As the Diocese of Parramatta progresses towards a Synodal Church, prioritising prayer is crucial. The People of God are enlightened by the Word of God and united in prayer, which is fundamental to discerning the processes that seek God’s will and pursue the pathways towards deeper communion, fuller participation, and greater openness to fulfilling our mission in the world.
“Now it happened that he was in a certain place praying,
– Luke 11:1
and one of his disciples said ‘Lord, teach us to pray'”
The Diocese of Parramatta commits to:
- Support opportunities for prayer and renewal through retreats and sabbaticals particularly for key leaders and teams.
- Encourage and support prayer groups such as Lectio Divina or Lenten Groups.
- Explore the establishment of a Diocesan retreat house, offering opportunities for retreat, prayer and formation for the community.
- Increasing opportunities to access:
- (a) Eucharistic Adoration by exploring the further establishment of Adoration Chapels or other times for Adoration especially before and after Mass.
- (b) the Sacrament of Reconciliation by exploring ways to increase availability, especially before and after Sunday Mass.
- (c) safe spaces in every deanery for prayer, reflection and worship outside of usual hours.
- Deepen our experience and appreciation of the homily as a source of teaching and inspiration. Furthermore, we commit to developing suggestions for best practice and other resources to support quality preparation and delivery, especially for all clergy and seminarians.
- Create opportunities to pray together as a Diocese for discerned causes. For example, such causes could include those seeking refuge, those who feel alienated from the Church, the distress of Earth, our planet home, dialogue with our sisters and brothers of other faiths or those caught in situations of violence and conflict. Prayer opportunities could include Holy Hours, Lectio Divina, praying the Psalms, Adoration, the Rosary and any number who gather in the name of the Lord, who has promised to be with them (Matthew 18:20).
Local inspiration
Resources
The journey of Mary, Joseph and the unborn baby Jesus is really quite remarkable! Have you ever considered how you might have handled the same situation? Experience the story through the eyes of a child and the reflections of young parents and a ‘mum-to-be’.
Remember Martha and Mary? Sometimes when we sit down like Mary to pray, Martha shows up with a to-do list. Suddenly it seems necessary to do all the forgotten tasks of the day right at that very moment! But our daily service for God must be balanced with quietly sitting with God and just listening to him. This is much harder than we think but definitely worth our efforts to commit to spending uninterrupted time with God – it’s how we fill our hearts for service. Here’s something to help you deal with distractions in prayer.
A special prayer experience reflecting on previous Saturday Sessions. This is an opportunity to stop and reflect on the experience thus far. Drawing on the wisdom from Saturday Sessions presenters, we pray in a space where we can be Calm Together.
Do you have an idea or initiative that would support our commitments? Get in touch with us!
Download a digital copy of
“Behold, I am with you always” Diocese of Parramatta’s
Pastoral Plan for a Synodal Church 2024 – 2028