MORE than 550 people attended the first of a series of prayer evenings being led by Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, with many expressing their appreciation of the experience.
Five prayer evenings are being held around Brisbane archdiocese as part of the celebration of the Year of Grace.
The first of them was held at Sacred Heart Church, Clear Island Waters, in the South Coast Deanery, on October 4.
Each evening will include an introduction on the Year of Grace by Archbishop Coleridge followed by a brief explanation of the prayer style to be used at that venue.
During the first prayer evening Gold Coast parishioners were guided through The Examen prayer method – a spiritual exercise of St Ignatius Loyola.
Archbishop Coleridge said he was delighted with the first prayer evening.
“I think the response was remarkable and not only the number of people who came but the quality of prayer and reflection,” he said.
“People who come to this kind of thing are obviously deeply motivated, and you could sense that deep motivation in the gathering.
“I thought there was a wonderful spirit of attentiveness, a willingness to enter into what was offered, a silence that was anything but empty and a powerful prayerfulness was on the gathering, and they are all the signs of the Holy Spirit moving among us.”
South Coast dean and Southport parish priest Fr Peter Dillon applauded the prayer evening initiative, saying it was refreshing and gave him more of a focus for the Year of Grace.
Surfers Paradise pastoral councillor Jane Doogan urged fellow Catholics throughout the archdiocese to make an effort to attend an evening in their own area.
“I think it would be terrible to miss it,” she said.
“(Archbishop Coleridge) is such a passionate speaker and I was hanging off every word. It was just wonderful.”
Ms Doogan said the prayer evening was very faith-filled.
“It was a real call to prayer. That’s how I felt afterwards – a real call to pray,” she said
Fellow Surfers Paradise parishioner and Year 8 St Michael’s College student John Pennings was there with his family and was one of a number of students and youth to attend.
He said the evening gave him a better understanding of the Year of Grace.
“It was very informative; it showed me a new way to express and a new kind of prayer,” he said.
Tony McLeod, also of Surf-ers Paradise parish, said the evening had a great sense of future.
“I think calling on people to find the ‘Francis’ amongst all of us was a very liberating experience,” he said.
“I think God’s calling us all to amazing things and we just don’t know that yet.”
Nerang pastoral councillor Liz Newton appreciated the opportunity to be still and listen to God.
“It was a very uplifting, fulfilling, amazing evening of prayer and reflection,” she said.
“Most importantly it gave us the tools of prayer and to be mindful and thankful of everything that we have and to be still and to listen to God.”
The second prayer evening was to have been held at St Catherine of Siena Church, Sippy Downs, on Wednesday (October 10), with a focus on Taize prayer.
The next prayer evening will be held at Sts Peter and Paul Church, Bulimba, on October 25 from 7-8.30pm. It will model Evening Prayer.
It will be followed by the fourth evening at All Saints’ Church, Albany Creek, on October 31, on Lectio Divina; and the fifth at St Bernard’s Church, Upper Mt Gravatt, on November 8, on “Praying with Images”.
For more details go to the website www.bne.catholic.net.au/yearofgrace or contact Mike Humphrys on (07) 3336 9340, email humphrysm@bne.catholic.net.au
