Praying a New Story
by Michael Morwood. (Spectrum Publications)
Our Price $19.95

This is a distinctive anthology of prayers written by Michael Morwood, author of Is Jesus God? and Tomorrow's Catholic. Some of these prayers are clearly designed for personal use, others for a more Eucharistic and liturgical setting. It is a short work, but contains a wealth of material. The prayers are down-to-earth as well as truly poetic; they are fresh and clear, as well as deeply reflective and holy. They well complement other collections by authors such as Dorothy McRae-McMahon, Janet Morley and John Pritchard.

The chapters in this work are divided into themes, each with a brief introduction. Topics include prayer at the graveside, prayer of petition, gathering prayer for a faith sharing group, family. It also contains liturgies and prayers for more formal liturgical events, such as Christmas, Good Friday, Easter Day, Pentecost, Marriage and Funeral.

Balancing the variety of topics is the range of prayer types. The collection includes prayers of petition, celebration, affirmation, condolence and thanksgiving.

This collection is concerned with finding and revealing the presence of God not only in one place and one time, but everywhere: "God is here, everywhere, and with us always." They are praying the new story of emerging consciousness of God s revelation of himself and his love in our lives and the universe. This means:

...the salvation story comes to life in a broader context – in a universe immersed in God's presence, a Presence at work in all places, at all times, and in every human being who ever existed. In this new story, freed from images and notions of distance and separation, prayer is no longer concerned with addressing an elsewhere God.

Many prayers begin with a focus on the immensity of the universe and God's revelation in it, and by extension our connectedness to it:

We are one with the billions of galaxies
and one with their billions of stars
(One Body)

We pray
aware that
God at work
in the vastness of this universe
for billions of years
comes to visible
and audible expression
in our words
of appreciation.
(Understanding Prayer)

The prayers often begin with affirmation and praise for the vastness of God as revealed in the cosmos, and then gradually narrow in focus to concentrate on our world. After this, the spotlight is on our human deeds, our own experience of and meaning within the world. All the prayers remember and celebrate Jesus within our lives and his love shared in each other:

With glad hearts
we gather in the memory of Jesus.
We break and share bread
as a sign of our awareness
of the Spirit always with us
in all we do
and as a sign of our commitment
to love generously and wholeheartedly.
(Pentecost)


With the conviction of Jesus
we believe that
whatever the pain,
whatever the loss,
our God is here in the midst of our suffering
our God is not distant,
our God is not a Divine manipulator,
our God is Life-Giver.
(In Time of Tragedy)

All these prayers and short liturgies can be used in part or in whole. One of my favourites is from Reconciliation:

We give thanks for Jesus
and for all people
who have taught
and shown us
how to live
what we believe:
we are to act justly;
we are to walk humbly with our God;
we are to love our neighbour as ourselves;
we are to expand our notions of neighbour;
we are to care for all of material creation;
we are to forgive and be merciful;
we are to give God's Spirit freedom to act in us;
we are to make the reign of God evident in our world;
we are to love as Jesus would love –generously and wholeheartedly.

You can hear in this prayer echoes of familiar phrases mixed with contemporary social issues – the call to 'expand our notions of neighbour' is poignant during this time of so much cultural divide and misunderstanding. The reminder of giving 'God's Spirit freedom to act in us,' is a reminder of our responsibility to act justly and kindly. And it is not often that we are called to remember and thank those who have been role models and teachers in our lives. Without their formative influence our own humanity would be diminished.

Many of the liturgies are firmly grounded on the centrality of the Eucharist in our lives. I don't think that this emphasis necessarily means they are Eucharistic prayers to be only said by a priest. The imagery serves to remind us of the importance and power of the Last Supper and Jesus' death and resurrection in our day to day cares and interactions. They are used symbolically. The call to remember Jesus breaking bread, drinking wine, sharing a meal is our invitation to remember our connectedness with each other and the Trinity. It is the recollection of the eternal love and power of God.

We break
and share this bread,
as Jesus broke and shared it.
We share it
as our pledge of openness
to the Spirit in our midst,
and in acknowledgement
of our eternal connectedness
with the Spirit of Life.

We take wine
and drink,
as Jesus invited his friends to drink,
mindful of a relationship of love and trust
between ourselves and the Spirit of Life,
believing
as Jesus believed,
that beyond pain and darkness and death,
life in the Spirit continues
in ways beyond our imagining.
(Easter)

Throughout the collection there is a range of black and white photographs. They are powerful and evocative visual reminders of God's presence in the universe, in our personal lives and throughout the world's cultures, particularly the third world and the poor. Like the prayers and liturgies themselves they cry out with petition, celebration, remembrance or simply thanksgiving. They serve to keep the tone of the prayers very personal.

Michael Morwood has written a collection of prayers which are both intimately personal, as well as liturgically formal. This is an excellent volume to simply dip into for private devotional use, or extract from for a public gathering.

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