HOW DO YOU PRAY? / OUR CONTRIBUTORS

from Kete Kо̄rero May - July 2022

PRAYER IS CONVERSATION WITH GOD / MARCEL & STEPHANIE BORMANS

BASKET OF STORIES

Prayer remains at the heart of the Church. It is our life-blood. In its various forms, prayer is at once praise and thanksgiving, an appeal for mercy and our hope in time of need. Prayer is a doorway to personal and community renewal and also to the tranquillity challenged by the world. - Prayer in the Busyness of Life (2008), NZ Catholic Bishops Conference. We asked our contributors and other people in the diocese to speak to the question, “How do you pray? What is something you use to help you pray?”

ANNA TUFFERY - PARISH OF ST PIUS X, MELVILLE

A great way to catch up with a friend is to have a coffee together. Each morning I have my “coffee with Jesus” while reading the daily Mass readings from my missal. The missal is a great way to get a sense of movement through the liturgical seasons while holding the Word of God in your hands. Sometimes when I am struggling for a sense of connection with God (this is often), I try and just sit with my hands on the open pages of my missal and think, “I’m touching the Word of God.” What a great privilege! I do try and meditate on the daily Gospel reading and try to receive what God is offering me for the day. The missal has really helped me to grow in love of God’s Word and to know Jesus better. I read somewhere that Christianity is not a set of rules to be followed, but rather a person to be loved. This is so true, and to love someone, we need to get to know them. The missal is a great place to start.

TERRY VICKERS - ST JOSEPH’S, TE PUNA, IN THE PARISH OF ST THOMAS AQUINAS

Each morning about 5.30am I pray a devotional prayer to Our Lady, a version of St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary, followed by a prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is followed by Lauds, or Morning Prayer, from the Liturgy of the Hours, which I get from the Universalis website. Later

in the morning on weekdays we pray the Rosary in front of a tabernacle, usually before daily Mass. Once a month is First Saturday devotion to Our Lady, along with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I also try to get some quiet time without structured prayer for a few minutes just to have a chat to Our Lord and Lady (and my guardian angel). Seems a lot but it actually doesn’t take long and has in many ways become as much a habit as a blessing.

BERNADETTE NAIR - ST THOMAS MORE IN THE PARISH OF ALL SAINTS BY THE SEA, PAPAMOA COAST

As I’m maturing in life, with work, my own health issues, and added responsibilities of caring for elderly parents, I’ve found prayer times are now boundless. They can now be at church or chapel or monastery, places around the home, lying in bed, at the meal table, gardening, outside in nature, driving, serving parents, or customers at work, even whilst washing and cooking. I’m learning to embrace God in every area of my life.

There are many ways that I pray at different times: reciting the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a novena, morning and evening prayers, a kind deed, smile, or word (especially in this stressful Covid time), at adoration, grace before meals, singing or listening to hymns of praise and worship and attending Mass. Other times, prayer is just enjoying the beauty of silence sitting with and in God’s creation, or serving at mass as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion or as a reader. Participation in groups like Dove, Aglow, RCIA and Alpha has become difficult with changes in life but as we all know there’s seasons for everything.

I make use of apps like Laudate, YouTube, Spotify, Formed and Universalis. I use my Bible, rosary beads, booklets and prayer cards, talk to and pray with other people like priests, religious and friends, in person or via messaging apps. At home I have various sacramentals placed around the house so that prayer can be a part of my daily life. The benefit of this is that I have to intentionally check my thoughts, words, and deeds. This means a change in attitude, which in turn, I pray, creates positive responses and vibes around me. I want prayer to be “in action.” It’s difficult to put into words, but my intention is that any activity, thought, or action should be turned into prayer. I haven’t perfected this and I never will because to make this change will be a lifetime effort. If someone can read the Bible in my actions, in the way I serve and live my life, then that would be the greatest gift of prayer from God to me! I hope that these thoughts about prayer might be an inspiration for any reader so that he or she may love prayer not as a plea from a beggar to a cruel king out of fear, but as a conversation between two friends, or between a child and a loving father.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Fr John Peter Jolliffe sm was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand. He studied at “The Mission” Marist Seminary, Greenmeadows, Hawkes Bay, was professed a religious of the Society of Mary (Marists) on January 14 1967 and was ordained priest on July 3 1971. He served for 18 years in the missions, in the SM Oceania Province, principally in Samoa and Tokelau Diocese (as it was then), as parish priest. For four years he served full time as National Director of Marist Third Order giving school and parish retreats throughout that diocese. After so many Samoan priests were eventually ordained and wanting parishes, most expatriate priests returned to their home provinces. Fr John returned to New Zealand and served mostly in South Auckland Marist parishes (since he spoke Samoan) and in the Logos Youth Ministry.

During his first two sabbaticals overseas he was trained in giving spiritual direction and leading directed retreats,

and after completing his second stint as parish priest of Manurewa in early 2016, he had a renewal sabbatical in Chicago where Bishop Steve met him and talked about his desire to send his priests overseas for ongoing spiritual formation. As a result, Fr John volunteered to be appointed to the locum supply ministry. As locum, he looks after parishes for one to three months while also concurrently giving workshops on scripture and prayer for parishioners and school staff. Most of his locum supply work is within the Hamilton Diocese (because they get in first!). He also helps lead silent directed retreats at Ngakuru.

He writes: I love praying with scripture because the Word of God is living and eternal. Because Jesus is both man and God, all his words and actions happened in time but are also not limited by time and space. We can participate now in each mystery, and in each Word he utters. When he says “Do not be afraid, I am with you,” he is speaking personally to me, now, wanting my personal response of love and trust. Companionship with Jesus in scripture is an amazing “adventure of the heart.” Stephanie and Marcel Bormans have been in the Diocese of Hamilton for some time. They belong to the St Matthew’s, Silverdale parish. Marcel works at St John’s College as director of Catholic character and a teacher of religious education while Stephanie is a real estate agent with Harcourts, Hillcrest. They have five children, a dog and a cat. Music is an important part of their prayer life.

Steph writes: my favourite song is Jesus Lover of my Soul. Jesus is my closest friend, my rock and foundation. No matter what is happening in life, I can always turn to him and know that he is my strength and I can do all things through him who strengthens me. I always think it important to thank and praise God no matter what circumstances you are going through, be they good or bad times. The song says, “Though my world may fall I’ll never let you go.”

Marcel writes: one of my favourite hymns is God’s Spirit is in My Heart. Ever since singing it when a boy at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Howick, Auckland, with Fr Peter Prendergast, it has thrilled me with Christ’s mandate to go out to everyone and share the joy that the Kingdom of God has come. The idea of reaching out, of expending oneself to bring joy to others, the truth to others, Christ to others, has always pushed me to try to live out the words in my own life - perhaps that is why I am a teacher of religious education.

We are so grateful for the people who write articles for us. If you’d like to contribute, email us at kete@cdh.org. nz or samuelh@cdh.org.nz