your wonders,
The lands of sunrise and
s
unset you fill with your joy.
You care for the earth, give it water,
You fill it with riches.
You crown the year with your goodness.
Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.
The hills are girded with joy,
the meadows covered with flocks,
The valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy.
‘In You lord, Creation finds its joy, you have clothed it in your beauty’
On 1 st. of September Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Orthodox and Evangelicals from all over the world united to celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation which launched the ‘Season of Creation’, an ecumenical initiative that aims to increase awareness among Christians of the need to protect our common home. The Season of Creation runs from Sept. 1st. to Oct. 4th. Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and ecology.
For more information see: seasonofcreation.org
Living our Faith amidst the Covid 19 pandemic.
Who is she ascends so high,
Next the heavenly King,
Round about whom angels fly
And her praises sing?
This is she in whose pure womb
Heaven’s Prince remained;
Therefore in no earthly tomb
Can she be contained.
The month of August is usually the most beloved of months here in Knock.
The glorious Solemnity of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother Mary into heaven starts the Novena of Our Lady of Knock.
Although this year is a sad one –
as the Shrine may not open to the public on this great day.
This is because the usual crowds would be more than the ‘Covid 19’ law allows at present;
and how can you say “This many and no more!?”.
Let us not forget it was in a time of deep sadness and the distress of famine
that Mary came to us in 1879 – She will not fail us in 2020!
16th of July Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Star of sea and ocean,
gateway to man’s haven,
Mother of our Maker,
hear our prayer, O Maiden.
Guard us through life’s dangers
never turn and leave us.
May our hope find harbour
in the calm of Jesus.
Sing to God the Father
through the Son who saves us.
Joyful in the Spirit,
everlasting praises.
Aylesford Carmelite Priory, England.
God does not ask us
to be brave
but to trust –
nor does He ask us
to do great things
but to clothe ourselves
in the holiness of
His Merciful Son – Jesus.
God does not ask us
to be brave
but to trust –
nor does He ask us
to do great things
but to clothe ourselves
in the holiness of
His Merciful Son – Jesus.
This has been very different Easter for us all
but the hope of the Risen Lord is ours to proclaim!
Rejoice, heavenly powers!
Sing choirs of angels!
Exult all creation around
God’s Throne!
Jesus Christ, our King has risen!
Rejoice, O earth in shining splendour,
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes forever!
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