Resources for use by people and parishes during this time
During the current situation with Coronavirus, whilst churches are closed, we are working with The Society to provide a range of resources for use by people that will help them to pray at home.
Praying At Home Booklet
We have produced a booklet of prayers and devotions that people can use to aid their prayer life at home. This resource can be downloaded and printed as a booklet, and we encourage people to use these prayers during this time. The booklet can be downloaded HERE.
Praying for the NationThe Church Union and The Society, which is supported by Forward in Faith, join with the leaders of the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales in urging you to observe a month of Prayer for the Nation during this second national lockdown. As many of us as possible should unite at 6pm each day to say the Angelus and offer intercessions for the vulnerable and those charged with their care. You can find the prayers for the Praying for the Nation initiative HERE
O Radiant Dawn – An Advent Resource
We are delighted to announce a new resource for Advent called O Radiant Dawn. In the booklet you will find a reflection for use each day during Advent. Each week will look at a different Advent theme: Patriarchs, Prophets, St John the Baptist & Our Lady.
As churches are permitted to open for private prayer, we hope that this resource will be helpful to people. You can download the resource HERE
As churches begin to open for private prayer, it is an opportunity for us to pray with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, either during exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in a monstance, or in front of the Tabernacle. A resource from the Church Union and The Society has been produced to help you with this. You can download the resource HERE
Father Christopher Johnson, of St Peter’s Church Horbury, has also produced a resource that wil help you spend an hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament and you can download this HERE
Saints of the month for October
When we pray, even if we are by ourselves, we never pray alone. We pray with the Church around the world and our prayers are joined with those of the company of heaven. In this booklet there are a selection of biographies of saints and holy people whose feast days occur this month, as well as prayers you might find helpful. You can download the booklet HERE
Praying for Deacons, Priests and Bishops
Priests and Bishops, that God will sustain them in their ministry, that he will guide those preparing for ordination and that there will be an increase in vocations to the Diaconate and Priesthood. To help us pray for our clergy we have produced this resource with The Society, which can be downloaded HERE.
Homilies from an SSC Priest
As lockdown began, it became clear that the way in which we worshipped as communities, and the way in which we taught the faith were going to have to change. We present HERE a series of homilies by one priest of the Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) who ministers in North London.
In this series he explores through the great Feasts of the Church’s year just how the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on our faith.
We hope you enjoy reading them and reflecting upon them.
Sacred Heart Resource
Images or statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are found in many homes and churches. The Sacred Heart devotion shows the great love that Jesus has for us, and can be a great comfort in both happy times and more sorrowful times. In this resource you will find prayers, poems, hymns and reflections that help us grow closer the the Sacred Heart in our day-to-day lives and find an outpouring of God’s love. You can download the booklet HERE
Praying for the Dead Video
The Covid-19 pandemic has, tragically and often cruelly, thrown the issue of grieving for the dead into sharp focus for too many in our society. While in no waydetracting from that grief, the Christian faith has always offered a message of hope; a hope which finds its source in Our Lord’s Resurrection. Our belief as Christians is that death is not the end and that, by praying for the dead, we not only aid the souls of the deceased in their journey to the next world, but we also gain spiritual benefits for ourselves. For we too shall make that journey one day.
In this short film on praying for the dead, The Bishop of Fulham gives a powerful reflection on this challenging topic, accompanied by music and a scriptural reading on the same theme. The Bishop rightly reminds us that Christians have always prayed for the dead and that it is at the heart of our Christian faith that we should continue to do so. Over the last ten Thursday evenings, it has been wonderful to witness the country coming together to clap its carers. We now urge people to unite spiritually in praying for the dead at this time of crisis.
For more information, and for more resources on praying for the dead, then please visit www.guildofallsouls.org.uk
You can watch the video HERE
Devotional Resources
The Rosary
The Bishop of Fulham has produced some excellent resources to help us in praying the Rosary. You can watch Bishop Jonathan explaining how to pray the Rosary by clicking here and there are also some downloadable resources HERE
The Society of Mary have produced a Rosary booklet for October, the month of the Rosary. You can download the booklet HERE
Praying at home with the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Society of Mary has produced a booklet of readings, reflections and prayers that focus on some of the themes that are important at these times; and how Mary is an example for us, as well as someone who prays with us and for us. You can download the booklet HERE
Stations of the Cross
This resource will help us to meditate and pray the Stations of the Cross at home. We are grateful to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham for allowing us to reproduce these meditations from the Pilgrim Manual and Fr Philip Barnes for writing the introduction.
They can be downloaded HERE and there is a larger print version (which has the scripture references but not full text of scriptures) HERE.
Stations of the Resurrection
In this devotion we follow Jesus and the disciples from Easter morning through to Pentecost. They follow the same pattern as the Stations of the Cross, with a scripture reading, meditation and a prayer. Through these scenes we share in the disciples’ doubts, their misunderstandings, their fears, but most of all their joy in the Risen Jesus. It is the Resurrection of Jesus that, in these very strange times, is our strength and hope. You can download a copy HERE
An Act of Contrition
Many of us will normally want to meet Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconcilation at this time of year, and to leave our sins at the foot of the cross and hear the comforting words of absolution from a priest. This will not be possible this Holy Week and Easter, so we recommend that during Holy Week you make an ‘Act of Contrition’. There is a booklet for this HERE
Guild of All Souls
The Guild of All Souls has resources available for those who watch with the dying, these are available HERE There are other prayers for those who have died available HERE.
Live Streaming
We know that many parishes are investigating live streaming of Mass and the offices during this time. There is some excellent guidance from the Church of England website on how to do this. You can find this guidance by
One of the issues that. people have with live streaming is the quality of the sound. There is a useful guide to getting the best audio results HERE
Worship with children
Clare Williams is offering weekly emails to support parents with activities for Faith at home during the next few weeks – links to resources, specific and seasonal resources all available. Please sign up by emailing Clare by CLICKING HERE
Clare has also set up a blog which gives suggestions for worship as a family and some further resources. You can access the blog HERE.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham’s schools resources page also has some good resources for use at home during this time. You can find them by clicking HERE there are some more suggestions of resources from the Shrine HERE
The Church Union’s ‘Foundations’ resource has material for use on Sundays which you might also find helpful. You can find the free download HERE
Resources from the Church of England
There are lots of resources available from the Church of England and these are being updated regularly. You can find the link HERE
The Church of England has also produced a guide for maintaining good mental health during this period. You can click HERE for this resource
Other resources
The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has produced some other resources to help us pray at home during this time. Click here for more details.
Mass in a time of pandemic
The Vatican has released the texts of a special Mass to be used in times of pandemic. You can find the propers of the Mass HERE and the readings HERE
New prayerbook from the Vatican
A new prayerbook has been produced by the Vatican for these times. This can be downloaded HERE
Apps you might find helpful
For those who have a smart phone or tablet, the following list of apps (available for download from your App Store) might be helpful in your daily prayer life. This list is not exhaustive and if you have come across any other good resources, please email Fr Adam by CLICKING HERE
#LiveLent – The Church of England’s daily reflections for Lent. Download for Android. Download For IOS
Universalis – The Divine Office, with Morning and Evening Prayer as well as Midday Prayer, Compline and the Office of Reading. Download for Android. Download for IOS
Church of England Daily Prayer – The Daily Office from Common Worship. Download for Android. Download for IOS
Daily Examen – An app that guides you through the Ignatian spirituality practice of having a review of the day and how God has been active in your life. Download for Android. Download for IOS
Sacred Space – An app that takes you through a time of prayer in six steps. Download for Android. Download for IOS
Pray as you go – This is a useful app to help you pray wherever you may be. Download for Android. Download for IOS
Jesuit Prayer – This app provides daily reflections and scripture readings as well as prayer resources Download for Android. Download for IOS
Please be assured of the prayers of all of us at The Church Union at this time.