“PLEASE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL US ABOUT YOUR PRAYER?” A reflection and request from Bishop Philip Huggins
I attended another meeting last week of folk drawn to deeper prayer, based on the theme, “that they may all be one” (John 17:21).
It is called, you may remember, the Antonian Contemplative Vocation, in recognition of the continuities with the Call and Response of St Anthony, the Desert Mothers and Fathers.
This time we pondered the insight of St John Climacus (c 579-649), that “Prayer by reason of its nature is the converse and union of persons with God, and by reason of its action upholds the world.” (In ‘The Ladder of Divine Ascent’, Step 28 of 30).
In relation to this, one member, Carol McDonough, a Master's Spirituality graduate of the University of Divinity, Australia, is undertaking some research to which we can all contribute.
With your consent and rigorous confidentiality ethic, she would like people to share their answer to her question: “Please, would you like to tell us about your prayer?”
Carol will gather responses by email to her.
Please email Carol direct at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. either with your reflection or for further information.
Can you respond during Advent, before Christmas? Carol will subsequently share the outcomes and some theological reflection.
We imagine we may, as Carol says, “elicit hope-filled perceptions of God’s purposes and actions now”.
We expect to see more clearly how prayer is upholding the world, as humankind undertakes what Thomas Berry describes as “the transition from a period of human devastation of the Earth to a period when humans would be present to the planet in a mutually beneficial manner”.
Our prayers for peace certainly seek to make us a more benign presence on this “home which has been entrusted to us" (Pope Francis, Laudato Si).
In closing thus, can I ask again for your prayers for the effectiveness of the UN Conference on Climate Change - UNFCCC COP25- now in Madrid, December 2-13. We have arranged for a Retreat and Quiet Days on Sunday December 1 and 8.
With prayers now,
Bishop Philip Huggins
President, NCCA
