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The new year before us, the year of 2009, will be dedicated to a spiritual practice and sacred service beloved by mystics and initiates. It is an activity of the spiritual will, and the only means by which the knowledge of the head can become an experience of the heart. It purifies the astral and fills the etheric with spiritual substance. It is a selfless and sacrificial work and yet it strengthens the self and fills it with energy, power and understanding. It is the practice of prayer.
But what does it mean to have a year of prayer? Does it mean we have never prayed before, or never focused on prayer before, or that we shall cease to pray at the end of 2009? No. This dedication is an invitation to enter into prayer with greater mindfulness and focus and attention, and with a greater sense of playfulness and exploration. It will be a journey of discovery. And hopefully we shall discover what it means to become prayerful people.
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The first Christians prayed standing up with arms raised - in an attitude known as 'orante' (Latin for prayer). This image is from a fresco in the catacombs of St. Priscilla, Rome. |
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Continue steadfastly in prayer,
being watchful in it with thanksgiving;
and pray for us also,
that God may open to us a door for the word,
to declare the mystery of Christ.
Colossians 4:2-3a |
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18th c. Byzantine-style bronze panagia (one of the titles of Mary, the mother of Jesus, used especially in Orthodox Christianity) from Jerusalem, showing the Virgin Mary in the 'Orans' position
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Addresses that has 'Prayer' as a substantive part of the theme.
Prayer as Communion
A powerful and reflective address that primarily focuses on the written words of the fourth evangelist, John, in informing us and deepening in us the nature of prayer.
Prayer in John's gospel is about a living relationship with God through Christ. Prayer is an act of communion in which we are aligned with will of God. Prayer is an act of divine communion that permeates and extends through the whole of one's life, expression and action.
Prayer is transformative, not only for the individual who engages in it, but also for the community in which they live and with which they interact.
Prayer is an act of communion which leads to unity - within one's being, between us and the spiritual worlds, and amongst us here in the world.
An address for the Cosmic Mass  8th February 2009 Rev Robert
John 15:1-13, 1John 5:13-15, 19-20
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The Lord's Prayer
According to St Matthew and St Luke |
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Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:9-13 |
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On the walls of the Convent of the Pater Noster there are 140 ceramic tiles, each one inscribed with the Lord’s Prayer (St Mathew version) in a different language. This is the English version.
The Convent is said to be built over the site where Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer. |
The walls with the Lord's Prayer |
And he said to them, “When you pray, say:
“Father,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread;
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us;
and lead us not into temptation."
Luke 11: 2-4 |
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The Psalms are full of prayers - here are some. |
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Create in me a clean heart,
O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Restore to me the joy of thy salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Psalm 51: 10,12 |
O God, thou art my God,
I seek thee, my soul thirsts for thee;
my flesh faints for thee,
as in a dry and weary land where no water is.
Psalm 63:1 |
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Oh send out thy light and thy truth;
let them lead me,
let them bring me to thy holy hill
and to thy dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise thee with the lyre,
O God, my God.
Psalm 43:3-4 |
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Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
Thou hast said, “Seek ye my face.”
My heart says to thee,
“Thy face, Lord, do I seek.”
Hide not thy face from me.
Psalm 27: 7-9 |
As a hart longs
for flowing streams,
so longs my soul
for thee, O God.
Psalm 42:1 |
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From the high priestly prayer of Christ, found in the Gospel of St John |
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“I do not pray for these only,
but also for those who believe in me through their word,
that they may all be one;
even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be in us,
so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them,
that they may be one even as we are one,
I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one,
so that the world may know that thou hast sent me
and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.
Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me,
may be with me where I am,
to behold my glory which thou hast given me
in thy love for me before the foundation of the world.
O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but I have known thee;
and these know that thou hast sent me.
I made known to them thy name,
and I will make it known,
that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17:20-26 |
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The well known praying hands
drawn by Albrecht Durer in 1508 |
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Latest update: 8 March 2009 |
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The Centre in Melbourne
The Independent Church of Australia
Office: PO Box 5139, Pinewood, VIC 3149
Phone: (03) 9738 0093
Email: melbournecentre@ica.org.au
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