THE COUPLE THAT PRAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER.
Fr. Johnny Doherty, C.Ss.R.
April 8th – 14th 2018
My Lord and my God
Jesus said: “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” We are all very familiar today with the idea of peace processes – in Northern Ireland, the Middle East and so on. Jesus needs us to engage in a peace process with one another so that we can be his disciples and true witnesses of his resurrection. We need first of all to put away all weapons of mass destruction like criticism, anger, coldness, selfishness etc. We need to put in place of these the qualities of God’s Spirit, namely love, joy, peace, patience etc. This week we should practice these qualities in our homes as wife and husband, as parents and family. We also need to practice them as we build our parish community to the glory of God.
Morning Prayer, when together
God of mercy, you wash away our sins in water,
you give us new birth in the Spirit,
and redeem us in the blood of Christ.
As we celebrate Christ’s resurrection
increase our awareness of these blessings in our marriage
and renew your gifts of life and love within us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
During the day, when apart
God of love, through faith and baptism
we have become a new creation.
Accept the gift of our married love for each other
and bring us to eternal happiness.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord.
Evening/Night Prayer together
Almighty God, we thank you for your love for us.
May the beauty and goodness of our marriage
live forever in our minds and hearts.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord.
Questions for Action for the week
For your marriage: What are some of the blessings you have experienced in your life together? Share these this week.
For others: Find out about some group that is working for peace.
How can you as a couple help them this week?
Couple Prayer: How to use it
- See it as a little weekly programme for living and growing your marriage
- On Friday evening or Saturday, take a half hour or so to talk together about your marriage in the light of the Scripture reflection. This is always taken from the Sunday Mass, so it is also a couple preparation for this celebration of the Eucharist.
- During this half hour spend some time answering the two questions at the bottom of the sheet, firstly by writing your own personal response to them and then, as appropriate, sharing your answers with each other
- From Sunday to Saturday practice the short prayer for your marriage, Morning and Evening when together, and during the day when you are on your own. These prayers are based on the prayers that are special to each Sunday Mass
- If possible, meet occasionally with other married couples to share your reflections and to support one another
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Consider the following statistics as quoted in For Better & For Ever p.130 by Fr. Robert A. Ruhnke, C.Ss.R.
- The current divorce rate in the U.S. is about 50%
- Of those couples who worship together each Sunday, the divorce rate is 3.3%
- Of those couples who also pray regularly together in their home, the divorce rate is 0.3%
This is well worth thinking about!
