April 29, 2020 Dear St. Mark’s Parishioners, Our teenagers and Core members involved in Edge and Summit are wise teachers, they continuously challenge me to be a better person. With their love and thirst for weekly prayer opportunities, they all have inspired this Pray Your May “Challenge”. ​ ​ This calendar is an invitation to enter into a month that is centered around prayer. Some of you may have done many of these prayers before- fantastic! For others, the majority of what is on the calendar might be completely new- equally fantastic! This is a chance for all of us, whether we have a regular prayer routine or not, to open our eyes anew to different prayers offered by our Catholic Tradition. The goal of entering into this challenge is not to pray the most days consecutively or to be the best at prayer. We remember what Christ tells us in Matthew 6:5-6, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” We don’t pray so that others will see us and think we are holy. We pray so that, God willing, through our discipline of prayer, others may one day see Christ in us and be drawn to His abundant love and mercy. If you are full of courage and looking to enter this challenge, fabulous! However, I highly ​ recommend finding an “accountabilibuddy” a.k.a. another person who you commit to praying through the month with and who will hold you accountable to your desire to strengthen your prayer life. It could be another member of your family, a friend from church, or I am always here for any of you and I’m happy to check in with anyone who wants to share their journey. You don’t have to physically pray with that other person, though that does sound nice, but your accountabilibuddy is meant to be someone you can talk with about your experience; someone you can share your struggles and triumphs with, without judgement. I’m looking forward to us praying our May together! In peace and gratitude, Hollis Cornelissen Youth Minister 1 Below you will find the date, the corresponding invitation to prayer and the prayers of the day in case they are new! There’s no shame in looking up words, in fact, it can deepen our prayer. Friday, May 1 - Start your morning by slowly praying an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Be. Pay close attention to your words. Our Father 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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory Be Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 2 Saturday, May 2 - Take some time today to find a quiet place and pray the prayer of St. ​ ​ Francis of Assisi. Spend a few minutes in silence Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen. ​ 3 Sunday, May 3 - Pray the Nicene Creed aloud during Mass, listen to the words. Do you ​ ​ ​ believe them? Pray it again before bed. Nicene Creed I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven:by the power of the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is adored and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. 4 Monday, May 4 - Pray the Humble Hearts Grace prayer with your family before each meal ​ ​ today. Reflect on the meaning of humility. Humble Hearts Grace (By: anonymous source) ​ In a world where so many are hungry, May we eat this food with grateful and humble hearts; In a world where so many are lonely, May we share this friendship with peaceful and joyful hearts. Amen. Tuesday, May 5 - Pray the Magnificat with Mary. How often do you praise God and ​ ​ rejoice because of God's total love for you? Magnificat My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever. Amen. ​ 5 Wednesday, May 6- Write a list of everything you are grateful for before you go to bed ​ ​ tonight. Give thanks to God for them. Thursday, May 7- Follow instructions for Praying with the Body. What is the relationship ​ ​ between your prayer and your body? Instructions for Praying with the Body - Trinity Sequence *Only take part in this sequence if you feel physically able. If you are not able to follow the sequence, very slowly make the Sign of the Cross before praying the Glory Be. Repeat three times. * 1. Inhale and raise both arms forwards and upwards, as you look up, reaching and stretching, expressing relationship with God, our Creator. 2. Then Exhale and lower the arms out to the sides at shoulder level, with the palms up, to form a cross. Hold them there and turn your attention to Jesus, our Redeemer. 3. The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit or Sanctifier, we experience both within us and among us. Inhale and bring your hands inward towards the heart-center. Then exhale and reach forward, with palms up in a receptive position. 4. Finally, return the hands to a folded prayer position at your chest 5. Repeat the sequence three times. 6 Friday, May 8- Set an alarm on your phone for noon and 6PM. Pray the Angelus. How can ​ ​ you say, "Yes!" to God today like Mary did? The Angelus The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. Hail Mary . And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. Hail Mary . Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.