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 B, 25th February 2024

This is my Son, the Beloved.’

Trust in the Lord is the theme that links all this week’s readings. As we continue our Lenten journey, we are reminded of the extent of the Lord’s love and generosity – if we but listen to his voice and place our trust in him.

In the First Reading we see the depth of Abraham’s trust in God as he is asked to sacrifice his beloved son. Abraham’s faithfulness is rewarded with more blessings than he could ever have imagined.

The Psalmist gives thanks and praise to the Lord who has freed him, reminding us that he trusted God even when sorely afflicted. Like him, we can rejoice as we walk in the presence of the Lord.

In the Second Reading, echoing the story of Abraham and Isaac, St Paul challenges us to recall the immensity of God’s love for the world in giving up his Son. With Jesus standing at the right hand of God pleading for us, we can have confidence in placing all our trust in him.

In the Gospel, Jesus asks Peter, James and John to trust him and not speak of the wonder of what they have witnessed on the mountain top.

This week we pray for the grace to trust and to listen ever more closely to the voice of the Lord, so that we too might walk in his presence.

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