Prayer Session
Prayer and worship are central to building a strong Catholic family. Communal prayer and faith sharing is to make the “God connection.” When we share faith with others, we are trying to answer the questions: “Where is God in all of this?” and “What is God saying to me today?”
SHTCG members gather weekly for a prayer session that is framed in combination with formulaic and contemporary way of catholic worship. Sessions are conducted by lay-apostolate and sometimes visited by priests to understand and interpret Bible in a meaningful way. Gospel reading of that week is discussed as members share their faith experience, and testify the miracles they witnessed.
Besides our regular weekly prayer meeting, catholic speakers from other ministry are invited to share the word of Lord thus help the community to grow strong in faith.
Prayer Requests
We accept all prayer requests from anyone. All prayer requests are kept strictly confidential. Rosaries and special prayers are offered for these intentions. Prayer intentions are received through our website, https://www.shtcg.org - Individual prayer requests are compassionately considered and prayed together as we believe that more souls agree to the same intention, will be loved and heard by God.
Gospel Reflection
The Gospel Reflection of that week’s Gospel is done with the prayer group attendees. After a brief moment of reflection, a spontaneous sharing of how this Gospel reading impacted the participants hearts, relative to their lives today, ensues. Sometimes any one member takes the lead by sharing his/her views. The facilitator of the group acts as the coordinator of the prayers and the hour, but does not teach. Participants open up and share their response to the Gospel reading, if they choose to. Real life stories, struggles and events are usually shared as the Holy Spirit inspires each individual.
Priests are invited to be a part of the group however, it is encouraged that they are not the facilitator as that may inhibit the sharing of others. Below are some of the benefits we have seen because of participation.
- Giving purpose and meaning to our daily lives.
- Spiritual growth, at home, at work and within our communities.
- A life of spiritual peace, joy and charity.
- Learning more, so we can grow more.
- Group support and encouragement.
- An ever deepening relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Individual growth (from self-centered to others-centered).
- Becoming a better person, spouse, parent, leader, follower and friend
- Counsel of Godly men and women.
- Building life-long relationships.
- Balance in Life
Saint of the Week
Catholics are intensely attached to our saints. We regard these heavenly intercessors not only as sources of inspiration, but also as our “good neighbors,” as the English mystic Julian of Norwich described them. Saints are faithful and reliable friends who come to our help during times of trouble. Although times change, our need for the help of the saints remains constant. And so, in every age, Catholics have assigned new areas of patronage to saints who have been longtime favorites.
We make it a point to learn more about different saints during our weekly session. We nominate individuals to study about a specific saint and share all the information/detail about this saint to the group. Not only does it become a great education knowing about saints, it allows us to pray to them. Our group firmly believe Saints in heaven can hear our prayers and know very well that they pray for us.
Novena
We pray novenas because we believe there’s great power and hope in these prayers. It is like waiting in the Upper Room for an answer, a sign — the hope that all will be alright. We pray novenas in situations, to use, may seem hopeless or critical, so we go to these prayers that contain great hope, extra special promises, and yes, even miracles associated to them. It takes commitment and devotion to stick to novena prayers. But, our group strongly believes in opening ourselves to God in order to increase our faith and grow in love of God and neighbor. Below is the list of novenas that we say.
Week | Novena |
---|---|
First Friday | Sacred Heart Devotion |
First Saturdayy | Divine Mercy |
Third Saturday | Our Lady of Health, Velankanni Matha |
Fourth Saturday | Infant Jesus |
Fifth Saturday* | Saint Antony |