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.

Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C, 16th November 2025

Sing Psalms to the Lord!

As we come to the end of the liturgical year, the Church encourages us to look at our world, at the passage of time, and to ponder how we respond in trust to God’s faithfulness.

In the First Reading, the prophet Malachi speaks of the end of time, the great day of the Lord. There will be punishment for the arrogant and evil-doers, but those who respect the Lord will experience healing like the warming rays of the sun.

The Psalm celebrates the coming of the Lord to judge, not in fear but with joy and praise.

St Paul (Second Reading), giving himself as a model, advises on how to live as we wait for the coming of the Lord.  We are to work quietly and conscientiously in and for the community. We should not give up and become idle or lazy.

Jesus, in the Gospel, predicts the destruction of the Temple and other catastrophic events, as well as persecution and betrayal.  He tells his disciples not to be afraid: this is not the end of the world, and he also promises to care for them.  Their endurance will win them their lives.

As Pilgrims of Hope, today’s readings lead us to ponder what hope means for us as we consider the tragedies in our world.  God will not abandon us.

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