In 2020 at a Papal Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis blessed a statue of Our Lady of Knock for the International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine on the Solemnity of the ‘Word of God’ Sunday.  This year on this same Solemnity, Pope Francis inaugurated a Year of Prayer in order to prepare for the 2025 Jubilee Year, and to launch the series of booklets entitled Notes on Prayer.

The promoters of this wonderful project are Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, who visited Maynooth last year to help launch the Year for Vocations to the Diocesan Priesthood, and Monsignor Graham Bell, Undersecretary of the Secretariat of the Dicastery.

Welcoming the Year of Prayer, Archbishop Fisichella said, “As the Holy Father emphasised in the Te Deum liturgy at the end of last year, the Christian, like Mary, is a pilgrim of hope. This will be the theme of the 2025 Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope.”

Archbishop Fisichella elaborated, “This is not a Year focused on specific initiatives. Instead, it should be regarded as a special opportunity to rediscover the importance of prayer and the necessity of incorporating daily prayer into Christian life. It is a time to learn how to pray and, most importantly, how to teach others to pray in today’s digital age, ensuring that prayer remains effective and fruitful.”

According to Monsignor Bell, the Dicastery for Evangelisation, in coordination with the Vatican Publishing House, has produced a series of booklets on prayer. The first booklet, Prayer Today: A Challenge, includes a preface by Pope Francis and is authored by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, former Vicar General of Vatican City and Archpriest of Saint Peter’s Basilica.  Additionally, there are seven more volumes in the series:

• Gianfranco Ravasi, Praying with the Psalms;
• Juan López Vergara, The Prayer of Jesus;
• Paul Murray OP, Praying with Saints and Sinners;
• Antonio Pitta, The Parables of Prayer;
• Carthusian Monks, The Church in Prayer;
• Catherine Aubin, The Prayer of Mary and the Saints Who Encountered Her;
• Ugo Vanni, The Prayer that Jesus taught us: ‘Our Father’

A new guide Teach us to Pray is now available online, with a digital version available for download here.  It has ten sections including Pope Francis’s beautiful teaching on prayer; Towards a School of Prayer; Prayer in the Parish; Prayer in the Family; Young people’s Prayer; Retreats on Prayer, Catechesis on Prayer; Cloistered prayer; Prayer in the Sanctuary; and, Prayer of the Faithful for the 2025 Jubilee.

Our gratitude to Father Mark O’Farrell CC of the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore for contributing this story to Sharing Good News.