WEEK OF PRAYER 13 - 19 MARCH 2021
A heart filled with love has no room for hate.
TO MARK THE BEGINNING OF POPE FRANCIS'
'AMORIS LAETITIA FAMILY YEAR'
On 19 March 2021, the Church will celebrate five years since the publication of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) on the beauty and joy of love in the family. On that day, Pope Francis will launch a year dedicated to the family which will conclude on 26 June 2022 on the occasion of the Tenth World Meeting of Families in Rome.
Bishops have welcomed the Holy Father’s 'Amoris Laetitia Family Year’ and will mark its beginning with a Week of Prayer from 13 March to 19 March (the Feast of Saint Joseph). This resource is offered by the Bishops' Council for Marriage and the Family to assist families to participate in the Week of Prayer.
This resource comprises a page for each day of the Week of Prayer which can be easily followed in parish, school and at home. Each day has a theme reflecting on family life through the lens of Saint Joseph, whom we are also celebrating as part of the family year. The resource has at its centre the prayer from Pope Francis which he wrote for the Year of St Joseph and some inspiring reflections from 'The Joy of Love' (Amoris Laetitia).
The Council for Marriage and the Family will be making more resources available throughout the 'Amoris Laetitia Family Year'. For more see www.catholicbishops.ie.
Saturday 13 March: Saint Joseph - the Man of Faith
Today we begin a Week of Prayer as we prepare to celebrate a special year which Pope Francis has dedicated to the ‘The Joy of Love’ in family life. The year will begin on the Feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March. We have chosen Saint Joseph as our inspiration for our Week of Prayer.
Our reflection today is on Saint Joseph as a man of faith. We pray for all families in our parish: that they will feel nurtured by the coming year, especially when it comes to passing on the faith from one generation to the next.
In order for faith to continue through the generations of a family, there must be a passing down of that faith. The role of parents is to pass down the faith to their children who will in turn pass it down to their children and so faith can thrive from generation to generation. We read a great example of this in Scripture:
"I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also." (2 Timothy 1:5)
In this passage, we see faith was passed down through three generations. Lois the grandmother, Eunice the mother and Timothy the son.
We pray Pope Francis' Prayer for the Year of Saint Joseph:
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil.
Amen.
Recite together: the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
As we conclude day one of our Week of Prayer ahead of this special Year on the Family, I offer you a short reflection from Pope’ Francis from ‘The Joy of Love’:
“In the family, “three words need to be used. I want to repeat this!
Three words: ‘Please’, ‘Thank you’, ‘Sorry’. Three essential words!” (Amoris Laetitia, 100)
God bless all families.
AMEN
Sunday 14 March: Saint Joseph - the Man of Joy
We continue our Week of Prayer as we prepare to celebrate the special year which Pope Francis has dedicated to the ‘The Joy of Love’ in family life. We have chosen Saint Joseph as our inspiration for our Week of Prayer which will end on the Feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March.
Our reflection today is on Saint Joseph as a man of joy. We pray for all families in our parish: that they will know that the joy of love they share in marriage and family life, is also a source of great joy for the Church.
The love of a father for his children and his wife is captured beautifully in the life of St. Joseph. Even though he is mentioned a number of times in the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke, no words of his are recorded. What mattered was that Joseph was there, present to Mary and Jesus, always ready to listen, to encourage, to protect, to provide and to love.
In the well know piece of Scripture from Corinthians we read: “Now faith, hope, and love remain -these three things - and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
The greatest love of all is expressed in families throughout our parish day after day, and more than ever during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We pray Pope Francis' Prayer for the Year of Saint Joseph:
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil.
Amen.
Recite together: the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
As we conclude day one of our Week of Prayer ahead of this special Year on the Family, I offer you a short reflection from Pope’ Francis from ‘The Joy of Love’:
“The Joy of Love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church.” (Amoris Laetitia, 1)
God bless all families.
AMEN
