Goodnews july/august 1994 [antikvár]

Fr. Fio Mascarenhas (continued) Prayer of Praise cry out in praise of him! (see Lk. 19:40). Holy Spirit takes us back to source Perhaps Catholics over the years have got accustomed to quiet prayer - adoration before theBlessedSacrament, medi talion, etc., (with vocal prayeronlyused for pétitions)! But the Second Vatican Council brought the "fresh breath of the Spirit" (Paul VI) to renew eve-rything in the Catholic Church, including the liturgy (encouraging more active participation to make the Mass and the sacraments come alive!) and community prayer also. As the Holy Spirit takes us back to the sources of our spirituality, which is the Word of God in Scripture and Tradition, we discover what rich heritage we have of "things both old and new". In fact, the lives of the saints are full of the prayerofpraiseand worship. For S L Anthony, St Augustine, Sĺ Francis of Assisi, St Theresa, St Ignatius, St Catherine, St John Bosco, Sl_(put in your favourite saints' name!), praise was a way of life, a stable spirituality, not justsomething emotional and temporary, but the expression, in good times and bad, of their faith. The Blessed Virgin Mary (who is the Model and Type of the Church) was herseif outstanding in this spirituality, and her "Magnificat" is today the Church's classic prayer of praise, used daily in the evening liturgy by millions of conse- NsC NSC North West Rally About 500 people galhered at the Maxwell Hall at the University of Salford for the regional ralliesorganisedby the National Service CommitteeofCatholicCharismatic Renewal. The Day followed the same format as the Birmingham Day in January and the majority of the NSC were present. The day before they had met at the con-vent of Our Lady of Evron in Slockport for one of their tri-annual NSC meetings. Among the subjects discusscd was a growing concern over the spread of what was called "visionitus" - people being overly in leres ted in reported apparitions and private révélations rather than developing their own spiritual life, and being grounded in the Scripture, the Sacraments and personal prayer. They also celebrated the 40th anniversa-ries to thepriesthood o f Fr. Scan Conaty (June crated people: "My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He who is mighty has done grcat things for me, holy is his name!" (Lk. 1:46ff). Ps. 33:1 puts it so well, "Praise is fitting for loyal hearts"! A person who is loyal to God, convinced that it is God first who is ever loyal to us and worthy of our trust will praise God "at all times", because his/her faith is strong. Hence, praise is an index of faith - a person of weak faith may praise God, but only when the going is good; whereas a person of deep faith, who knows that "all things work for good with those who love the Lord" (Rm. 8:28) fulfils better the scriptural exhortation: "Through Jesus, let us continually offer up a sacr ifice of praise, that is, the fruit of Ups that acknowledge his name" (Hb. 13: 15). The prayer of praise is often an easy, joyful ex-perience, at other times it costs a lot and is a real sacrifice - in both cases, and always, God is worthy to be praised! Praise and worship are purer forms of prayer, since ihey are God-oriented; we praise God for Himself and for His deeds which benefit all humanity; we worship God in Himself. Whereas thanksgiving and petition turn the attention on ourselves, on what we have received firom God, or what we need Godtodoforus. The latter kindisnecessary and good. Nevertheless the former has a greater priori ty. As St Peter reminds us, our very vocation is to praise God: Butyouarea chosen people a people set apart, that you may declare ihepraisesof him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 PL 2:9). Hence, once we receive "the spirit of 6th) and Fr. Tom Kenny (July 24th) two of the members of the NSC. House of Prayer in Stockport A group of Sisters have turned their convent in Stockport into a house of prayer and reflec-tion for locai people and groups looking for somewhere to have a quiet day away or a week-end retreat Their aim is to keep prices at a minimum as they feel concemed that lack of money means people can often not get away on retreat Those in the Stockport area in particular who mightbe interested in going for a day should contact them at Our Lady of Evron, I Adswood Lane, Cole Green, Stockport SK3 8HT. Tel: 061-480 2564.