Salesian Lenten Mission 11 :: Missions Department

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Salesian Lenten Mission 11

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Salesian Lenten Mission 11

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Salesian Missionary Animation

www.salesianvolunteers.org

St. Andrew Province

SUO

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February 6, 2011

Dear Salesians,

Greetings from the Missionary Animations Office!

As many of you know, the Missionary Animation Office is trying to promote the missionary spirit

among our young people. After brainstorming, reflecting, and praying we have determined

that this Lenten season would be the perfect time to create missionary groups in every

community. The question is, how?

Combining our ideas, efforts, and our zeal toward this project we have created a missionary

formation manual for our communities. We are hoping that this manual will serve as an

instrument to guide you through a memorable experience, as a leader in fostering the

missionary spirit of St. John Bosco.

As a first step, your community is asked to identify a group of six to ten young people who you

think demonstrate a natural gift of missionary spirit. This core group will meet for the first time

on March 11, 2011, the First Friday in Lent, and every Friday of Lent after that, with the

exception of Good Friday. The manual will guide you step‐by‐step thru the process of building

the core missionary group.

On Holy Thursday, and Good Friday the missionary group will visit the houses in the

neighborhood, and invite the families to join them in prayer. The short prayer service will serve as

a stepping stone to invite the families to join them in the Easter Vigil services on Holy Saturday.

I invite, and encourage you to adopt this program as your own, hoping that it can become a

meaningful tool in establishing a missionary spirit in, and for your community. The manual itself is

only a tool, and it allows for implementation and change according to the need.

As stated in the beginning, the objective is to, "promote the missionary spirit among our young

people". This is part of the legacy that Don Bosco left us, and we can do no less than make an

effort to live up to his life's philosophy and motto, "Da Mihi Animas, Cetera Tolle"

Your friend in Don Bosco

Juan Carlos Montenegro

Salesian Mission Animation Delegate.

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Contents

Lenten Mission Manual................................................................................................................................. 5

Objective: .................................................................................................................................................. 5

Important dates to keep in mind .............................................................................................................. 5

Our Logo.................................................................................................................................................... 6

We are a Missionary Church!........................................................................................................................ 7

What is lent? ............................................................................................................................................. 7

The Missionary Heart of Don Bosco! ..................................................................................................... 8

Jesus as a Missionary! ................................................................................................................................. 12

The Salesian Spirituality!............................................................................................................................. 16

A Salesian Spirituality............................................................................................................................. 16

Salesian Youth Spirituality! .................................................................................................................... 18

The Salesian Creed! ............................................................................................................................... 21

Salesian Youth Spirituality..................................................................................................................... 21

How to create a Prayer Service! ................................................................................................................. 22

How to prepare a Prayer Service............................................................................................................ 22

Time to Practice .......................................................................................................................................... 30

Liturgy of the Word/Commissioning........................................................................................................... 32

Briefing and Debriefing to be used Holy Thursday and Good Friday.......................................................... 35

Prayer Service example # 1 ......................................................................................................................... 37

TO FOLLOW THE WAY OF LOVE .............................................................................................................. 37

Prayer Service example # 2 ......................................................................................................................... 40

A FAMILY PRAYER SERVICE ..................................................................................................................... 40

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Lenten Mission Manual

This manual will guide you in creating and promoting the missionary animation in your community

through this 2011 Lenten Season.

Objective:

To promote the 'missionary spirit among our young people', thus creating a missionary / vocation culture

in our communities.

What is the main Goal?

The main goal is to outreach to the community by forming a group of young people who, on

Holy Thursday and Good Friday, will visit families within the community. In their visit, they

will share the word of God through a specially prepared prayer service. It is our hope that this

activity will allow the families to see the importance of hearing and sharing God's word with

others (evangelization). Secondly, it is our goal to show that prayer sharing of God's word may

also touch the hearts of those participating enough that they may see and accept God's

challenge to make a difference in our society by their witness.

Visiting homes in the neighborhood. What is that all about?

For our initial starting year we will ask our Coordinator of Youth Ministry to recruit families that

already belong to our parish or community, and are willing to welcome a group of young people

into their homes to pray with them. Any future prayer families may possibly be randomly chosen,

but for this year the process of choosing the families will be organized and planned.

Ideas for recruiting families can vary: announcements after Sunday masses can be made,

indicating what the intention of the missionary group does and how the families can help them,

flyers can be handed out, a few members can meet and greet the parishioners as they exit mass. Any

number of ways can be utilized to promote participation. Again, brainstorming is a good exercise

when seeking a variety of ideas.

Important dates to keep in mind

From present day until March 9th

Recruitment (invite young people to experience this missionary activity)

March 11th

March 18th

March 12th & 19th

1st Formation Meeting

Theme: We are a Missionary church

2nd Formation Meeting

Theme: Jesus as a Missionary

Church Announcement:

Ask for host families who receive missionary group into their home on Holy

Thursday and Holy Friday

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March 25th

April 1st

April 8th

April 15th

April 21st & 22nd

April 23rd

3rd Formation Meeting

Theme: The Salesian Youth Spirituality

4th Formation Meeting

Theme: How to create a Prayer Service

5th Formation Meeting

Theme: Practice Facilitating the Prayer Service

6th Formation Meeting

Commissioning

Missionary Activity

Participation in the Resurrection Mass

Notes

The 'Formation Meetings', which are the basis for accomplishing the objective of spreading the

missionary spirit, and making the sharing of the Word of God with others truly a lasting spiritual

experience are must be well planned and executed.

Items of Importance:

1. The CYM must have the permission slip from each young person who is part of this

missionary experience.

2. On the evening of the family visits the missionary group gathers together at the

community level and then proceeds to different family homes. It would be similar to a

“sending forth” mission.

3. Any member who is providing transportation must be at least 25 years old, and have a

proof of insurance.

4. The driver must carry all permission slips

Our Logo

This logo was created based on the 2011 Strenna, "Come

and See".

Look closely and you will see in the eyes of the young both

Jesus and Don Bosco.

As the young take on the missionary spirit they too will

make a difference in the world if they allow themselves to be

witnesses to Jesus in the Salesian missionary spirit of St. John

Bosco.

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SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION

Lenten Mission 2011

Formation Meeting # 1

We are a Missionary Church!

Objectives

1.) To understand that we are called to be disciples of Christ as Don Bosco was, and help other

people to get to know Jesus. 2.) To lay the foundation of our Lenten Missionary experience,

understanding what is Lent and why as Salesians we want to visit the families at their homes.

This meeting should take place any day of the first week of Lent after ash Wednesday.

Meeting Schedule

7:00 pm

7:15 pm

7:40 pm

8:00 pm

8:10 pm

8:20 pm

Welcome and Introductions, quick opening prayer

Formal Presentation

Group Discussion

Group Sharing

Closing Thoughts/good night

Closing Prayer!

Useful-Additional Information

What is lent?1

Lent is the penitential season of approximately 40 days set aside by the Church in order for the

faithful to prepare for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. During

this holy season, inextricably connected to the Paschal Mystery, the Catechumens prepare for

Christian initiation, and current Church members prepare for Easter by a recalling of Baptism

and by works of penance, which could be, prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Even in the early Church, Lent was the season for prayerful and penitential preparation for the

feast of Easter. Though the obligation of penance was originally only imposed on those who

had committed public sins and crimes, by medieval times all the faithful voluntarily performed

acts of penance to repair for their sins.

Ash Wednesday is the clarion call to ‘Repent and believe the gospel’ (Mk 1:15). For the next

forty days, the faithful willingly submit to fasting and self-denial in imitation of Our Lord’s

forty-day fast in the desert. It is in these dark and still nights, these desert-times, that the soul

1 Source: www.catholicculture.org “The Mystery of Lent”

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experiences its greatest growth. There, in the inner arena, the soul battles the world, the flesh

and the devil just as Our Lord battled Satan's triple temptation in the desert. His battle was

external, for Jesus could not sin; our battle is interior, but with a hope sustained by the

knowledge of Christ’s Easter victory over sin and death.

His victory is our renewal, our ‘spring’ - which is the meaning of the Anglo-Saxon word,

‘lengten’ or Lent. In this penitential season we have the opportunity to make an annual

spiritual ‘tune-up’, a 40-day retreat with Our Lord.

The Missionary Heart of Don Bosco!2

We may safely say that Don Bosco can be listed among the great missionaries of the 19th

century, even though he was never personally on the missions "ad gentes". (Out of their native

country)

"It can be said", wrote Eugene Ceria, "that the missionary idea grew in him". It is an idea that is

intrinsic to his vocational plan as a Founder, and coextensive with his whole existence. At first

it was present in embryo and he was hardly conscious of it, but then it gradually took on a

form that became progressively clearer and more distinct.

The same thing is said in more incisive or delicate terms by both Fr Paul Albera and Fr Philip

Rinaldi, who trace back Don Bosco's missionary vision to his dream at the age of nine.

The foreign missions, wrote Don Albera, "were always a burning aspiration in Don Bosco's

heart, and I am quite sure that Mary Help of Christians, from her first motherly revelations to

him while he was still a boy, had given him a clear intuition in this regard... He spoke about it

continually to us his first sons; we were filled with wonder and felt ourselves carried away by a

holy enthusiasm... At the bedside of young John Cagliero who was dying, Don Bosco saw the

Patagonians waiting to receive redemption at Cagliero's hands, and he foretold his recovery

and revealed in part what the future had in store for him".

And Don Rinaldi said in his turn: "In commemorating that first dream of our venerable Father

we have implicitly celebrated the centenary of the beginning of the whole of Salesian work;

because we may say that it was in that first vision that he was consecrated as the apostle of

youth, the father of a new religious family, a missionary to non-Christian; that vision it was

that stirred up also in his heart a lively desire for religious life and the evangelization of

pagans".

The missionary ideal in fact, that had been alive in him from the time of his secondary school

studies, developed and matured with the passing of time.

At the end of his period of pastoral formation in the College of St Francis of Assisi in Turin

(1844), he was thinking of entering the Oblates of the Blessed Virgin, who had opened a

2 AGC# 336 – Don Viganó

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flourishing mission in Vietnam, so that he could soon become a missionary, and for this he

began to prepare himself by prayer and the study of the appropriate language. Don Cafasso, his

spiritual director, let him go along on this line for a while, but then at an opportune moment

said a decisive "no" and bade him stay in Turin, where he found him a post at the refuge of the

Marchioness Barolo, where he could concern himself with large numbers of young people. He

obeyed, and Providence guided his steps. But his apostolic work among the young, far from

quenching his missionary zeal, shed fresh light on it and gave it a new and original slant.

We know that missionary undertakings, reported in the Archives of the Propagation of the

Faith one of his favorite sources of reading material made a deep impression on him. There

were so many souls to be saved, and he felt that in some way he shared the responsibility for

them.

From 1848 Don Rua and others had heard him exclaim more than once: "Oh, if only I had lots

of priests and young clerics! I would send them to preach the Gospel in Patagonia and Tierra

del Fuego...”

He was often seen, during those same years, looking at a map and heaving a deep sigh at the

thought that" so many regions were still lying in the shadow of spiritual death".

When after indescribable sacrifices he was finally able to launch his missions (1875: the

Congregation's greatest enterprise!) his missionary heart exulted, and he seemed to give them

the whole of his eager attention: "From then onwards", wrote Don Albera, "the Missions were

at the center of his heart and he seemed to live only for them... He talked about them with

such enthusiasm that we all marveled and were deeply edified by his burning ardor for souls".

With no less intensity Don Rinaldi, drawing on memories of the distant past, wrote: "In his

great heart there had been accumulating for years on end the apostolic ardor of a Francis

Xavier, nourished by a heavenly flame that was revealing the future to him through dreams...

For me there has never been a missionary as zealous and tireless in his propaganda as he was. I

can still see him, the loving Father, in the distant memories of my Salesian vocation, precisely

in those years when his missionary fervor was at its height; and it has left an indelible

impression on me: he was a true missionary, an apostle devoured by a passion for souls".

But Don Bosco was not satisfied to keep the missionary ideal to himself; he passed it on to his

Congregation (and Family) as an essential element of his spiritual and apostolic patrimony. A

memorandum he sent in 1880 to Pope Leo XII is quite explicit: "The foreign missions have

always been a cherished concern of the Salesian Congregation".

It was his wish therefore that his foundation should be also truly missionary "ad gentes".

It will be worth our while to consider, albeit briefly, some of Don Bosco's dreams that

manifest very dearly his plans as a Founder.

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Prepare in Advance

1. Ask a young person to lead the opening prayer. It has to be simple and from the heart.

We invite the young person to think about the problems that that they have and to pray

for them.

Night Outline

7:00 Welcome and Introductions

Welcome the participants as they arrive, and make sure everyone gets a name tag.

Introduce yourself.

7:08

Quick Opening Prayer

Something that has worked for me is to do a simple opening prayer, we ask the young

people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Then we open the prayer with the sign of

the cross and invite a young person to lead us in the opening prayer.

Note to Leader: In order to have a nice prayer it is important to accompany the young

person in the process of creating the prayer.

7:15 Formal Presentation

At this time the facilitator needs to explain what Leant means and what the

“missionary” heart of Don Bosco is. After these two concepts are explained, the

facilitator allows time for questions.

Once all the answers are given, the facilitator invites the group, to divide themselves

into small group; This will lead us to our next activity activity-group discussion group

discussions.

7:40 Group Discussions

Please ask the different groups to answer the following questions:

1. What did I learn today?

2. What am I going to do, to make this Lent especial?

8:00 Group Sharing

Invite the young people to share what they discussed in their small groups.

8:10 Closing Thoughts

At this point, the facilitator will present the Lenten Missionary Experience as a personal

spiritual time that will lead us to be closer to God. This moment that will improve our

lives, this moment can make the difference in others peoples life.

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The facilitator may want to read the following:

As you can see, Lent is a time that God gives us to become better human beings, it is

also a time for resurrection, which means a time where we can reignite the flame of

God in our heart, the same flame that Don Bosco had in his heart.

This lent we wanted to be different, we want to go and share who we are with the

families in our neighborhood, we want to be able to share Christ with them. And this is

why you are here, I want to invite you to get out of you comfort zone and make the

difference in others people life. On Holy Thursday and Holy Friday, we are going to

visit some families of our neighborhood and we are going to pray with them and for

them.

Would you join us?

8:20

Closing Prayer

Once again, ask the young people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Open the

prayer with the sign of the cross, and invite everyone to give some intentions. After all

the intentions are expressed, ask God to bless the group and finish with an Our Father,

and Hail Mary

Note:

Don’t forget to invite the young people to come to our next meeting!

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SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION

Lenten Mission 2011

Formation Meeting # 2

Jesus as a Missionary!3

Objectives

1.) To really get to know Jesus Christ as a Missionary; 2.) To learn that we are also called to be

his disciples, and missionaries by discovering the humanity of Jesus, empathizing his

compassion for those in need 3.) To know that Jesus walks with us today as we reach out to

those in need.

Meeting Schedule

7:00 pm

7:15 pm

7:40 pm

7:50 pm

8:10 pm

8:20 pm

8:30 pm

Welcome and Introductions, quick opening prayer

Who is Jesus? activity...

Formal Presentation

Scripture Study

Group Sharing

Closing Thoughts/good night

Closing Prayer!

Recourses Needed

 Make copies of Jesus Activity for each participant

 Bibles or copies from the bible passage listed bellow

Night Outline

7:00 Welcome and Introductions

Welcome the participants as they arrive, and make sure everyone gets a name tag.

Introduce yourself.

7:08

Quick Opening Prayer

Something that has worked for me is to do a simple opening prayer, we ask the young

people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Then we open the prayer with the sign of

the cross and invite a young person to lead us in the opening prayer.

3 This formation is based on “Jesus and compassion for the poor” published by YouthWorks and available through a

subscription to Youth Ministry Access.

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7:15 Who is Jesus? Activity

Distribute the, “Who is Jesus?” handout: Ask participants to fill them out individually.

When the group has finished filling out their sheets, have them post their sheets,

around the room. This will allow for exploring one another’s ideas about who Jesus

was.

When everyone has returned to their seats, ask for their feedback on the activity. Was

the task of describing Jesus as a teen, an easy or difficult one? Why? What struck you or

impressed you about the responses you read?

7:40 Formal Presentation

Please incorporate the following points:

 Church teaching presents Jesus as someone who is both fully divine and fully

human.

 If we accept this as true, it means that connecting with Jesus shouldn't really be

all that difficult. If he is truly human, Jesus is more like us than different from

us.

 Describing the qualities that make up the person of Jesus, then, shouldn't be

much different from describing the qualities we respect in the good people

around us-not just in the Mother Teresas or John Paul IIs of our world—but

also in our friends, family, work- or schoolmates, and neighbors.

 Offer an example, "If Jesus is really human, he must have a sense of humor like

Teresa's, which gets all of us laughing and feeling better about ourselves." Or,

"If Jesus is a wonderful, fully human person, then he's got to be like my friend

Paul. Paul really stands up for what he believes in, even if it’s unpopular and

sometimes it means he’s standing alone!"

 Invite group members to provide examples of their own that help paint a clearer

picture of what Jesus must be like.

Lead into the next activity by noting that another important way of learning about Jesus

is to shift our attention to what his friends have to say about him, and what he has to

say about himself. Images of Jesus found in the Gospels will speak for themselves.

7:50 Scripture Study

Please divide the following scriptures among the groups, asking them to read together

and answering the following questions: 1.) what does this passage tell us about the

person of Jesus? 2.) What does this passage tell us about the principles which Jesus

lived?

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 Matthew 9:18-26

 Matthew 9:35-36

 Mark 1:50-45

 Mark 10:4652

 Luke 9-:10-15

 Luke 13:20-17

8:10 Group Sharing

Ask young people to share what have they learn from this activity.

8:20 Closing thoughts/good night

Make the connection on how Jesus was able to serve people who were in need, and how

we can make the difference visiting the families and praying with them. This Lenten season

will be different; will be a moment of purification that will help us to get closer to God...

8:20

Closing Prayer

Once again, ask the young people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Open the prayer

with the sign of the cross, and invite everyone to give some intentions. After all the

intentions are expressed, ask God to bless the group and finish with an Our Father, and

Hail Mary

Note:

Don’t forget to invite the young people to come to our next meeting!

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Jesus Activity!4

Imagine Jesus, not as a full-grown adult, but as a still-growing teenager, 15 or 16 years of age.

What, do you suppose, he thought about himself? What did his family and friends thing of

him? Imagine you are each of the persons listed below. How would you describe the teen

Jesus?

I’m Jeremiah (Jerry to my friends), Jesus’ best friend. When we’re not at school, or working

our part-time jobs, we’re inseparable. To me, Jesus is...

My name’s Rachel. I’m 15, and live down the hill from Jesus. I’ve known him for a long time

and think he’s cute, but...

I’m Mary, Jesus’ mom. To me, Jesus is just....

I’m Jesus, still in my teens, and wondering where life will take me. When I think about the

future I feel...

4 Youth Ministry Access - Service Education 1 “Jesus and compassion”

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Formation Meeting # 3

The Salesian Spirituality!

Objectives

1.) To deepen the understanding of our Salesian Spirituality. 2.) To get to know who we are as a

Salesians. 3.) To realize that we belong to a wider community that is present all over the world.

Meeting Schedule

7:00 pm

7:15 pm

7:30 pm

7:45 pm

8:00 pm

8:20 pm

Welcome and Introductions, quick opening prayer

Activity - The Salesian Creed

Formal Presentation

Group Sharing

Closing Thoughts/good night

Closing Prayer!

Useful-Additional Information

A Salesian Spirituality5

The journey of education reveals progressively to young people an original plan of Christian life

and helps them to understand its implications.

The youngster learns a new way of being a believer in the world, and arranges his life around

certain perceptions of faith, choices of values and gospel attitudes: he lives spirituality.

Research into "Salesian youth spirituality", adapted to new times, reached historic depths in the

SGC and GC21. The GC23 is now re-launching it in our communities and among youth.

Research still goes on, but the reality has been there for a very long time.

It finds a first formulation in the dream at the age of nine years. "Make yourself humble, steadfast

and strong". In this way the young John Bosco received in Mary a mother and teacher who was to

be at his side in his mission to the young.

Later in the Valdocco environment under Don Bosco's inspiration there flourished various

expressions of holiness and life in the Spirit. The biographies of Dominic Savio, Francis Besucco

and Michael Magone describe the youthful sanctity of the first Oratory; it has been officially

recognized by the Church and is offered to all young people through the canonization of Dominic

5 GC 23

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Savio and the beatification of Laura Vicuña. On the other hand, our tradition has always spoken of

the Preventive System as a spirituality project. In the concept of "reason, religion and loving

kindness", fused by the "grace of unity" into a single experience, are to be found the content and

method of spiritual proximity and encouragement.

The "Companion of Youth" and the various "Regulations" written for pupils in Salesian houses,

carry in the simple context of daily life what is called for by Salesian spirituality.

"Salesian" does not imply here the distinctive mark of a certain group; it indicates, rather, the

charismatic source linked with the spiritual current of the humanism of St Francis de Sales,

reinterpreted by Don Bosco in the experience of the Oratory.

is a "youth" spirituality

At Valdocco there was ample opportunity for the young to exercise leadership among their

companions in every sector of life, even to the extent that the youngsters were called by Don

Bosco to be with him "founders" of a new Congregation.

On their side they helped him to begin, in the context of everyday experience, a new style of

holiness tailored to the typical requirements of a boy's development. In this way they were to some

extent both disciples and teachers at the same time.

In all Salesian communities today, as happened yesterday in Don Bosco's Oratory, spiritual

commitment is born of a meeting that breeds friendship. This leads on to a continuous point of

reference and group situation in which the implications of the baptismal vocation can be more

deeply understood and the journey begun to maturity of faith.

"I want to stay with Don Bosco" expresses the choice of a particular way of growing in the life of

the Spirit: experience of Christian life precedes systematic reflection on it.

and therefore an "educative" spirituality

Putting the youngster, with all his lively energy, at the center of the educator's attention as a

practical criterion for the choice of a process to be pursued, manifests the fundamental

characteristic of youth spirituality: it is an educative spirituality. It is addressed to all young people

without distinction, and gives preference to the poorest of them.

Taking up the challenge of those who remain outside or at a distance and of those for whom faith

is irrelevant to life, requires the educators to stay alongside the young and share their experiences.

"Love what the youngsters love," Don Bosco repeats to the Salesians in the present-day situation,

"so that they will come to love what you love."

To promote the growth of the young to the fullness of life after the measure of Christ the perfect

man, is the goal of Salesian work.

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Salesian Youth Spirituality!6

It’s based on the following points:

1. SPIRITUALITY OF ORDINARY DAILY LIFE.

Daily life inspired by Jesus of Nazareth (cf. C 12) is the setting in which the youngster

recognizes the presence of God who is at work, and lives out his personal realization of the

fact.

2. SPIRITUALITY OF JOY AND OPTIMISM.

Daily life is lived in joy and optimism, without prejudice to commitment and responsibility

(cf. C 17.18).

3. SPIRITUALITY OF FRIENDSHIP WITH THE LORD JESUS.

Daily life is recreated by the Risen Christ (cf. C 34) who gives reasons for hope and leads

to a life that finds its fullest sense in Him.

4. SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION IN THE CHURCH.

Daily life is experienced in the Church (cf. C 13.35), as the natural setting for growth in

faith through the sacraments.

In the Church we find Mary (cf. C 20.34) who goes in front, accompanies and inspires.

5. SPIRITUALITY OF RESPONSIBLE SERVICE.

Daily life is presented to the young as a setting for service (cf. C 32), both ordinary and

extraordinary.

Always Happy with Christ in the Church for the world!

Prepare in Advance

2. Ask a young person to lead the opening prayer. It has to be simple and from the heart. We

invite the young person to think about the problems that young people have and just to

pray for them.

6 GC 23

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Night Outline

7:00 Welcome and Introductions

Welcome the participants as they arrive, and make sure everyone gets a name tag. Introduce

yourself.

7:08

Quick Opening Prayer

Something that has worked for me is to do a simple opening prayer, we ask the young

people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Then we open the prayer with the sign of the

cross and invite a young person to lead us in the opening prayer.

Note to Leader: In order to have a nice prayer it is important to accompany the young

person in the process of creating the prayer.

7:15 Activity – The Salesian Creed

The facilitator needs to distribute to the young people handout #1. You can find it at the

end of this document. Divide them into small groups, and ask them to read and analyze

what the Salesian Creed is saying to them.

Please invite them to reflect in the following questions:

Do I feel identified with this Creed? Yes, No Why?

How can I live this Creed?

Once reflected, they will be invited to read “creatable” the creeds aloud for the general

assembly. This will easily identify by its content the most creative group.

7:30 Formal Presentation

Please present to the young people what the Salesian Youth Spirituality is. Be sure to cover

the 5 characteristics of the Salesian Youth Spirituality described above, and present the

following phrase: Always Happy with Christ in the Church for the world! Which

summarized our Salesian Youth Spirituality.

7:45 Group Sharing

Invite the young people to share what they have learned from the Salesian Youth

Spirituality. Please ask the following questions:

1. What did I learn today?

2. Am I living the 5 characteristics of the Salesian Youth Spirituality?

3. How does the Salesian Youth Spirituality challenge me?

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8:10 Closing Thoughts

The facilitator closing the section by making the connection with the Salesian Lenten

Mission; Our Salesian Youth Spirituality is challenging us to have a responsible service,

and the Salesian Lenten Mission is a perfect moment for us to accept and fulfill this

challenged.

8:20

Closing Prayer

Once again, ask the young people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Open the prayer

with the sign of the cross, and invite everyone to give some intentions. After all the

intentions are expressed, ask God to bless the group and finish with an Our Father, and

Hail Mary

Note:

Don’t forget to invite the young people to come to our next meeting!

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Handout # 1

The Salesian Creed!

We believe that God loves the young. This is the conviction which is at the origin of our

vocation, and which motivates our life and all our pastoral activity.

We believe that Jesus wants to share "his life" with young people: they are the hope of a

new future, and in their expectations they bear the seeds of the Kingdom.

We believe that the Spirit is present in them and that through them he wants to build a

more authentic and human Christian community. He is already at work in individuals and groups.

He has given them a prophetic task to carry out in the world which is also the world of all of us.

We believe that God is awaiting us in the young to offer us the grace of meeting with him

and to dispose us to serve him in them, recognizing their dignity and educating them to the

fullness of life.

Salesian Youth Spirituality

Always Happy with Christ in the Church for the world!

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SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION

Lenten Mission 2011

Formation Meeting # 4

How to create a Prayer Service!

Objective

To teach the young people how they can create a prayer service

Meeting Schedule

7:00 pm

7:15 pm

7:45 pm

8:15 pm

8:30 pm

8:40 pm

Welcome, quick opening prayer

Formal Presentation

Group Practice / Putting a prayer service together

Large group presentation

Closing Thoughts/good night

Closing Prayer!

Useful-Additional Information

How to prepare a Prayer Service7

STOP AND REMEMBER

 Why is this a good time to celebrate?

 What have we been doing together?

 What has happened?

 What needs to be remembered?

 Who needs our prayers?

 What shall we celebrate? What shall we pray about?

CONTEXT AND FOCUS OF PRAYER

 WHO will be present in this prayer?

 WHAT is the occasion of the prayer?

 WHERE will the prayer be held?

 WHEN will the prayer be held?

 HOW will the space be used for prayer?

7 By Anne Shore

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 How will this prayer fit within the larger theme of all prayer – praise and thanksgiving to

God

 What theme will focus the prayer – is it related to a unit of study, to the liturgical season, to

peace, love, service etc.

YOU AS LEADER OF PRAYER

 BE PREPARED, PLAN EXPERIENCES AHEAD OF TIME

 PRESIDER RATHER THAN TEACHER, become focal point of sight, sound, gesture,

participation. Prayer not performance. Words are powerful – be aware of words used,

human inclusive language, images of God. Every prayer needs beginning, middle, end.

GATHER

GATHER THE STUDENTS FOR THE CELEBRATION

The first movement of prayer helps those who are gathered to become aware of their relationship

with God and with each other. It helps the group to gather and pray together within a particular

theme and liturgical season. As the group comes together to pray what set up, decor, class

preparation, welcome, call to prayer, processions, actions, gestures, music, singing, proclamations,

litanies or other preparations and elements will help this to occur? How will you gather for this

prayer today? How will the space and environment invite prayer?

 PRAYER TABLE front of class or where students can gather around for prayer. Liturgical

season coloured cloth, candle, bible, religious elements needed for the prayer. Do not

clutter the table, and only put on it what is directly connected to prayer of the day. o Table

can be returned to a corner of the room after prayer and other religious articles can be

placed on it. Again, do not clutter, change what is on it regularly and have the liturgical

season represented by cloth colour and other symbols.

 SIGN OF THE CROSS – all celebrations begin with this

 SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT

o Opening song, music

o Opening prayer

o Call to prayer and response

o Processions, gestures, actions

o Proclamations

LISTEN - TELL THE STORY

The next movement of the prayer gives the youth a chance to hear the scriptures and, if you want,

current stories which allow reflection on how God is active and alive in our lives. What scripture

reading, current reading, psalm, witness story, storytelling, sharing, music, song, action, drama,

reflection will speak about what you want to say about Go, the ways of God or the Kingdom of

God.

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 SCRIPTURE IS ALWAYS PART OF THIS MOVEMENT

 OTHER READINGS can be included after scripture is proclaimed

 STORY CAN BE PROCLAIMED by single reader, group/choral reading, mime with

commentary, skit, or other creative ways.

 ALWAYS READ FROM BIBLE AND MENTION WHERE SCRIPTURE IS FROM

 BEFORE SCRIPTURE READING: Reader - The Lord be with you. Class – And also

with you.

 END OF SCRIPTURE READING: Reader - This is the word of the Lord. Class –

Thanks be to God.

 SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT o Readings, drama, video clips

o Personal stories, witness reflection

o Music, songs, psalms

o Gestures, dance, litanies

o Silence

RESPOND / RITUAL

The third movement of prayer reminds us that it is not enough to just hear the word of God, we

must keep it. How will we respond to our awareness of how God continues to love us

unconditionally? This movement of the prayer is how the students are responding to the scripture

they have just heard in the Listen movement.

 KEEP AGE APPROPRIATE

 SYMBOLIC ACTIONS INVOLVE WHOLE PERSONS – engage as many senses as

possible

 IF HANDS, STONES, PAPER ETC. TO BE USED, make sure to have enough for every

student to participate with a few extras in case. When using a bowl of water or other

container, make sure it is large enough for all the children to see. Abundance is a good

message to give

 SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT o Spontaneous, composed, intercessory

prayers; familiar such as lord’s prayer or one children create

o Gestures, dance, mime, tableau

o Creating something

o Use something like cut-out hands, tree, wreath for children to write on

o Draw, paint

o Anoint, sign with cross, bless with water, etc

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SEND FORTH / CLOSING

The final movement of prayer sends us forth with a renewed sense of our mission to live the

Gospel each and every day. Prayer helps us to focus on the big picture but also on the simple ways

that each of us needs to be a disciple to those around us. How do you want to end this time of

prayer?

o SOME OPTIONS FOR THIS MOVEMENT o Spontaneous, composed, familiar,

traditional, student created prayers

o Music, song, actions, gestures

o Blessing, commissioning, exchange sign of peace

o Procession

END WITH SIGN OF THE CROSS

STEPS TO PREPARING GROUP PRAYER / RITUAL

STEP ONE: GATHER RESOURCES

• Word resources: bibles, books of poetry, reflections, other books of services

• Music resources: hymnals, tapes & CD’s, boombox, instruments

• Environment resources: candles, cloths, other things to decorate

• Planning resources: people, worksheets, pens, etc.

STEP TWO: DEVELOP A PLANNING TEAM

• Choose a planning leader

• Choose a presider for the prayer

• Pray as a team for guidance

STEP THREE: CONTEXT AND FOCUS OF PRAYER

• WHO will be present for this prayer?

• WHAT is the occasion of prayer?

• WHERE will the prayer be held?

• WHEN will the prayer be held? (Time and liturgical season)

• What theme will be the focus of the prayer

STEP FOUR: BRAINSTORM AND CHOOSE PRAYER ELEMENTS AND DEVELOP

MOVEMENTS

• words & readings – scripture, stories, personal witness

• music & song

• actions and gestures

• environment & décor

• gather

• listen

• respond

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• send forth

• ensure full active participation

STEP FIVE: PRAY THE PRAYER SERVICE, EVALUATE

Prepare in Advance

3. Make sure that you have read the useful-Additional information before the meeting starts

Night Outline

7:00 Welcome

Welcome the participants as they arrive.

7:08

Quick Opening Prayer

Something that has worked for me is to do a simple opening prayer, we ask the young

people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Then we open the prayer with the sign of the

cross and invite a young person to lead us in the opening prayer.

7:45 Group Practice

Once the presentation is finished, the facilitator has three options: 1.) First option Divide

the group into 4 small groups and ask them to prepare a prayer service; one group will take

care of gather, another of listening and so forth. 2.) Second option is to do the same process

with the large group, so everybody will be involve in this process. 3.) Third option is to ask

each group to prepare their own prayer service.

The main idea is to prepare a prayer service for the families who are to be visited during

Holy week. This prayer service should be practiced in the next meeting.

If the facilitator decided to have a large group preparation, after finish go to closing

thoughts and closing payer.

8:15 Large Group Presentation

In the case that the facilitator decided to go ahead into the small groups, here they have the

time to present what they have been working on. The presentation should explain the

order of prayer service.

8:30 Closing Thoughts

Please make sure to empower the young people to be ready for next week’s meeting. Ask

them to be prepared to facilitate the prayer service in front of the group. It will be a good

time to ask the following questions:

1. What did I learn today?

2. What am I going to do, to make this Lent especial?

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8:40

Closing Prayer

Once again, ask the young people to group in a circle and to hold hands. Open the prayer

with the sign of the cross, and invite everyone to give some intentions. After all the

intentions are expressed, ask God to bless the group and finish with an Our Father, and

Hail Mary

Note:

Don’t forget to invite the young people to come to our next meeting!

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