Discipleship is about following Jesus and living your life according to his teachings. It is a lifelong journey of learning and growing in faith. As disciples, we are called to grow in our relationship with God, to live out our faith in the world, and to serve others.
Day 1 – Head
On the first day of our prayer we will be reflecting on The Word of God to help us to understand our theme.
We begin our prayer this morning with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
This week’s scripture comes from the New Testament. The people of Corinth had challenged St Paul and his second letter to them reminds them to love God and to care for one another.
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
Brothers and Sisters: There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
The Word of the Lord
R/ Thanks be to God
This piece of scripture was read out at Mass on Sunday and was the second reading in the Liturgy of the Word.
Having celebrated Christmas, then Epiphany, and then the Lord’s Baptism last week, we now enter Ordinary Time, the start of Jesus’s public ministry, and we kick start this period looking at the word Discipleship.
As well as being Bishop Patrick’s priority for the Diocese, Discipleship is a fantastic focus for beginning Ordinary Time, because the first thing Jesus did in his ministry was gather disciples around him.
In the ancient biblical world, a disciple was someone who actively tried to be like their Teacher or Master.
It wasn’t a passive listening, it was an active imitation of someone.
Do you have someone you want to be like?
Who in your life is the person you try to imitate?
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Day 2 – Heart
On the second day of the week we focus on our hearts. How can the scripture that we looked at yesterday impact our lives, and the lives of others? What themes can we draw from the scripture?
We begin our prayer with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
We heard in the scripture previously, how everyone is given different gifts, called to different acts of service, and called to a different path, but we know we are all called to the same destination: Heaven.
Take a quiet moment to reflect on the gifts God has given you.
These may be your talents, your passions, your characteristics, or the ways you respond to and support others.
On Sunday we celebrated the Jubilee of Ecumenical Initiatives – celebrating and praying for the work across our Diocese that brings Christians of different traditions together to pray together and to work to support others as a team.
Consider how your gifts can be used to be a disciple of Jesus; how to follow in his footsteps and how to bring unity to all of His followers.
Here are a few suggestions if you are struggling:
- If you are musical, taking part in productions or playing music at Mass
- If you are creative, sharing your creations with the world so that they may see God’s beauty through you
- If you are good at making others feel welcome, befriending those who do not have many friends and reaching out to other Christians
Let us pray,
Dear God,
Thank You for creating each of us with special gifts and talents. We are grateful for the different ways we can serve You and one another.
Help us to see the value in our unique abilities and to use them to help our friends, family, and community. May we always support each other, knowing that together we can make a difference.
When we feel unsure or discouraged, remind us that our differences are a strength that brings us closer together. Teach us to work in harmony, sharing Your love and kindness with everyone around us.
Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may we grow in faith and be ready to serve in the ways You call us.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
We end our prayer with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Day 3 – Hands
On the final day of the week we try to put into action the things we have learnt and reflected on previously in the week, hence the hands link!
We begin our prayer with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
We start with a challenge!
This week every form received a Diocesan Ordo. Every parish and every school in our Trust refers to these important books to help guide us through the liturgical year. Every day of the year is listed and it tells us: which liturgical season we are in; Pope Francis’ prayer themes for the month; the Saints that we remember and celebrate each day; and this year, the dates of the special Jubilee celebrations that will be taking place throughout our year of Hope!
Your challenge is to use the Ordo to find the answer to the following and to add them to the comments box below before you take part in our reflection:
- Using the first page of the Ordo, which holy day of obligation falls during the summer holidays?
- Using section 8 of the General Information at the front of the Ordo, what are the Holy Father’s (Pope Francis) prayer intentions for January?
- Using this week’s pages, what feast do we celebrate on Saturday that links to this week’s scripture?
We reflect on our calling to be Disciples.
Jesus calls each and every one of us to follow him, but we do that in a variety of different ways.
We are all unique and our God given gifts are never the same as any one else’s.
You may or may not know what you need to do with your gifts and talents, but we are aware that there are a lot of different demands on our time.
This week we challenge you to give up something you know to be unnecessary, so that you have the time to do something special with your gifts for God.
For example,
When I get home every day this week, I am going to switch off my phone for half an hour so that I can be more present with my family.
Consider the gifts you identified earlier in the week and think about how you can help them to grow. Do you need to make time to practise a skill or talent/ to spend time with others/ to spend time in prayer and ask God to guide you in your calling?
We end our prayer with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
A member of our form said that they want to be like Jesus.
Another person said that they want to be like God.
So we can use our talent to strive and help each other.
We can be the best versions of ourselves to show our talents. We can go to clubs to develop our skills, or even learn new ones. We can spend time and show kindness to our friends. There are scriptures from the bible that teach us about using our talents for good.
We discussed discipleship and who we look up to. Here are our suggestions:
– Our peers, who set a good example in their school life
– Mary, showing wisdom in her decisions, even if they are challenging situation
– Jesus, as our example of the Lord