FORMATION
FORMATION 1999
THEME NO. 1
‘Hallowed be Thy
Name’
1. Opening Prayer
(To be introduced by the leader then
prayed by all present.)
Leader: My brothers in Christ, as the great
Jubilee draws near, let us prepare our minds and hearts and pray to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ for the renewal of the Church and the salvation of the world.
All: God our Father, your name is holy before
all people, and should be made holy in our lives; send your Spirit to make us, in the
Church of your Son, the constant sacrament of your holiness so that all people will give
you glory. We ask this through Jesus who is Lord. Amen.
2. Scripture Reading – 1 Peter
1, 13–19
(Read by the discussion leader or
member nominated by him.)
A Call to Holy Living. Therefore, prepare
your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus
Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to
the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be
holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am
holy.’
(The reading of scripture is followed
by several minutes silent reflection before the reading of the Message.)
3. The Message
(Read by the discussion leader or the
member nominated by him.)
We call on God to sanctify his Name,
because it is by holiness that he saves and sanctifies his creation. We are dealing with
the Name that gives salvation to a fallen world, but we ask that the Name of God be made
holy in us by our lives. In fact, if we live righteously, the divine Name is blessed; but
if we live dishonestly, the divine Name is blasphemed. We, therefore, pray to be worthy of
holiness as the Name of our God is holy. When we say ‘Hallowed be your name,’ we
ask that it be made holy in us, because we are in him, but also in others who have yet to
make that step towards the grace of God; thus we take on the precept that calls us to pray
for everyone, even for our enemies. So we do not say directly: Hallowed be your name
‘in us’, because we ask that it be made holy in all people.
4. The Exercise
(Five minutes of reflection by all
members.)
Whom do I consider to be a person in whom
the Name of God has been ‘made holy’ and why is this so?
In what ways does my life show that I hold
the Name of God ‘holy" and blessed?
How can my life call others to speak of and
be changed by the naming of God in their lives?
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.)
1. ‘Father, I made your name known to
them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in
them, and I in them.’ (John 17:25)
2. From the Catechism of the Catholic
Church # 2807 – 2815.
7. Closing Prayer
(Prayed by all members.)
Father, may your people always venerate and show love for
your holy Name in their lives; for you never stop guiding those you have founded on the
sure rock of your love. We ask this through Jesus your Son. Amen.
