Praying with Young People

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Praying with Young People

• Tuesday 17th November 2009

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• Opening Prayer
• Praying with Young People
• Why? Where? When? How?
• Opportunity to experience different ways of
  praying
• Questions/Sharing
• Closing Prayer

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Luke 112-4

• Jesus was praying in a certain place and after he
  had finished, one of his disciples said to him,

Lord teach us to pray, as John taught his
disciples.
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He said to them,
When you pray, say
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Father, hallowed be your name.
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Your kingdom come.
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Give us each day our daily bread
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And forgive us our sins
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For we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
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And do not bring us to the time of trial.
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Intercessions

• Response
• Father, keep them in your loving kindness

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Praying with Young People

• What is Prayer?

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St Thérèse of Lisieux

• For me, prayer is a surge of the heart it is a
  simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of
  recognition and of love, embracing both trial and
  joy.

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St John Damascene

• Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to
  God or the requesting of good things from God."

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St Augustine

• The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well
  where we come seeking water there, Christ comes
  to meet every human being.
• It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a
  drink. Jesus thirsts his asking arises from the
  depths of God's desire for us.
• Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the
  encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsts
  that we may thirst for him.

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Renewing The Vision

• The ministry of prayer and worship celebrates and
  deepens young people's relationship with Jesus
  Christ through the bestowal of grace, communal
  prayer and liturgical experiences
• it awakens their awareness of the spirit at work
  in their lives
• it incorporates young people more fully into the
  sacramental life of the Church, especially
  eucharist
• it nurtures the personal prayer life of young
  people and it fosters family rituals and prayer.

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Rooted in Prayer

• When we seek the face of Jesus, we echo the words
  of the disciples who asked him to teach them to
  pray. As we do so, we discover that prayer
  develops that conversation with Christ which
  makes us his intimate friends.
• Growing Together in Christ. para 25
• We have to remember that we are in Gods time and
  in his hands, which is why prayer is so
  important.
• Growing Together in Christ. para 54

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How to Pray

• Introduce young people to a variety of prayer
  experiences
• Symbols and images
• Rituals
• Music
• Scripture Texts
• Prayers of the Church

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Symbols and Images
language
gestures
actions
signs
silence
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Rituals
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Sacraments and Prayer

• Prayer should point young people towards
  participation in the central prayer of the Church
  The Mass
• Prayer is important to help young people discern
  and be open to the Sacraments of Marriage and
  Holy Orders
• Experience the Sacraments of Healing
  Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick

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Music

• "Address . . . one another in psalms and hymns
  and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to
  the Lord with all your heart." (Ephesians 519)
• "He who sings prays twice. (St Augustine)
• The harmony of signs (song, music, words, and
  actions) is all the more expressive and fruitful
  when expressed in the cultural richness of the
  People of God who celebrate. (CCC 1158)

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Music

• Singing Psalms and hymns
• Traditional Church music
• Gregorian chant
• Taizé chants
• Classical Music
• Gospel Music
• Worship Music
• Their own Music!

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Scripture

• Use the Sunday Readings!
• Lectio Divina
• Guided reflections
• Biblical Prayers
• Magnificat, Benedictus etc
• Question of the Week (shared at home)

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Praying with the Church

• Liturgy of the Hours Morning and Evening Prayer
• The Prayers of the Mass
• The Saints
• St Francis of Assisi
• St Ignatius of Loyola
• St Teresa of Avila

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Top Tips!

• Make prayer a regular occurrence in your
  gatherings
• Encourage a variety of different ways of praying
• Get the young people to plan and lead prayer
  times
• Encourage the parish to pray for young people
• Spend time in prayer and developing your own
  prayer life

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Contact details

• Dave Hill
• Advisor for Youth Ministry
• Department for Pastoral Formation
• Park Place Pastoral Centre,
• Winchester Road, Wickham, PO17 5HA
• dhill_at_portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
• Tel [phone]