Year of Prayer 2024-2025

For the next year, our Pastorate will be providing resources and hosting events each month to celebrate the variety of ways we can each grow in love with the Lord through prayer. 

Fr. Neterer: "I think prayer's a great thing!"

Fr. Shocklee: "You need to pray, sinner!"

Fr. Peter: "I think of the Liturgy of the Hours."

Books

Videos

This Month's Challenge:

Pray a Rosary (even just a decade!) with your family or a friend.

“The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christ-centered prayer.  It has all the depth of the gospel message in its entirety.” 
- St. Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae

An Introduction:

• Rosary: two meanings: a form of prayer and also a physical item. The physical rosary can be used for other forms of prayer. 
• Decade: Meditation of a Mystery of the Rosary over 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be, and 1 Fatima prayers
• Mystery, Mysteries: Meaningful scenes from Jesus and Mary's lives for meditation/contemplation. 
• Meditation: "An exercise and a form of prayer in which we try to understand God's revelation of the truths of faith and the purpose of the Christian life, and how it should be lived, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking" (Catechism of the Catholic Church Glossary, p. 888). Meditation is "the connecting of mind, heart and soul in communicating with God and... a response to His invitation to offer oneself totally to Him." (Fireside New American Bible Encyclopedic Dictionary, p. 96)
• Christocentric: having Christ as the center- while we most commonly associate the Rosary with Mary, Jesus Christ remains the central focus. We go to Jesus, through Mary!
• Mediatrix: We profess that Jesus Christ is the "one mediator between God and man (1 Tm 2:5)." Some say that calling Mary our Mediatrix means we are looking to her for salvation- but this is not what it means! Mary "is sometimes called Mediatrix in virtue of her cooperation in the saving mission of Christ" (Catechism of the Catholic Church Glossary, p.887). Just as Mary asked Jesus for help when the hosts ran out of wine at the Wedding at Cana, so she asks Him for help on our behalf when we call on her.
• Blessing: "a rite dedicating persons, places, or things to a sacred office.... A blessing is valid only if the prescribed formula is followed by the properly authorized ecclesiastic" (Fireside New American Bible Encyclopedic Dictionary, p. 23).
• Blessed: In regards to a blessed object- "Something that has been hallowed by a religious rite of blessing" (Fireside New American Bible Encyclopedic Dictionary, p. 23).
• Sacramental: "Sacred signs which bear a certain resemblance to the sacraments, and by means of which spiritual effects are signified and obtained through the prayers of the Church" (Catechism of the Catholic Church Glossary, p.887).
• Indulgence: Praying a rosary can be used to gain an indulgence, which is remission granted by the Church of the temporal punishment due to a sin which has already been forgiven. see CCC 1471 for more detail.

Why pray the Rosary?

How do you pray the Rosary?

"There are as many and varied methods of meditation as there are spiritual masters. Christians owe it to themselves to develop the desire to meditate regularly, lest they come to resemble the three first kinds of soil in the parable of the sower. But a method is only a guide; the important thing is to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus.
Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. . . . Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him."
 —Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 2707-2708

Where does the Rosary come from?

Which Rosary should I use? Can I make one?

Praying as a family:

How can all these variations be called a rosary?

More Resources

Books & Authors to look for: 

Video

Kids & Family:

• Coloring pages, books, and toys: The Little Rose Shop (also has Rosary videos for kids on Youtube)
• Alternative rosary formats (like wooden bead puzzles, pop-its, etc.: Gather and Pray

Audio: 

Please click here for more detail!

Why are we focusing on Prayer & Music this month, and how is music connected to prayer? 

It’s fitting to focus on music during the Advent and Christmas season, because music plays a big role in both our liturgies and also our cultural celebrations. From Christmas choirs to O Antiphons, caroling and catchy pop songs, music seems to point us to the Christ-child throughout the month of December.

Music- whether singing at Mass, listening to a song, playing an instrument, or softly playing in the background- is an opportunity to direct our focus to the Lord. Music allows us, body and soul, to draw nearer to our Creator. This, as with all prayer, looks differently for different people.

You don’t necessarily have to sing or play an instrument to pray with music, whether individually or in a communal setting. But it's also worth giving it your best try, and we'll look into why this month!

Here's an excerpt from the article "Why Do We Sing" that Charlie Dispenzieri wrote for us, explaining why we sing at all: 
"In Catholic worship, music and singing play a significant role, transforming liturgical moments into experiences of divine connection and unity. Far from being a mere adornment, music is deeply integrated into the act of worship, reflecting a long-standing theological tradition that highlights the spiritual, communal, and expressive power of song. By examining Catholic teachings, scripture, and traditions, we can understand how music serves as both an instrument of prayer and a profound expression of faith." 

(note: click the green title to read the article, or see full list of resources at the bottom of the page)

"He who sings [well] prays twice” 
 – attributed to St. Augustine

Incorporating personal use of music into your life of prayer:

• Meditate on the lyrics of a hymn:  Similar to Lectio Divina, read through the lyrics, then allow your focus to be drawn to a word or phrase as you ask God to speak to you through the hymn. 
• Listen to the songs used at Mass throughout your week
• Allow your environment to encourage prayer with contemplative or instrumental music, drawing your attention back whenever you become distracted

Praying with song:

This Month's Challenge:

Selection of playlists for Advent:		Selections of playlists for Christmas:
SJRCC on Spotify: Advent Traditional Hymns SJRCC on Spotify: Advent Gregorian Chants SJRCC on Spotify: Advent Contemporary Music Be A Heart on Spotify: Advent Contemporary & Contemplative Songs Catholic Review: Advent Hymns and songs Liturgies.net: Advent Hymns Focus: Advent songs Youtube (can play at the bottom of this page): Advent songs		The Cathedral Singers on Spotify: Catholic Christmas Classics Musica Sacra on Spotify: Christmas Songs & Hymns, English & Latin Grotto Network on Spotify: Contemporary Christmas songs Be a Heart on Spotify: Christmas songs (Contemporary hymns) Youtube (can play at the bottom of this page): Christmas hymns

Music and Scripture:

• “One cried out to the other: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!  All the earth is filled with his glory” (Is 6:3)
• "Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 7:12)
• "They sang a new hymn: “Worthy are you to receive the scroll and to break open its seals, for you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth.” Revelation 5:9–10

Music & Liturgy:

"Song and music fulfill their function as signs in a manner all the more significant when they are "more closely connected . . . with the liturgical action," according to three principal criteria: beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly at the designated moments, and the solemn character of the celebration. In this way they participate in the purpose of the liturgical words and actions: the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful
How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs, and the voices that echoed through your Church! What emotion I experienced in them! Those sounds flowed into my ears distilling the truth in my heart. A feeling of devotion surged within me, and tears streamed down my face - tears that did me good.""
-CCC 1157 "

Seasonality & Appropriateness of Music:

• Liturgical Seasons- Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time, etc.
• Scriptural Foundations of Music in Liturgy
• General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM)
• Music selections based on the specific part of Mass

Communal & Unifying Aspect of Music 

The harmony of signs (song, music, words, and actions) is all the more expressive and fruitful when expressed in the cultural richness of the People of God who celebrate. Hence "religious singing by the faithful is to be intelligently fostered so that in devotions and sacred exercises as well as in liturgical services," in conformity with the Church's norms, "the voices of the faithful may be heard." But "the texts intended to be sung must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine. Indeed they should be drawn chiefly from the Sacred Scripture and from liturgical sources."
- CCC 1158

More Resources: 

USCCB documents:

Charlie Dispenzieri articles (he wrote all of these specifically for our pastorate!)

Psalms

Hymns

"Upon This Rock" Radio Shows (previously broadcasted for the pastorate)

Please click here for more detail!