Room for Prayer

Stay at Home!

At his Ascension into Heaven, Jesus gives a simple instruction to his apostles: to stay in   Jerusalem and wait for the Power from on High which he had promised.

And so they return to that Upper Room in which they have already experienced so much. It was the room in which they gathered on that fragile night, when Jesus broke bread, when he stooped to wash their feet, and when they were struck to the heart by the thought of betrayal.

From that room, they moved to Gethsemane’s olive garden, where Jesus prays so intensely, and where he is taken from them, betrayed by a kiss. They return to the room after Jesus is crucified, and lock themselves away in fear. And it is in that room, gathered on the first day of the week, that Jesus appears to them and, where a week later, they are joined by Thomas who declares in the presence of Jesus, ‘My Lord and my God!’

Ands so they return again, after they have witnessed him raised to the heights of heaven, to dedicate themselves to prayer, to wait—not in fear, not with doubts – but to wait upon the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost Sunday, when Jerusalem is packed with people, drawn from all over the world, they feel the earth move, their lives move. They leave that room, filled with faith, confident in Christ, a new creation, to proclaim to all that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Nine days of prayer

From Ascension to Pentecost we are invited to do the same. Many of us have no choice but to , figuratively speaking, ‘stay in Jerusalem.’ And so, during these nine days we are invited to dedicate ourselves more intently to prayer, so that Spirit-filled, we may proclaim by word and deed, that Jesus is our Lord and our God.

The church’s daily prayer continues as it always does—wherever that may be—and, despite not being able to gather for Mass, we continue to be enriched and sustained by its offering, for it is through the Eucharist that we plead to God and trust only in the Death and Resurrection of the Lord. And we can and do pray in many other different ways too.

As Mary and the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem to pray together for nine days, so we can do something of the same. During those nine days, in addition to Mass and the usual prayer of the Church, the rosary will be prayed here each day. If you would like to share some prayer intentions then please forward them by telephone, text or email (my contact details are on the back page).

Perhaps you will be ale to commit yourself to the same, whether or not it’s the rosary, or to some moment of prayer, perhaps using some of the prayers and resources in these pages? Whether or not we are physically together, we continue to be united in Christ, and pray for a fresh and vivid experience of Power from on High.

Download

You can download our Booklet, ‘Praying at Home with Mary and the Apostles’ at our website [at] home page www.stmaryscf10.co.uk/at-home 

And here’s the direct link to the pdf document: shorturl.at/sDIV3