Praying with the Pope - September 2019

Usually, as the Holy Father's own prayer-group, we in the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network are entrusted with his monthly prayer intention.

Our mission is to share it widely among the people of God, in our parishes and chaplaincies, communities and families. With the Pope, we want to change our hearts, to be more ready to carry out Christ's mission in the world.

This month of September sees a significant difference; together with this month's Intention, we shall be preparing also to receive the Intention for October. We'll prepare to unite our prayer with the Pope's in the special Extraordinary Month of Mission, October 2019. That month's Intention and the themes of the special Mission Month are closely linked, as we shall see.

SEPTEMBER - THE WORLD'S SEAS AND OCEANS

First, the September Intention; it's topical, urgent and presents a huge opportunity, a challenge, to every one of us. We consider the environment, our God-given "common home", as the Pope called our world in his great letter, Laudato Si, published just over four years ago. His intention for September is about The Protection of the Oceans: "That politicians, scientists and economists work together to protect the world's seas and oceans". This urgent request for our prayers - and action - comes just when awareness is growing of just how pressing this question is. At last, we're waking up, opening our eyes to the disaster that has already begun. More and more of us are taking seriously how little time is left to act, to avert the catastrophe.

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

Responsible scientific research constantly reveals ever more frightening facts about the seas' and oceans' degradation. The dangerous incidence of waste plastic in our oceans, highlighted by recent television programmes, is now better known. We have been hearing also about large quantities of minute plastic particles found in snow, an immediate threat to both animal and human life. We read, daily, of heatwave conditions in the Arctic causing accelerated loss of glaciers which, in turn, will quicken the rise of sea-levels and will further affect climate-patterns. Most of us know that scientists foresee a crucial global temperature rise of 1.5C to 2C, potentially catastrophic, that requires urgent, large-scale preventative action in only a few years … or else. Governments are not yet responding with urgency; individuals are not yet changing behaviour as we really need to.

THE FAITH PERSPECTIVE

In our booklet "Living Prayer 2019" (details below), naturalist and campaigner Mary Colwell writes in the September reflection, "The vastness of an ocean draws us to God. To stand at the edge of such an unknowable, deep and mysterious part of the earth pierces our soul with yearning. The surface of the sea can be implacable and soothing, or it can rage in a broiling turmoil that instils a fear that is unmatched". God draws us in and through creation; who cannot be moved by the vast majesty of the ocean, the sheer wonder of our earth, be it sea, mountain or forest? Colwell reminds us that "Below the waves are landforms we can only imagine - mountain ranges, canyons, trenches and vast plains. They are inhabited by creatures that have no equivalent on land, alien life that glows and pulsates in utter blackness. Discovering this strange world reminds us that God has plans that range far beyond our human lives." Our prayer this month, with the Pope, is to be open to that vastness; of the ocean, of God's never-ending creative dream, and of our human responsibility for its tarnishing and even destruction. If we let our prayer change our hearts, we will discover what each of us is called to do.

PREPARING FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY MONTH OF MISSION

As we, at the Holy Father's invitation, grapple with the urgency of the environmental task before us, we hear a specific call to mission, to doing something about it. Each of us has a mission, of course, by virtue of our baptism, which is when we first hear that call to mission. Next month's Intention takes us directly to that missionary call, as does the special Month of Mission. The intention for October is for "A Missionary "Spring" in the Church: That the breath of the Holy Spirit engender a new missionary "spring" in the church". Pope Francis declared, early in his pontificate, in his letter Evangelii Gaudium, that "In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples … Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are "disciples" and "missionaries", but rather that we are always "missionary disciples".'

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Our missionary discipleship can take many forms, from a simple act of kindness to a big involvement in a campaign for justice, such as is called forth by the environmental emergency. The prayer and action of the Missionary Month, and the Pope's Intention for October, call us all to renew our missionary commitment. For the four weeks of October 2019, the Holy Father has approved four themes:

A personal encounter with Jesus Christ living in his Church.

The witness of missionary saints and martyrs.

Missionary charity - a commitment to support the Church's missionary activity especially in supporting poor communities.

Biblical, catechetical, spiritual and theological formation for mission.

In these four ways, one for each week, the Holy Father invites us to renew and reawaken our commitment to mission. More details will start to appear throughout September on various websites and publications about how to embrace this Mission Month. Start now, in preparation!

IT ALL STARTS WITH PRAYER

Without prayer, our charity risks being empty activism , or we just lose motivation. Pray with the Pope in September, about the environmental threat to our planet and our future, and already you're preparing for October's Mission Month. Ponder your and your family's use of the earth's resources; ask, for example, food suppliers to use more sustainable packaging. But pray, and ponder, this final thought from Mary Colwell about the ocean: This great mass of water also brings us life. In this month of prayer for the oceans let us be still and open ourselves to their mystery, and pray that all of us, politicians, scientists, citizens and industry treat this realm of wonder with respect.

ORDER THE BOOKLET FOR 2020

Living Prayer 2020 - available for delivery in late October. Order now from the London office via prayernwetwork@jesuit.org.uk or leave address details on voicemail 074 3259 1117 or 020 8442 5232. Suggested donation STG£2.70 incl postage; pay online (we cannot accept cheques).