Praying the Sunday Mass Readings with St Beuno’s Outreach

St Beuno’s Outreach is based in St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre in the hills of North Wales, in the Diocese of Wrexham. The Outreach began in 1989, with the idea of helping people develop and maintain a personal relationship with God through Christ by praying the Word of God in the Sunday liturgy. From a prayerful awareness of the Spirit working in and through us will come a sense of mission, a desire to join Christ in his mission.

How to pray with Scripture - from St Beuno's Outreach
It is usually most helpful when entering into a formal period of prayer to spend some time quietening down and centring on God. The following indications, known as “Anchor Points” have been found to provide a good framework for your prayer. Particularly important after coming to some inner quiet is the slow entry and slow exit from prayer.

FOUR ANCHOR POINTS

  1. PREPARATION

Choose your place of prayer. Make yourself comfortable, you may like to light a candle. Get in touch with your feelings: What is my frame of mind? What do I want to say to the Lord; what do I desire?

  1. ENTRY INTO PRAYER

Become quiet and still. Relax. Try to put aside any distractions. Choose a passage of scripture. Make the sign of the cross, visibly or in your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your prayer. Read your chosen text slowly several times. Notice what comforts or disturbs you.

  1. SLOW EXIT FROM PRAYER

Speak to the Lord in your own words about this time of prayer, what has it meant to you. Perhaps finish with the Glory be to the Father or a favourite prayer of your own. Make a sign of the cross, internal or external. Leave your place of prayer, thanking God for the time he has spent with you.

  1. REFLECTION AFTER PRAYER

Ask for whatever grace you need to respond to our Lord, “with my whole heart, my whole soul, my whole mind”. If possible, do this in a different place. Recall the prayer period: Was it good to be at prayer?  Did you learn something; maybe feel that the Lord was asking something of you? Notice how you are feeling now. You may find it helpful to jot down your thoughts in a notebook.

Second Sunday of Lent, Year A, 1st March 2026

‘Rise, have no fear.’

Traditionally on this second Sunday of Lent, we read and pray with the Transfiguration of Jesus. Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell us that this event took place on a high mountain. It is an episode that gives us a glimpse of both Jesus’s humanity and his divinity, where Jesus reassures his friends – and us – that there is no need to be afraid, even as we witness such extraordinary things. (Gospel)

In the First Reading, the Lord speaks to Abram, telling him to leave behind everything he knows. The promise of great blessings will follow.

The Psalm reflects on the faithfulness of God’s word. He will be our help and shield if, like Abram, we place our hope in him.

Both Abram’s call and the disciples’ witnessing of the Transfiguration do not occur as a reward, but by God’s ‘own purpose and grace’ (Second Reading). Paul encourages Timothy to accept the hardships he encounters, relying on the power of God, and strengthened by the grace of the appearing of Jesus Christ.

As we continue our Lenten journey, we may like to focus our prayer this week on all those who are afraid, asking that they place their hope in the Lord and experience the comfort of his love.

Prego Lent 2 Year A (2026)Download
Prego Plus Lent 2 Year A (2026)Download

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