In this ninth episode we explore praying with and for the whole Church - on earth (Church Militant), in heaven (Church Triumphant) and in purgatory (Church Suffering). Our guest is Fr Richard Ounsworth OP, the Parish Priest and Prior of Holy Cross our Dominican parish in Leicester. Fr Richard helps us understand the importance of praying with others, how the saints can help us and our call to pray for the Holy Souls.

In this eighth episode we explore praying through music. Greg Treloar and Chris Davis from the Diocese of Nottingham's Music Department share why music plays such an important role in liturgy and how we can incorporate in our prayer life.

In this seventh episode we explore praying the Rosary. The Rosary meditatively recounts the major events of Jesus' life through Mary's eyes. This month we are delighted to have Mrs Fran Hazel and the Rosary Club from St Mary's Primary School in Derby. Fran is the Lay Chaplain in the school and shares her own love for the rosary and how it is prayed in school. The school uses a recording of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary by Youtuber Aliga Patrick (https://www.youtube.com/@aligapatrick251). The prayers of the Rosary can be found here: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/teachings/prayers-of-the-rosary-in-english-and-latin-164 

Taken from Episode 6 on the Divine Office we have the Monks of Mount St Bernard singing night prayer.

Taken from Episode 6 on the Divine Office we have the Monks of Mount St Bernard singing the midday office.

In this sixth episode we explore praying the Divine Office. The Divine Office is the public prayer of the Church. The clergy and religious sisters and brothers are required to stop and certain points in the day to pray the psalms and other prayers and readings. This month we are delighted to have Fr Nicholas Palmer OCSO, the guest master and the Choir master of Mount St Bernard's Abbey to share with us why he loves this type of prayer. We conclude the podcast with recordings of the monks of Mount St Bernard signing sext (midday prayer) and compline (night prayer).

In this fifth episode we explore praying chaplets. Chaplets are a meditative form of prayer that uses a series of prayers that are repeated to aid in our reflection, the Rosary is an example of a chaplet. This month we are delighted to have Madeleine Heraghty joining us to reflect on the Divine Mercy Chaplet and how it has helped her grow closer to God and how to pray it.

In this fourth episode we explore The Our Father. The Lord's Prayer is the focus for this Year of Prayer but especially at the moment in Lent. We are delighted to have joining us to reflect on this prayer Rebecca Durham from Playing and Praying a new initiative aimed at helping families with young children discover prayer through play; and Rev Dr Jan Nowotnik the Mission Director of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, who is one of the national leaders for the Year of Prayer and the Jubilee Year in 2025. 

There are two resources referred to in the podcast, you can find more information about them here:

• Our Father Flashcards - https://www.catholicmothers.co.uk/product/lords-prayer-flashcards-pre-order or https://www.rpbooks.co.uk/lords-prayer-flash-cards 

In this third episode we explore a type of meditative prayer from Ignatian pirituality. We are led through this beautiful reflective and creative prayer by Sr Susan Richert PBVM. Sr Susan is a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Pastoral Assistant at Our Lady of the Angels Parish Mansfield, and the Vicar for Religious for the Diocese of Nottingham.

In this Episode we explore a type of Lectio Divina (prayerful reading of the bible) called Seven Steps Scripture Sharing. We are led through this wonderful and insightful type of prayer by Sophie Rimac and Sean Jinks who are members of the Seven Steps Scripture Sharing group in Leicester. Sean works as a translator and Sophie runs her families business.

If you would like to contact Sophie and Sean about joining their group or seek their help in starting your own please email: [email protected].

The Seven Steps are:

1. Invite. Remembering that the Risen Lord is present with the group, somebody present invites Jesus in a prayer and welcomes him.