Praying so God's agenda is found and followed

This post has extracts from correspondence about the vigil, between Peter Simmons and Mike Mineter. The emails are in chronological order; in the most recent Peter invites me to publish the texts of his emails here .

Also in the last of these emails, Peter captures the crux of the exchange:

What I am suggesting is that we should pray insistently - banging the table if necessary - that God's will for the Church be done and that God should nudge all of us, from the smallest child right down to the Pope, in the direction God wants us to take.

Invitation

At the Vigil over the last few days, after the prayer-time we have been pondering whether we should just allow the Vigil to grow organically by word of mouth, or more actively invite new participants, for if there are people who would like to join us in the prayer, we'd like to have contacted them. We leave this invitation here for anyone who happens to see it, in case they wish to join in.

You are invited to pray between now and Pentecost for an increased outpouring of the Spirit into the RC Church. People have begun to meet for 30 minutes at 6:15 each evening for quiet prayer outside the RC Cathedral in Edinburgh. Others are joining us in prayer from wherever else they are.

Why meet outside the Cathedral? Firstly, we feel alienated by the institutional RC Church, yet still feel that we belong to the Church. Secondly, what we are doing seems controversial in the light of recent history, for we might expect that:

• The Spirit will lead us to engage with the marginalised, as did Christ. The current Mass text has had the effect of marginalising the engaged – many of us influenced by Vatican II feel that has happened to us.
• The Spirit will lead to a myriad people exploring and speaking of new ways in which God is at work in the world. Recently people have been silenced by the Vatican for doing this. 
• The Spirit will burn more strongly in every heart and mind, not only fall like the dew onto bread and wine (as in the new Eucharistic Prayer).

If you wish to join us to pray, come to the Roman Catholic Cathedral at 6:15pm, or if you cannot, we hope that you will pray from wherever you are.

A few practicalities

This post was set up to include notes to help those considering joining the prayer at the Cathedral. (Others join from their homes.) It was moved to a static page here

email sent on 17 April to invite participation

You are encouraged to forward this email.

This email invites you to join others to pray whenever possible at 6:15pm each day outside St Mary's RC Cathedral for 30 minutes for an increased outpouring of the Spirit on the Roman Catholic Church, and on our own diocese. By beginning on Tuesday 17 April we have 40 days to Pentecost.

This period from Easter to Pentecost is one when the disciples were confused, wanting to live in the light of the Resurrection not knowing how. So it is always a powerful and prayerful time for Christians.
Today in the Roman Catholic Church we have our own additional and intense sources of confusion.

In the last few months we have seen:

- The marginalising of many whose experience is not heard, because it does not echo the opinions of those who seek to exercise power.

- Division arising from the new Mass text, which has polarised communities, stressed relationships and individuals. Some say "its what we should have had for years" and others say that in many ways the text is defective and alienating.

- Many people who consider themselves to be formed in the light of Vatican II are in a crisis of belonging within the Church.

For this 40 days of prayer, a simple quiet time is proposed as a pattern, with brief singing before and after:

Taize - Veni Sancte Spiritus

Silence

Taize - Ubi Caritas


For further information email mike.mineter@gmail.com
(For those wishing to respond, in a way that can be seen by others, a blog has been set up, [URL given])