News and Events

Praying the Word of God in Families

by Madeleine Marchildon

French parishes in the dioceses of Prince Albert and Saskatoon gather twice a year for a day of liturgy.  L'Animation Liturgique has a mission to deepen and improve the understanding and meaning of liturgy.  Participants' formation and engagement is brought about through conferences, studies of liturgical themes, scripture, sacraments and music.

November 5, 2011 marked the 35th anniversary of these liturgical sharing days.  The day's overall theme for this session was how to "Pray the Word of God in our families." 

Bishop Albert Thévenot started by showing how Jesus as a child and youth was "obedient, progressed in wisdom and grace in the good soil of his holy family.”  Bringing up children in today's society needs to be done in specific and planned everyday moments of prayer in a loving family environment.  Thévenot warned against living empty rituals that have lost their meaning. 

"We need to rediscover the fullness of our gestures and rituals.  We need faith-filled moments of silence to be able to listen to God speak to us in His Word and to listen to the realities of our daily lives.” 

Obedience, he said, "is not a negative submission like some might think, but a disposition needed to open our hearts to the call to live more fully our faith in Christ."

Taken from Vie liturgique, a french liturgical resource, the 2012 theme for the year "The hour has come" was presented by Sylvia Dion of Zenon Park. 

Christ has come and we are witnesses of his on-going coming to each one of us.  Saints like Saint Mother Teresa caring for the poor, Saint John-Paul II's leadership and Saint Brother André's healing of the sick show us the Spirit of God working in our times.  The advent theme "Give us a sign!" can be developed throughout the four weeks of advent liturgy.  For the first Sunday, we could find ways of being signs of justice; the second, signs of patience; the third, signs of joy and the fourth, signs of hospitality.  The Christmas theme is a believer's prayer, "Be near, Lord Jesus!" 

In the afternoon, Yvette Gareau, diocesan archivist for Prince Albert, walked us through the prayerful reading of sacred Scripture and the five steps of Lectio divina as proposed by Pope Benedict XVI in Verbum Domini: reading, meditation, prayer, contemplation and action. 

The day ended with the eucharistic celebration.  In his homily, Thévenot commented on the importance of family life being the "good soil" that Jesus talks about in the parable of the Sower, Luke 8.  He said he was touched and challenged by the witnessing of youth and others throughout the day.  Liturgical days like this help prepare us to live our Sunday liturgies in a deeper, fuller way.