Checkin' in with the Lord

For our celebration of Christ the King of our Bodies, Minds and Souls, the team produced a small booklet for the event, as a guide to some of the activities taking place that evening. We wanted these booklets to contain information they could take home, to help them with deepening their spirituality and prayer-life. So I wrote this as a brief introduction into getting them to firstly consider their faith more by what they're praying and how they pray.  Lord, if it be Your will, use me as Your servant to help bring Your people closer to you in prayer and spirituality.


Believe it or not, we’re here to TRUST in the Lord, not DISGUST the Lord. Every single choice we make can make us ONE with the Lord, or BREAK our home with the Lord. We are living examples of what Christ died on the cross for: L.O.V.E. But we’ve got to let God into our hearts if we want to live good lives ourselves, becoming that example of goodness, and aiming for the Heavens. There’s no better way to do this than by checking in with the Lord through prayer. So how can we as young Catholics do this?

For the younger ones amongst us… CEL

CHURCH
Church isn’t a ‘take or leave’ ting. It’s an EVERY SUNDAY ting. So get over it. 1 hour of your week ain’t much of an ask to thank the One who made you (obviously via your parents). Every single part of the Mass is precious praise and reverent worship. Mass is only ever boring if you don’t mean what you’re prayin’ – either because you’re pre-occupied, or you don’t understand what it is you’re sayin’! Don’t disrespect… get out your New Testament, and get down with understanding the beauty of the Mass.

EVENTS
Hittin’ Christian Youth events is a wicked way to reinvigorate your relationship with God – and you get a real good balance between entertainment and prayer. Events vary from local Parish vigils, to bi-monthly events like Catholic Underground London, to annual prayer festivals like Youth 2000’s New Year’s Renewal@Balham retreat, Greenbelt and Brightlights. Try one out… and don’t do it because you’re feeling forced to… do it for Christ, who should be the centre of your life.

LYRICIZE (or go one better: Proselytize!)
Never heard of  Jahaziel? GuvnaB? DJ 4Real? Heavy beats with hott holy lyrics not only inspire you to think about your own faith when putting it into words, but also makes you a stronger Christian for doing something about it. These inspiring artists are the lyrical masters of the Christian Brit-Urban scene at the mo. Check out other international Gospel/grime, rap and hip-hop artists like Trip-Lee and Lecrae, then get your bibles, your pens and paper out, and get down with some tight lyricing! Poetry and prose is just as good if you aren’t into lyricing.


For the more experienced ones amongst us…

Prayer should be dynamic like any other form of communication, so there’s no absolute answer to ‘how should I pray?’; because every person communicates in a different way. Most prayer takes concentration, silence, and a keenness to offer God your prayer with all your body, mind and soul. More traditional forms of prayer include:

Eucharistic Adoration
Prayers of adoration are ones where God is honoured through exaltation of who He is. This is THE most important type of prayer, because God is before us in the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ himself. Here, we remember and appreciate that God gave us his eternal love by becoming human – one of us. This is a perfect opportunity for us to know God more intimately, and listen to Him. There is no doubt that our relationship with God through the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is deepened significantly.

Petition
Probably the type of prayer that young people use most, because generally speaking, we tend to turn to God only when we want or need something. We must be careful not to petition God for things that will displease Him. When petitioning to God on our own behalf, we should remember to pray with a passion and hunger that shows Him how much we need Him in our own lives.

Marian Prayer: e.g. The Rosary
It pleases the Blessed Virgin Mary greatly when we pray the Rosary. Through her überabundance of grace, our prayer becomes more effective as it passes along the celestial link to her Son, the Son of God, who is God Himself in communion with the Holy Trinity. The Rosary isn’t just a ‘wearable fashion accessory’. It is a tangible guide to reflecting and meditating on the wonderful mysteries of Christ’s Passion and their family life together with St. Joseph her spouse most chaste. Page xx of this booklet helps you in your desire to live holier lives through the prayer of the Rosary! Other Marian prayers include The Angelus, the Memorare, and many others.

Other methods of prayer include Intercession, Thanksgiving, Confession, Novenas, Litanies, Acts of Consecrations/Devotions. Check these out on google, and try hit a Catholic website rather than the other Christian sites out there.


Keep checking in with the Lord by praying for each other. 
Blessings.

LIVE & ON STAGE: RISEtheatre's "Now is the time"

You may or may not have heard of them, but this Performing Arts company with their talented and committed group of young Catholics are the next best thing to the 'noughties dancefloor'!

Westminster Diocese has written a blog article to summarise who they are. But in a nutshell, Charley Pinfold, co-director of RISEtheatre, along with Helen Martin the director, was inspired after a trip to the Philippines, in which she was struck by how despondent, unworthy, and untalented destitute children felt at the hands of society, to respond to God's powerful call to bring them hope. Referring to Isiah 52:2 "Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion", the message they spread using acting, lyrical movement, music, and props, is one that proves the worth of every individual - for we are all known and loved by God.

They began their own mission to give young Catholics a platform to voice their faith in artistic and theatrical ways - methods that appeal to the young, the not-so-confident, and even kids that aren't so good at school. So, on the stage right now, are a wonderful mix of young people from all different backgrounds, with all sorts of past experiences, ambitions and hopes. But one thing unites them, and that's their Catholic faith.

Set to Delirious' "Now is the time to rise", this high impact drama begins lifeless in colour, set in a city. A balloon begins to blow and soon, elements of colour and circus are revealed.

Follow me on Twitter as I deliver the messages behind the movement and all this colour!