How to Form Prayer Groups
“For where two or three gather in my name there I am with them ” (Mt 18:20).
In the world today there are many individuals who pray. Many families have responded to Our Lady’s call to prayer, and many prayer groups which follow Our Lady’s teachings and messages have been formed.
In Her messages Our Lady has most often called us to prayer even more often than She has called us to peace. We will understand this when we accept the fact that prayer is a means to a goal. That goal is peace.
The greatest grace received in Medjugorje is not only the recognition of the necessity for prayer, but the actual will to pray and a real desire to respond to Our Lady’s call. This is the main dynamic of Medjugorje. Only through prayer can Our Lady’s call main goal be realized- peace between God and man and peace among men.
It is most important that through the events of Medjugorje many have readily responded to the call to pray becoming worthy and faithful disciples of prayer, with a genuine desire to pray. This is the greatest grace of Medjugorje. The messages and the invitations of Our Lady, in themselves, contain nothing new. It is the motivation to pray and the experience of prayer that are new and powerful.
The meaning and the strength of the events of Medjugorje lie herein. If no one responded to the call to pray, all of the messages and events would have no meaning. In themselves they contain nothing new. They only repeat what is known already.”
Pray Together with a Joyful Heart (pgs 4-6)
Fr Slavko Barbaric
Invitation from Our Lady to form prayer groups
Our Lady in Medjugorje has asked for prayer groups to be established. According to Father Slavko Barbaric, the children’s spiritual director at the beginning of the apparitions, the purpose of the prayer groups is to be like a chain of links throughout the world so that God’s plans can be fulfilled. It is also Our Lady’s desire that we enter into a life of shared prayer, in communion, which helps us to grow spiritually.
The first prayer group started in Medjugorje on July 4, 1982 with the participation of Ivan and continues to meet on the Hill of Apparitions. Later, the prayer group of Jelena was created. Mary directed it through interior locutions that she herself transmitted. Undoubtedly, these two groups have served and continue to serve as a model for many pilgrims from around the world when they return to their homes.
There are several messages from Our Lady that invite us to create prayer groups. In the message of September 25, 2000, given to the visionary Marija Pavlovic, this invitation is very clear and she also explains its wonderful fruits:
Message from Our Lady in Medjugorje 9/25/2000
“Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. May prayer become joy for you. Renew prayer in your families and form prayer groups. In this way, you will experience joy in prayer and togetherness. All those who pray and are members of prayer groups are open to God’s will in their hearts and joyfully witness God’s love. I am with you, I carry all of you in my heart and I bless you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
How to form a prayer group
“…it is very easy to form a prayer group, the key is a person who decides to pray, and then seeks out another person to join them. If after asking around no one wants to join the prayer group, then we should turn to the elderly or the sick and ask them if they allow us to visit them perhaps once a week to pray the Rosary with them…”. Father Slavko, in his book “Pray Together with a Joyful Heart,” recommends that in prayer groups, in addition to praying the Rosary and reading the Holy Scriptures, there should be open discussions about our experiences of God in prayer. Once this trust has been built, it is when we can freely talk about what is happening in our hearts, and then that joy and communion occur. This way, the charisms have the opportunity to grow. Prayer groups are necessary to learn how to pray, and they help to stay on the right path. It is also important, if possible, to have the presence of a priest or at least have them occasionally accompany the group so that it does not stray from its course.
It is advisable to meet in the same place and set a day and time that is convenient for the majority. In these groups, messages or private revelations or personal experiences of the group members or other individuals or visionaries that do not have the proper approval of the Church should not be included. Finally, for the prayer group to grow in commitment and depth, it is essential for each member to engage in daily personal prayer and to support one another. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in number 2689, states that “prayer groups, or schools of prayer, are today one of the signs and one of the driving forces of the renewal of prayer in the Church.”
And Pope Benedict XVI, in his meeting with the bishops of Switzerland on November 9, 2006, commented: “We must multiply these schools of prayer, where we are taught to pray together, where we can learn personal prayer in all its dimensions: as silence and listening to God, as listening that delves into His Word, that delves into His silence, that probes His action in history and in my person; also understanding His language in my life and then learning to respond by praying with the great prayers of the Psalms of the Old and New Testament.”
Types of prayer groups
The first prayer group is the one created within the family. This happens when parents pray with their children and children with their parents. Prayer for peace, love, and reconciliation within the family is absolutely necessary. If the family wants to be a true Christian family, they will pray the Rosary together and read the Holy Scriptures. Without family prayer, children will never be able to grow in Faith, and it is a great responsibility of parents to find the right place and time for family prayer. We all know how difficult it can be to create this time, and we are all familiar with the excuses. Parents’ work, constant busyness, television, and all other excuses are not valid reasons for not dedicating time to prayer. There is truly only one reason why one does not pray as a family, and it is the lack of love for God and the lack of Faith in the hearts.
Families with young children can pray even when the little ones are not yet able to stay still during a whole Rosary, but they can do so for a brief time. One can expect them to be still for a while, but then they should be allowed to play, as long as they are aware that one is praying or reading the Holy Scriptures. This experience is very important for the youngest children, and we should never say that young children do not understand, because they understand very well when their parents and older siblings are together in peace and prayer. That is why we must start praying, and the rest of the family will eventually open up to prayer. (Fr. Slavko, Commentary on the message of September 25, 2000).
The purpose of this group is to grow in prayer, friendship, and knowledge of God, and thus be able to help each other. This shared prayer will help them grow spiritually, giving them the opportunity to serve the Church and others. There is no specific number established for the formation of this prayer group, but ideally it should not exceed 10 people. It is important to understand that this is not a social gathering.
This group is open to all faithful, with no limit on participants. Unlike the other two prayer groups, it is recommended to have Eucharistic Adoration. Permission from the parish priest must be requested. If held in the church, it should be remembered that it is the house of God and the group should act reverently at all times. When Our Lady was asked if it was necessary to form a prayer group in the parish of St. James the Apostle in Medjugorje, she responded:
Is it necessary to establish prayer groups, formed by Priests, Sisters and laity in the parish?
The structure of a prayer group
Here we present the structure of the prayer group proposed by Fr. Slavko that we invite you to follow. Although it should not be rigid, it should contain all the parts that are proposed. Depending on the time available, it can be extended further in one part or another. For example, in the sharing of ideas, in the reflection of the message, in the songs… It is also preferable that it be done with the heart; Therefore, it is better to start with little and good, than to do a lot and badly.
Invocation of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who always guides us on the path of holiness. St. Paul explains to us that there can be no authentic prayer without the presence of the Spirit in us. In fact, he writes:
“The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness because we do not know how to pray properly; but the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered…” (Rom 8:26-27)
Adoration, Praise, Thanks: spontaneous and voluntary prayer of Adoration, Praise and Thanksgiving. With open hearts, let us express to our God our love for Him and what He represents to us. At this moment we can take this opportunity to thank him for all the favors received.” Dear children! Today I invite you all to continually rejoice in the life that God gives you.
Message from Our Lady in Medjugorje 8/25/1988
“Dear children! Today I invite you all to rejoice in the life which God gives you. Little children, rejoice in God, the Creator, because He has created you so wonderfully. Pray that your life be joyful thanksgiving which flows out of your heart like a river of joy. Little children, give thanks unceasingly for all that you possess, for each little gift which God has given you, so that a joyful blessing always comes down from God upon your life. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
(open to prayer of petition and intercession). The Rosary, precisely from the experience of Mary, is a markedly contemplative prayer. Without this dimension, it would be denatured. As Paul VI emphasized, without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas and of contradicting Jesus’ warning: “When you pray, do not be charlatans like the pagans, who think they are listened to by virtue of their loquacity” (Mt 6,7).
By its nature, the recitation of the Rosary demands a calm rhythm and a reflective calm that favors, in those who pray, the meditation of the mysteries of the Lord’s life, seen through the heart of the One who was closest to the Lord, and that reveal her unfathomable richness. The Rosary is both meditation and supplication. Insistent prayer to the Mother of God rests on the confidence that her maternal intercession can do all things before the heart of her Son.
The message of the month from Our Lady in Medjugorje is read, preferably the last one or the one of the previous month, and then a community reflection is made, where each member can voluntarily share what inspires or arouses the message, or a part of it that has particularly moved them.
Message from Our Lady in Medjugorje 12/25/1989
“Dear children!
Today I bless you in a special way with my motherly blessing and I am interceding for you before God that He gives you the gift of conversion of the heart. For years I am calling you and exhorting you to a deep spiritual life in simplicity, but you are so cold. Therefore, little children, I ask you to accept and live the messages with seriousness, so that your soul will not be sad when I will no longer be with you, and when I will no longer lead you like insecure children in their first steps. Therefore, little children, every day read the messages that I have given you and transform them into life. I love you and therefore I am calling you all to the way of salvation with God. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
The following Sunday’s reading is read in order to prepare for the rest of the week, but the reading for the day can also be chosen. A communal reflection can be carried out, in which each member voluntarily shares what inspires him or her in the Holy Gospel.
Message from Our Lady in Medjugorje August 25 1993
“Dear children! I want you to understand that I am your Mother, that I want to help you and call you to prayer. Only by prayer can you understand and accept my messages and practice them in your life. Read Sacred Scripture, live it, and pray to understand the signs of the times. This is a special time, therefore, I am with you to draw you close to my heart and the heart of my Son, Jesus. Dear little children, I want you to be children of the light and not of the darkness. Therefore, live what I am telling you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
We can make a final prayer or hymn to Our Lady. We can also make the consecration to Mary Most Holy or to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Finally, let us be grateful for the possibility of participating in a prayer group, as has been done since the first Christian communities. In this way we can experience what Jesus said in the Gospel, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20).
