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.

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 20th September 2026

‘My thoughts are not your thoughts’

This week, the readings focus on God’s generosity, even if it is sometimes difficult for us to accept that God’s ways are not our ways.

In the First Reading, Isaiah encourages the people of Israel to seek the Lord and turn to him, so that they can experience his forgiveness and compassion.

The Psalm promises kindness and mercy to all who call on the Lord.

St Paul (Second Reading) speaks of his dilemma. He wants to be with Christ, but also realises that he is needed on earth to continue to preach the Gospel around him. Of two good things, he chooses the better: that is, to remain alive for the sake of the new Christians.

The Gospel further illustrates that God’s ways are not our ways, and that God’s generosity is without bounds. Here, Jesus tells the parable of the vine workers: all will be paid the same amount, regardless of the number of hours they have spent in the field. This story helps us understand that in God’s eyes, those who turned to God later in life are worth just as much as those who have followed him from the beginning.

In our prayer this week, we may like to meditate further on God’s unconditional love and generosity for us all, and remind ourselves that his ways are not our ways.

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