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.

The Feast of All Saints, Year A, 1st November 2026

‘Beloved: See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God …’

Today’s feast is an occasion for great thanksgiving, honouring all the saints, both known and unknown, who offer us memories and models of holiness. We, too, are called to holiness; to be saints. The Communion of Saints prays for us, willing us on to join them.

We can try to do this by following the message and example of Jesus, as portrayed in the Gospel. Here Jesus teaches the disciples God’s law in a new way. His values and attitudes, summed up in the Beatitudes, are a map comprised of eight different paths. By following them, we align our lives with the heart of God and ‘holiness’.

The First Reading gives us a vision of heaven. Those who belong to the Lord are marked with a seal and kept safe, ‘an innumerable number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages’.

In the Second Reading, John addresses us as ‘beloved’, reminding us that we are children of God. Although today’s world may misunderstand God’s Way, we are promised eternal life when we will see God as he is.

The Psalmist sings of the created world and all dwelling in it. Those who seek the Lord’s face with clean hands and a pure heart will receive his blessing.

On this feast, let’s pray for all those persecuted for their faith; for those suffering injustice; and for those affected by any form of violence.

All Saints Year A (2026)Download
Prego Plus All Saints (2026)Download

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