ATTYMASS, Ireland, APRIL 30, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Sean Brady is encouraging Christians across Ireland to use modern technology to form groups of prayer, to share petitions and build solidarity through this type of network.
The archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland affirmed this Sunday in Attymass, in a homily at the unveiling ceremony of a statue of the Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, known as the “Rosary Priest,” on the occasion of the centenary of his birth.
The cardinal recalled the priest’s dedication to prayer, manifested in his promotion of phrases such as “Prayer works — try it!” as well as “The family that prays together, stays together.”
Cardinal Brady noted the Holy Cross priest’s gift for “using the most up-to-date means of social communication,” stating that “if there had been mobile phones in his day, Father Peyton would have been big into texting and twitter!”
The cardinal added, “He would rejoice in the power of the internet and e-mail to join people together in prayerful solidarity instantaneously and across the world.”
In the name of the priest, Cardinal Brady appealed to “every Christian in Ireland today who sends texts, twitters or uses e-mail” to “think about setting up groups of prayer between you and your friends using these modern means of communication.”
He continued: “I ask young people in particular to think of sending their friends and family an occasional twitter or text to say that you have prayed for them.
“Make someone the gift of a prayer through text, twitter or email every day. Such a sea of prayer is sure to strengthen our sense of solidarity with one another and remind us those who receive them that others really do care.”
Cardinal Brady emphasized the particular importance of reconnecting young men with prayer, noting, “The popular perception of prayer as a woman’s activity is a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland.”
He added: “It is also a real problem in terms of addressing aggression, violence and immaturity in younger men. It takes sensitivity and humility to pray, qualities which are not always valued or respected among young men but which are essential to maturity and responsible fatherhood.”
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On the Net:
Full text of homily on Attymass parish Web site: http://www.attymass.ie/historical_documents/fr_peyton/cardinal_brady_homily.pdf
