Prayer is the process of making the faith
personal
1. Formation Prayer
(To be recited by all present).
In the name of the Father …
Heavenly Father, as we commence this
session of the Formation Programme, help us to believe you are near to us and that you
care for each one of us every day of our lives. Send the Holy Spirit to be our helper and
our guide, enlightening our minds, giving us the grace to serve you with generous hearts
and inspiring us to stand firm as Christians in your love. We ask this through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
2. Scripture Reading - Genesis
32:24-30
(Read by the discussion leader or the member nominated by him.)
Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled
with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck
him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
Then he said, 'Let me go, for the day is breaking.' But Jacob said, 'I will not let you
go, unless you bless me.' So he said to him, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Jacob'.
Then the man said, 'You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven
with God and with humans, and have prevailed.' Then Jacob asked him, 'Please tell me your
name.' But he said, 'Why is it that you ask my name?' And there he blessed him. So Jacob
called the place Peniel, saying 'For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is
preserved.'
3. The Message
(Read by the discussion leader or the member nominated by him.)
Jacob’s struggle is a symbol of the
essential meaning of prayer. Prayer does not consist only in accepting God’s will as
a thing written in advance in heaven, or in asking for the strength to accept it; prayer
consists in putting pressure on God, confident in his promises and knowing that he listens
to us. Prayer is the lifting of one’s mind and heart to God or the request of good
things from God. Prayer is also a mystery because it is something that comes from God. As
we are told by Saint John, 'God first loved us'; God takes the initiative in this
relationship. But prayer is also our work and it is often a struggle. We should never see
prayer as a comforting escape from reality. Indeed prayer plunges us more deeply into the
mystery of the human story.
4. The Exercise
(Five minutes of reflection by all members.)
Do I regard prayer as being as essential to
my life of faith as fresh air is to the health of my body?
Am I convinced that prayer is above all
else an initiative of God? Can I think of examples in the lives of Mary and Joseph?
Can I think of examples in the lives of
people whom I know which have shown me the importance of prayer?
What are some of the indications of the
presence of the old earthly-minded man in my life?
5. The Sharing
(Members share aspects of their personal faith and its place in their lives that have come
to them through the Exercise.)
6. The Word
(The basis of meditation and reflection for the ensuing month given by the discussion
leader.)
'Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face
to face, as a man speaks to his friend' (Exodus 33:11).
7. Closing Prayer
(Recited by all members)
We are the work of your hands, O God. You,
Lord, have made us and love us. All our life is your gift, all your power was in our
creation and thus you will go on giving to us grace upon grace. What more need we hope for
from you? This certainty, God, is good enough for us.
