National
Prayer
Penny
and
Week
2016
Elementary Grades K-8
Welcome to National Prayer and Penny Week!
This year, the Missionary Childhood Association celebrates National Prayer and
Penny Week from March 6-13. This program is a prayer movement that serves
as MCA’s Lenten prayer and sacrifice program for Grades K-8.
The National Prayer and Penny Week Program continues to honor the legacy of Venerable Pauline Jaricot – who
encouraged prayers and help for the Missions of her day (including our own country). In the 19th century as
founder of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a Pontifical Mission Society like the Missionary Childhood
Association, this young French laywoman encouraged prayers and financial help for the Missions of her day
(including our own country). In her day she called for a daily sacrifice of a sou a rough equivalent to our penny.
This program’s name is meant to symbolically honor its origin and not reflect the current financial need. It is our
hope that all are encouraged to give in the spirit of sacrifice and not just spare change. Today, her vision calls us
to action – to do for the Church in the Missions of our day what she helped do for us in building the Church here
in the United States. To learn more about Pauline Jaricot and her vision visit http://www.onefamilyinmission.
org/society-propfaith/paulinejaricot.html.
Resources for National Prayer and Penny Week
During National Prayer and Penny Week (March 6-13), participants turn their focus to the hope they can offer
to those in need throughout our world through the loving service of missionaries – the hope that saves, Jesus
Himself.
This guide is provided with activities for daily prayer and giving during National Prayer Week. Resources are
designed to engage students in grades K-4 and 5-8. Choose strategies that work best for your environment and
students. Many of these strategies are easily adaptable for use at home with families as well.
After National Prayer and Penny Week
As National Prayer and Penny Week concludes, we encourage you to continue to educate and involve students
and families in the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies, especially the Missionary Childhood Association and
the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. For this reason, the Leader’s Guide features a variety of follow-up
ideas and strategies in support of the Church’s missionary activities around the globe. Suggestions are provided
for engaging students in grades K-4 and 5-8. Choose strategies that work best for your environment and
students. Many of these ideas are easily adaptable for use at home with families as well.
The materials for MCA’s National Prayer and Penny Week include:
National Prayer and Penny Week reproducible poster template for coloring (8.5” x 11”)
National Prayer and Penny Week Response Card (to record the number of participants)
National Prayer and Penny Week Leader’s Guide
Contributions collected through this program may be sent to:
MCA National Prayer and Penny Week
The Pontifical Mission Societies
70 West 36th Street, #8
New York, NY 10018
National Prayer and Penny Week
March 6-13, 2016
Day One | All Grades
Begin the week by sharing some of the history and purpose of the Pontifical Mission Societies (www.
OneFamilyinMission.org) which includes the Missionary Childhood Association (MCA) and about National
Prayer and Penny Week. If your group consists of young children, be sure that they understand the
meaning of the word “poor.” Explain the difference between being materially poor and spiritually poor.
Then note:
The Pontifical Mission Societies provide help to local Catholic churches in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands and
remote areas of Latin America so that others can come to know about Jesus. (Consider noting each continent
on a world map or globe, or asking students to identify them.) Here, some of the poorest of the poor learn the
Good News of God’s great love for all people.
• Missionaries are people who have been called by God to go out and proclaim the Good News. They are
also called to care for those who suffer from hunger, poverty, homelessness and natural disaster. These
missionaries offer God’s love to the poor in word and service.
• As Catholics, we, too, are called to be missionaries. While we may not be able to travel to other countries,
we can still bring the love of God to others. We can offer our prayers, talents and financial help to support
missionaries and local priests, Sisters and Brothers in their service to the poor.
• Prayer is the most important part of being a missionary.
• During Prayer and Penny Week, we will offer special prayers for the world’s poorest children. We will
also collect money so that children in the Missions may know Christ and experience His love. We will also
experience what it might be like to walk in the footsteps of those served by the Pontifical Mission Societies.
• We will hear stories about people who have been helped by missionaries. We will discover how our prayers,
sacrifices and financial offerings are part of making a faith-filled difference in the lives of the poor.
The story The Kingdom of God Belongs to Such as These… found at the end of Day One’s lesson of this guide
provides an example of the great needs of missionaries and mission churches throughout the world. Tell the
story in your own words or make a copy of the story and questions below for use at home.
Questions for Critical Thinking
Grades K-4
•Why is the work of missionaries, such as those in this story, important?
•What might you do to support the efforts of Catholic missionaries?
•Why does God ask us to support the efforts of missionaries?
Grades 5-8
•Who are the “missionaries” who have brought Jesus to you?
•How can your prayers, time, talents and financial gifts make an impact on the world?
•In the coming week, you will have the chance to support the missions. What are some steps you can
take to do so right now?
Activities for Grades K-4
➜S
how
the students some coins. Ask them what they can do with just one quarter, dime, etc. Allow for some
responses. Then, note that a single coin alone is not worth much, but a lot of coins add up to a great deal!
Ask the students to do a counting game with you. Depending on the age group with which you work, you
may need to begin with some very simple math problems. For example, how many pennies make a dollar?
How many dimes do you need to equal $100 (1000 dimes), how many quarters $1,000 (4000), etc.? Ask the
students to think about how many different coins each could collect in a week.
➜P
lace
a large jar or clear container on your desk or in another prominent location in the meeting space/
classroom. Tell the students that they will be participating in a coin drive during the upcoming week. The idea
is to earn money for the people they have been learning about during the week. Tell them that they may
bring in coins or paper money from home to fill the container.
➜ I nvite
students to decorate the jar or container by passing it around the room with a few permanent markers.
Ask each student to draw a symbol or write a word on the container.
➜B
rainstorm
with students about ways they could make the fundraiser a bit more fun or competitive. Some
ideas might include:
• Create a competition related to weight (for example, a goal of 10 pounds of coins) or number (most
quarters collected).
• Divide the students into two groups. Give each group a large jar or container. The group with the most
pennies or coins in their container will be declared the winner.
• Ask students to decide on one of the options from those discussed. Then, talk about creative ways to collect
money (i.e., chores at home, small jobs around the neighborhood, savings, etc.).
➜P
rovide
each student with six pre-cut strips of construction paper in the colors of the World Mission Rosary,
along with a pen, pencil or marker. Ask them to write their names on the paper strips. Collect the strips for
use next week. Tell the students that as money is collected, they can take one of their paper strips, write the
amount collected, and build a class or group paper chain. (See www.WorldMissionRosary.org to learn more).
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
sending home a letter explaining to parents and family members about National Prayer and Penny
Week – and asking them to enthusiastically work with their children toward their efforts to collect funds for
the Missions.
➜C
onsider
Activities for Grades 5-8
➜B
egin
by presenting the following mathematical problems to the students, asking them to work individually
to solve each problem (the answers are noted in parenthesis). You may want to provide each student with a
scrap sheet of paper, and a pen or pencil.
• How many pennies does it take to equal $10? (1,000 pennies)
• How many dimes does it take to equal $100? (1000)
• How many quarters does it take to equal $1,000? (4000)
➜D
ivide
the students into small groups or pairs. Provide each group with a large jar or clear container, and
a permanent marker. Tell the students they will be working as a team in the upcoming week to help raise
funds for the Missions. Ask them to assign their group a name. Invite them to write the name of their team
on the jar and even decorate the container. Explain that the fundraising goal is to earn money for the people
they have been learning about this week. Tell them that they may bring in pennies and other coins, or paper
money, from home to fill the container.
➜A
sk
the groups to talk about and set a goal for their fundraising efforts. It can be monetary, numerical,
weight-related, size-related or color-based (silver vs. copper). The goal should be realistic and achievable. It
is always best to exceed a goal rather than fail at meeting one. After some discussion, invite the students to
share their goals.
Gather the students back into a large group and invite them to brainstorm with you some creative ways to
collect funds in the upcoming week. Ask them to think about ways to get other students, family members,
friends and neighbors involved. Note their ideas on a sheet or two of newsprint. Then ask each fundraising
group to gather and select a few of the options suggested. If they have additional approaches or ideas that they
wish to adopt, that is fine. Once again invite the groups to share their strategies. Encourage ongoing creativity
throughout the entire week of fundraising.
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Consider sending home a letter explaining to parents and family members about National Prayer and Penny
Week – and asking them to enthusiastically work with their children toward their efforts to collect funds for
the Missions.
Day One Story
The Kingdom of God Belongs to Such As These…
Every Friday in Edea, Cameroon, Sister Marie Madeleine goes house to house inviting children who can’t afford
school to join her at “The School Under the Tree.” She teaches her students, mostly young girls, to read, write
and count. She and the other Servant Sisters of Jesus, with their volunteer staff, also tutor older students,
distribute school supplies, and organize Christmas events for poor families.
“We believe that we can combat unemployment and illiteracy through this care for children and their families,”
says Sister Marie Madeleine. But that’s not all these good Sisters are doing. Nearby, at St. Martin School, they’re
trying to expand classrooms. “More and more children are coming to us,” says Sister Marie Madeleine. “They
do not have seats, and there are no lights in classrooms that are built. We also need to paint the walls!” She
figures $50 for paint, and $1000 to buy plaster
and cement; add another $20 for a desk for each
of the 350 children and you’ve made a difference
for families in this part of Cameroon.
A continent away, in Sri Lanka, education is also
a priority, compromised by a quarter century
civil war that ended only a few years ago. Like
We believe that we can combat
unemployment and illiteracy
through care for children and their
families.
Sister Marie Madeleine, Father Dennis is making
education accessible to the poorest of the poor. Each
– Sri Lanka
year, 50 students are selected for scholarships that
cover their education from kindergarten through
college, about $200 per student per year. Offering young people hope for their future also provides hope for the
Church and the country, Father Dennis believes.
In his recent trip to the United States, Pope Francis reinforced the primary right of the family to educate its
children, and our responsibility to assist families toward that end. You are answering the call with your prayers
and gifts supporting Sister Marie Madeleine, Father Dennis and so many like them throughout the Missions.
Day Two | All Grades
Share the story Looking for the Lost Ones found at the end of Day Two’s lesson of this guide, or do so
in your own words. The story offers students an example of how the Missions are changing the lives of
children in poor countries.
Pray today’s Responsorial Psalm PS 30:2 AND 4, 5-6, 11-12A AND 13B
R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.”
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
➜L
ead
a discussion with the students on the Psalm and how it relates to the story.
➜ I ntroduce
the students to the World Mission Rosary. Here is some background information to share with
students:
• In February of 1951, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (national director of the Society for the Propagation of the
Faith from 1950 to 1966), in a radio address (The Catholic Hour), inaugurated that World Mission Rosary. He
saw the need for us to pray not just for ourselves, but for the whole world, and especially for those who are
poor and vulnerable at home and around the world.
• Each decade of that World Mission Rosary calls to mind an area where the Church continues her
evangelizing mission: green for the forests and grasslands of Africa; blue for the ocean surrounding the
islands of the Pacific; white symbolizing Europe, the seat of the Holy Father, shepherd of the world; red
calling to mind the fire of faith that brought missionaries to the Americas; and yellow, the morning light of
the East, for Asia. (See www.WorldMissionRosary.org to learn more).
• Ask the students to share how they are doing with their sacrificial collection project. Invite them to count
the money they have collected and brought with them today. Then invite them to place their sacrificial
collection in the container they decorated. Have a few students share the ways they are collecting funds
for the Missionary Childhood Association. Have grades K-4 also take one of the strips of paper and note the
amount they added to the jar today, and begin making a group paper chain from the strips of paper by
connecting their individual links.
Activities for Grades K-4
Introduce the students to the World Mission Rosary by noting that each decade has been assigned
a color. The color helps us focus on areas in the world where the Church continues her evangelizing
mission. The colors are as follows:
• Green for Africa
• Blue for the Pacific Islands
• White for Europe
• Red for the Americas
• Yellow for Asia
Using a world map or globe, ask students to identify the locations corresponding to the color. Invite the students
to share what they know about each area of the world. Ask them if they can name why each color might have
been chosen for each location. The answers are as follows:
• Green for the forests and grasslands of Africa
• Blue for waters surrounding the Pacific Islands
• White symbolizing Europe, home to our Holy Father
• Red for the fire of faith that brought missionaries to the Americas (this may require some explanation
from you)
• Yellow for the first morning light of Asia
Provide each student with a piece of yarn and one simple green, blue, white, red and yellow bead, inviting
them to make a prayer bracelet. Ask them to create their prayer bracelet by stringing the beads on the yarn and
then tying the two ends together. Conclude by praying a decade of the World Mission Rosary together. Invite
the students to take their prayer bracelet home, and make a commitment with their families to pray the World
Mission Rosary this week. Consider sending home the needed supplies for each family member to make their
own bracelet.
And/or
Provide the students with an outline map of the world (each continent should appear on the map). Also provide
them with green, blue, white, red and yellow markers or crayons. Ask them to color in the continents according
to the World Mission Rosary colors noted above. Then invite the students to divide into five groups, assigning
each group one of the five continents. Ask each group to compose a prayer for the missionaries and their
mission family in that location. Ask the groups to share their prayers with everyone. Students can take their
maps home and invite their families to pray for each of the locations highlighted by the World Mission Rosary.
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Activities for Grades 5-8
➜➜ You
will need some information about each part of the world represented in the World Mission Rosary
(or make computers and Internet access available for the students to do so). Divide the students into five
different groups. Assign each group one of the areas – Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, Latin America, Europe
— represented by the World Mission Rosary, and provide each group with the relevant information. Ask the
groups to review the resources and highlight at least eight to 10 facts. Groups should then share their lists
with one another. Families can accomplish this activity by assigning each family member one or more of the
locations, and then share the information.
➜➜ Tell
the students that thousands of Catholics travel to Rome each year to see the Holy Father. At the Vatican
they will find a scroll where visitors can share their thoughts on the role of faith in their lives. “The Faith
Scroll” is also a place where travelers (also called pilgrims) can write their prayer intentions. Invite the
students to reflect on someone or something for which they want to pray. Invite them to share their requests
as you write them down on a long sheet of paper that resembles a scroll or in a blank book. Place the scroll
or book in a location where students can continue to add their requests for the remainder of the year. You
might even consider asking your school or parish priest to bless the scroll or book. Suggest that the students
create a family faith scroll, where family members can enter their prayer intentions on a regular basis
throughout the year and even beyond!
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Day Two Story
Looking for the Lost Ones
They know every heart-wrenching story.
And they refuse no one their loving
outreach, embracing all. “We have taken in
every girl who comes to us, every girl we
find in need,” Says Sister Anurak Chiayaphuek. She
and others in her religious community, the Good
Shepherd Sisters, operate a center for girls in Chiang
Raiin Northern Thailand. “God loves all and we
should as well,” Sister Anurak says.
In addition to offering the teenagers
a loving home, the Sisters teach
them how to use computers, how to
sew and other skills.
– Chiang Rai, Thailand
These Thai Sisters opened their first center in
Bangkok in 1996; the home in Chiang Rai is the
fourth such location. In all, more than 450 girls have been helped in the past dozen years.
Some of the girls have lost parents through illness or violence, while others have been rescued from human
trafficking and slavery. There are some living at the center from families devastated by drugs, suicide and
general poverty.
“We try to raise their dignity, their self-image,” Sister Anurak explains. “We look for the lost ones. We hold out
for them the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who always searched for the lost ones.”
In addition to offering the teenagers a loving home, the Sisters teach them how to use computers, how to
sew and other skills. The young women make hand-crafted items to sell, and maintain a little garden as well,
growing produce for the local market.
Every Saturday, the Sisters pray the Rosary with the girls, and they regularly study the Bible. There is Mass at
the center every Friday. Many are not Catholic, but the opportunity to learn more about the faith is provided.
The Sisters also go into the villages near the center, running outreach programs for HIV/AIDS. Most importantly
they teach about trafficking. “This way they will know when the danger comes,” Sister Anurak observes, “and
they can protect themselves.”
After leaving the center, many girls return to visit the Sisters. Some even help with the village visits. “They are
transformed,” Sister Anurak says. “They have dignity.”
Her work at Good Shepherd Center fulfills a lifelong yearning for Sister Anurak. “In my heart was always a
calling to live with the poor and to serve them,” she explains. She recalls her feelings as her friends married
and started families. “My heart wanted more,” she says. “I became a Sister to give God’s love to everyone.
“My family numbers in the hundreds now,” she adds. “Now my heart overflows with gratitude for this privilege
to serve the Lord.”
Day Three | All Grades
Share the story A Night in the Dominican Republic found at the end of Day Three’s lesson of this guide,
or do so in your own words. The story offers students an example of how missionaries share the love of
Jesus with the poor.
Pray today’s Responsorial Psalm PS 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R. (8) The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
➜➜ Lead
a discussion with the students on the Psalm and how it relates to the story and the work of other
missionaries.
➜➜ Ask
the students to share how they are doing with their sacrificial collection project. Invite them to count the
money they have collected and brought with them today. Then invite them to place their sacrificial collection
in the container they decorated. Have a few students share the ways they are collecting funds for the
Missionary Childhood Association. Have grades K-4 also take one of the strips of paper and note the amount
they added to the jar today, and add to their group paper chain with the strips of paper by connecting their
individual links.
Activities for Grades K-4
➜➜ Explore
with students the life of Venerable Pauline Jaricot who encouraged “prayers and pennies” for the
Missions of her day (including our own country). Information (and video can be found at http://www.
onefamilyinmission.org/society-propfaith/paulinejaricot.html). Then invite the students to pray the following
prayer for her beatification:
Lord, You want all men and women to be saved
And come to knowledge of the Truth.
You inspired Pauline-Marie Jaricot
To devote herself entirely
To the Propagation of the Faith
In the world.
Hasten the day when the Church
Publicly recognizes the holiness of her life.
Let her example inspire me and
Christians in great number
To announce the Gospel
So that finally all people may know You.
You, the only true God,
and the One whom You have sent,
Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord.
Amen.
The prayer may also be downloaded as a prayer card at http://www.onefamilyinmission.org/images/stories/
pdf/spof/paulineanniversary/PaulineJaricotPrayerCard.pdf. Consider printing out the card and sending it home
for families to pray together.
Pauline Jaricot said, “Oh! I’d love to have a well of gold to give some to all the unfortunate, so that there would
not be any more poor people at all and that no one would cry anymore.” Share this quote with the students.
Divide the students into small groups. Ask groups to imagine they each had their own “wealth of gold.” Ask
them to talk about what they would do with that money to help the poor of the world. Ask them to develop a
list of five to 10 things. Then have each group present their lists.
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Activities for Grades 5-8
➜➜ Download
copies of the background information on Pauline Jaricot available at http://www.
onefamilyinmission.org/images/stories/images-/spof/Jaricot2012/PaulineJaricot_150th_WebText.pdf.
Divide the students into four groups, provide each group with one of the following sections of the background
information you have downloaded.
• Pauline’s Story Begins…
• The Society for the Propagation of the Faith…
• Suffering for a Loving, Generous Heart…
• Three Lessons from the Life of Pauline Jaricot…
Invite each group to read and discuss their assigned section, and then plan a creative presentation to share its
content with the entire group. Ask each group to share their presentation, allowing for questions and answers.
Jaricot wrote of her parents: “Happy are those who have received from their parents the first
seeds of faith…. Be praised Lord, for giving me a just man for a father and a virtuous and charitable
woman as a mother.”
➜➜ Pauline
Invite students to discuss what Pauline might have meant by this statement. Organize students into pairs and
allow time for them to discuss how their own parents / guardians / godparents helped them come to know
about God. Finally, provide each student with a thank-you note, telling them to write a note of thanks to their
parents / guardians / godparents / grandparents / aunts / uncles for encouraging their faith.
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and One Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week prayer
for the missions.
Day Three Story
A Night in the Dominican Republic
It was a moonless and dark night, one where you can hardly see your feet before you. Sor (“Sister”) Elizabeth
led me through the Dominican streets that she knew like the back of her hand. I had trouble with my footing
and struggled to see the rocks and potholes that filled the road. The power was out again for the whole city,
except for the sugar factory which loomed by the bay and looked like a beacon of light from here. Still, people
were outside: most of them gathered around fires looking like silhouettes.
We climbed higher, weaving through the winding lightless
streets until I almost tripped in the rutted out dirt road.
“¡Cuidado!!” Sor Elizabeth turned to see if I was alright and that I
hadn’t dropped the food that I was carrying. If I dropped that, our
journey would have been pointless.
After what seemed like miles of walking, we came to a small
house made from tree branches and sheets of aluminum. We
knocked on the outside door and a man from inside answered.
Slowly, he opened the door and we could see one single candle
burning inside.
“It is enough that my children
are full – I am satisfied.”
– Dominican Republic
“Manuel, we brought you some food.” Sor Elizabeth began,
“How are you feeling? Take this; it will help you get better.”
Manuel smiled and took the food from me. “Thank you
Sister. Tomorrow, I hope to have the energy to work.”
Manuel turned around and called out three names: Carlos,
Maria, and Luis. From the only other room in the small house
came three small children. Sor Elizabeth bent down to greet the kids, who she knew from the school. The girl
shyly hid behind her father and the boys looked at the bag of food curiously.
“Here, take this! It is a gift from God.” Manuel told the boys, “And be sure to share with your sister.”
The children took the food and sat on the floor of the other room and began to eat the plate of rice, beans, and
mashed plantains. The two boys listened to their father and gave Maria more food than both of them.
Sor Elizabeth smiled at the children, then turned to Manuel and said, “And you? What will you eat?”
“It is enough that my children are full – I am satisfied,” he replied.
Sor Elizabeth then pulled out pesos from her pocket, took Manuel’s hand and put the money in his hand saying,
“Here, take this. It is not much, but you can buy some bread and juice in the morning.”
Manuel looked from his hand to the Sister’s face. A tear rolled down his cheek.
“May God bless you Sister,” he whispered in a soft voice, “just as we are blessed because of you.”
With that we turned and made our way back into the dark night – carefully, quietly, and feeling blessed.
Day Four | All Grades
Share the story Letting God In found at the end of Day Four’s lesson of this guide, or do so in your own
words. The story offers students an example of the importance of forgiveness and compassion to others.
Pray today’s Responsorial Psalm PS 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18
R. (8a) The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
➜➜ Lead
➜➜ Ask
a discussion with the students on the Psalm and how it relates to the story of Immaculée Ilibagiza.
the students to share how they are doing with their sacrificial collection project. Invite them to count
money they have collected and brought with them today. Then invite them to place their sacrificial collection
in the container they decorated. Have a few students share the ways in which they are collecting funds
for the Missionary Childhood Association. Have grades K-4 also take one of the strips of paper and note
the amount they added to the jar today, and add to their group paper chain with the strips of paper by
connecting their individual links.
Activities for Grades K-4
➜➜ Review
the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. Divide the students into small groups. Provide each group
with a sheet of newsprint and a marker. Assign each group one of the Works of Mercy. Have then write or
draw pictures illustrating what the particular work is and is not.
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Activities for Grades 5-8
➜➜ Review
the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. Using magazine photos or images found on the web,
select several images that convey the various works. Post the images on the walls in your meeting space/
classroom. Ask the students to walk around the room to view the photos. Then lead a group discussion on
their impressions of the photos. Help students recognize that each photo represents mercy in some way.
students to complete the following sentence: Mercy is... Some examples might include: mercy is caring
about other people; mercy is helping others; mercy is showing concern for others, etc. Once the students
have mastered the concept, invite them to offer examples of the Works of Mercy. They should include acts
they have witnessed at home, at school, at church, in their extra-curricular activities, and in the community.
Suggest that students ask their friends and families to complete the sentence as well. They can record each
answer and share it with at the group’s next meeting.
➜➜ Ask
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Day Four Story
Letting God In
“Forgiveness is truly a grace
of God,” says Immaculée
Ilibagiza. “How the world
opens up for you when you
forgive!”
Immaculée grew up in her native Rwanda, surrounded
by a family she loved. But the world for her and all in
her country would be torn apart in 1994, when years
of tension between the country’s two ethnic groups
– Hutus and Tutsis – exploded. In a period of 100
days, almost a million Rwandans, mostly Tutsis, were
slaughtered in a bloody genocide where neighbor
literally turned against neighbor.
Rescued eventually by French soldiers
and now living here in the United
States, Immaculée takes groups
on pilgrimage to her homeland,
specifically to the Shrine of Our Lady
of Kibeho.
– Rwanda
Foreseeing danger for his only daughter, Immaculée’s father sent her to the nearby home of a Protestant pastor,
where she spent 91 days in his cramped bathroom – in silence – along with seven other women.
“We were not allowed to speak,” she recalled. “For if we were heard, we would have been found and killed.”
She and the other women had their lives spared. But her entire family, except for one brother who was studying
outside the country, was killed. And yet, it was during those days in the bathroom, as she prayed the Rosary and
read Sacred Scripture that Immaculée came to forgive those who murdered her brothers and parents.
“I would say the ‘Our Father’ and find it so difficult to say the words, ‘as we forgive those who trespass against
us,’” she said. “I knew they were killing people; I could hear them, and they were looking to kill me. How could
I forgive them?”
But then Immaculée read the words Jesus uttered from the Cross, as they were killing Him – “Father, forgive
them for they do not know what they are doing” - and her journey to forgiveness began.
Rescued eventually by French soldiers and now living here in the United States, Immaculée takes groups on
pilgrimage to her homeland. She has also visited those in prison in Rwanda, offering her forgiveness to those
who perpetuated the violence of the genocide. “It is a choice to forgive and the grace will come,” she said.
Rwanda’s government, as well as the Catholic Church, continues to work on reconciliation and healing, 15 years
after the horror of those three months.
“Faith is vital,” Immaculée explained. “I don’t know one person who has made it through, who has forgiven,
without faith. What else can give you hope when you’ve lost everybody?
“Open your heart,” Immaculée advised. “For when you forgive, you let God in. And with God, all things are
possible.”
Day Five | All Grades
S hare the story Good News of Hope found at the end of Day Five’s lesson of this guide or do so in your
own words. The story offers students an example of the importance of having faith in Christ Jesus.
Pray today’s Responsorial Psalm PS 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
a discussion with the students on the Psalm and the faith of people in the story Good News of Hope and
throughout the Missions.
➜➜ Lead
➜➜ Ask
the students to share how they are doing with their sacrificial collection project. Invite them to count
the money they have collected and brought with them today. Then invite them to place their sacrificial
collection in the container they decorated. Have a few students share the ways in which they are collecting
funds for the Missionary Childhood Association. Have grades K-4 also take one of the strips of paper and note
the amount they added to the jar today, and add it to their group paper chain from the strips of paper by
connecting their individual links.
Activities for Grades K-4
➜➜ Before
your class begins, take a medium-sized ball of yarn and tie it to the entrance door of your room or
class. Unravel the yarn throughout the room until you reach the end of the yarn. Ask a few students to start
rolling up the yarn, from the end of the roll until they reach the entry door. Lead a large group discussion
using the following questions:
•How does the yarn compare to Christian faith? (We must go where our faith leads us.)
•What does it mean that the yarn ends at the door? (As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI told us, we are called to
“open the door to faith.”)
➜➜ Initiate
a contest with students by providing small groups of three to four with a sheet of newsprint, markers
and other craft supplies. Ask them to create a mock-up of a door, and then decorate it with signs and symbols
of faith. Once the groups have finished their work, have them post their doors on the wall around the room.
Invite the students to view each image. Then hold a vote to determine the group’s top three favorites.
Families can also do this activity, by having each family member decorate a door in their home.
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Activities for Grades 5-8
➜➜ Invite
the students to call out phrases that include the word faith: “walk in faith” or “living in faith,” as
examples. As they call out the phrases, write them on sheets of newsprint. See if the group can come up
with at least one phrase for each student.
➜➜ Provide
each student with a Bible. Then divide the students into small groups. Assign each group one of the
Letters found in the New Testament. Ask the groups to search their assigned Scripture and locate a story
that models what it means to follow God by faith alone. Write the name of this story and reference down
on a sheet of loose-leaf paper. After they complete the assignment, have the groups share their answers
and discuss what it means to follow God in faith. Invite the groups to share their selected passage and the
rationale behind the choice. Then lead a large group discussion on the following question: Why is following
God by faith sometimes difficult?
➜➜ Acts
14:27 tell us to “open the doors of faith.” Ask the students to think about the first time they remember
walking through the doors of a church they had never been to before. What do they remember feeling or
thinking? How were they welcomed? How might they welcome a new church members or visitor?
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Day Five Story
Good News of Hope
Kibera — one of the largest slums in all of Africa.
Although population estimates have varied
throughout the years, most agree now that some
200,000 people are jammed into this tiny area outside of
Nairobi, Kenya — not even two square miles. Kibera lacks proper
drainage, and there’s hardly any clean water for the people
huddled in its shacks. Diseases like typhoid, cholera and malaria
thrive. Malnutrition is everywhere, as prevalent as the lack of
educational opportunities.
“Poverty is king in the slum,” said Father Celestino Bundi,
National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Kenya.
“But the Church here tries instead to help hope reign.”
There’s hardly any clean water
for the people huddled in its
shacks. Diseases like typhoid,
cholera and malaria thrive.
Malnutrition is everywhere,
as prevalent as the lack of
educational opportunities.
– Kibera, Kenya
Much of that hope flows from the small Christian community at St. Jude, an outreach center of Our Lady of
Guadalupe parish in Kibera. Back in 1991, seven women from that parish formed a prayer group. They moved
from house to house for prayers, most of which were offered for their husbands, who drank far too much and
spent little time with their families. The women prayed a novena to St. Jude, asking God to move the hearts
of their husbands to change. Several did, even joining the prayer group themselves. “After two years, the core
group got permission to build an outreach center — a place for prayer, as well as for concrete help to the poor of
Kibera. They raised money for the land, then secured more assistance for the building itself.
From St. Jude’s, Catholics reach out to the community, providing education for the young, and responding to
Kibera’s most pressing need — the increasing number of orphans and widows, a result of the growing number
of persons with HIV/AIDS.
Michael Ouma, the full-time catechist at Our Lady of Guadalupe since 1993, has been vital to that outreach from
the start. One visitor to the area called him “inspiring” and a “hero,” after observing his long days of service
and learning his own personal story.
Born on Christmas Day in 1959, the tenth of 16 children, he is today the only surviving child in his family. Six
siblings died at birth, another six were killed in a road accident, and three more lost their lives to complications
of HIV/AIDS. Ouma, who was baptized as an adult, visits the sick, prays with the dying, teaches children,
and works with the local priest in all areas of parish life. All of this while he and his wife care for their seven
children and 10 more little ones from his siblings who died from HIV/AIDS.
“Michael gives the people hope,” explains Father Bundi. “He consoles, as he represents the loving face of Jesus
to the poor of Kibera. His very presence uplifts the lives of many who are heartbroken.”
For the poor of Kibera, Ouma and all at St. Jude’s are visible signs of hope — and God’s “Good News” indeed.
Day Six | All Grades
Share the story God Gave Me Taylor Swift found at the end of Day Six’s lesson of this guide, do so in your
own words. The story provides an example of how missionaries serve the poor.
Pray Responsorial Psalm PS 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 AND 23
R. (19a) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
➜➜ Lead
a discussion with the students on the Psalm and other places throughout the Missions who serve the
poor, those living amidst violence and those in need of God’s loving care.
➜➜ Ask
the students to share how they are doing with their sacrificial collection project. Invite them to count
money they have collected and brought with them today. Then invite them to place their sacrificial collection
in the container they decorated. Have a few students share the ways in which they are collecting funds
for the Missionary Childhood Association. Have grades K-4 also take one of the strips of paper and note
the amount they added to the jar today, and add to their group paper chain from the strips of paper by
connecting their individual links.
Activities for Grades K-4
➜➜ Ask
students to describe what makes their home (the United States) different from some of the countries
helped by the Missionary Childhood Association. If you prefer to narrow it down to a particular continent or
country, please feel free to do so. Discussion topics can include: food, education, weather, language, clothing,
homes, hobbies, etc.
➜➜ Divide
students into pairs, then ask the following question:
•If you were granted three wishes for yourself, what would they be? Invite the pairs to share their responses.
Ask each pair to join with another pair of students and then ask:
•If you were granted three wishes for the Church, what would they be? Invite the groups to share their
responses. Ask each group of four to join with another group of four (making a group of eight), and ask:
• If you were granted three wishes for the world, what would they be? After discussion time, invite each
group to share their responses. Then talk about what it would take for the wishes they have for the world
to come true. What role can they play in making those wishes a reality?
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Activities for Grades 5-8
➜➜ Post
a world map on a wall, blackboard or bulletin board. Lead a group discussion based on the following
questions:
•How many countries are there in the world?
•How many continents are there in the world?
•What do you think the personal needs of a missionary might be, serving right now in one of those
countries?
•Depending on where a missionary is located, what types of resources might they need?
➜➜ Lead
the students in a discussion about what a “perfect world” would look like. Ask them to offer
suggestions, as you note them on newsprint. Once you have generated a list, ask the students to identify
ideas and actions that might make that perfect world more of a reality.
Conclude by praying one Hail Mary and one Our Father and the Prayer and Penny Week Prayer
for the missions.
Day Six Story
God Gave me Taylor Swift
A rainbow sea of colors greeted me as I walked into my new “classroom” for the first time. The room was
packed with gorgeous young Indian women dressed in traditional and brightly colored tunics and scarves
who sat silently in rows of chairs, eyes full of anticipation. My job at the Auxilium Women’s College in
Regunathapuram, a tiny village in Southern India, was to teach conversational English to incoming freshman,
mostly 17 or 18 year olds. As a teacher back at home, I was pretty confident in my skill level, but I was
expecting 30 girls in a classroom, not the 200 plus I found lined up in an auditorium. Needless to say I was
terrified. But I took a minute to remember that
for most of these women, it was their first time
away from home. College was their chance to
break the cycle of poverty in which they have been
raised- daughters of farmers and herders who live
with their families in mud and grass huts without
running water or plumbing. Suddenly, as my heart
swelled with compassion, my fear began to fade.
College was their chance to break the
cycle of poverty in which they have been
raised- daughters of farmers and herders
who live with their families in mud and
grass huts without running water or
plumbing.
After saying a silent prayer and taking a
deep breath, I regrouped and began. My first
efforts to talk to them fell flat with blank
stares. Most of the girls have a very limited
– India
understanding of English, if any, and some
did not even recognize the English alphabet. I
only knew two words of their native language, Tamil. I was going to have to think outside my teaching box. So I
pulled out the one tool I had at my disposal- my iPhone® loaded with music. First I played “If You’re Happy and
You Know It”, which was met with 400 unblinking eyes, then I tried singing and dancing along with the classic
“Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”, but it just looked awkward and drew out few shy smiles. Finally I tapped
into my teenage self and my pop playlist, put on Taylor Swift, and started dancing around the room like I had
gone crazy. It worked! The girls started moving, smiling, giggling, relaxing and finally having fun! After that
class became easier and easier.
We broke into small groups and communicated through pictures and gestures and some simple words. I shared
openly about my life, I constantly made a fool of myself, and I slowly built enough trust with the girls so they
were able to open up and even risk looking a little foolish, too. After 6 weeks the girls could easily sing “Head,
Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and could move like crazy to “Shake It Off” (they gained some other basic English
skills, too). Together we learned that we are all just God’s children with the same fears, the same needs, and
the same inability to remain still while listening to a really catchy pop song.
National Prayer and Penny Week
Follow-Up Strategies and Ideas
After National Prayer and Penny Week has finished, we encourage you
to continue to educate students and families about the work of the
Missionary Childhood Association and how their prayers and offerings
make a faith-filled difference for the poor of the Missions. For this
reason, we provide a variety of follow-up ideas and strategies intended
to encourage support of the missionary work of the Catholic Church.
Suggestions are provided for engaging students in grades K-4 and 5-8.
Choose strategies that work best for your group. Many of these ideas are
easily adapted for use at home with families.
Activities for Grades K-4
Have students work out an acrostic using the word MISSION. Each letter might stand for a particular
prayer intention of a missionary (M: for motorcycles so missionaries can travel to bring the Good
News of Jesus to others) or for a country that child might like to visit and why (S: I would like to visit
South Sudan to help the poor realize that I know of their suffering and pray for them). At the end of
class, allow students to present their acrostics, and then post them as mission reminders.
➜➜ Place
a mirror in your meeting space or classroom. Label it: “I am a missionary.” When students sneak
a peek at themselves from time to time, they will be reminded of their responsibility to continue the
mission of Jesus.
➜➜ Celebrate
with students the days throughout the year associated with missionary saints. How did they
spread the Good News of Jesus? Research one important fact about each saint. Create a collage or bulletin
board with images of those saints and those facts.
➜➜ Put
the names of world leaders on popsicle sticks. Ask the students to choose a name daily and pray for
that leader to find peaceful solutions to issues in his/her country or community.
➜➜ Get
the students involved in making a “love chain.” Have strips of paper for students to write their
names. Form into links in a chain by stapling the strips together appropriately. Add other strips with the
name of missionary saints and people from the parish or (arch) diocese working in the Missions. Print a
sign that says something like: Each link in this chain has the name of a missionary who spreads the love
of Christ around the world. You can be a “link in this chain” through your prayers and generous gifts.
communication and interaction with missionaries around the world with the MISSIO app. MISSIO
provides opportunities to interact directly, build relationships, and support people in mission lands. These
one-to-one relationships enable change in their lives and in the lives of others. MISSIO provides a firsthand experience with direct contact with mission. In keeping with Safe Environment protocols minors’
information is not shared rather the adult/teacher/catechist serves as the point of contact for the group.
➜➜ Facilitate
Activities for Grades 5-8
➜➜ Ask
students to design a poster about what they think it means to continue the mission of Jesus.
➜➜ Engage
students in a discussion to find suggestions on how young people can be missionaries through their
words and actions every day. List the ideas on paper and cut them into single pieces – one idea on each
piece of paper – and then place them in a large bowl. Each day, draw a suggestion from the bowl and have
students be on mission in that particular way.
➜➜ Bring
adhesive strips and copies of the local newspaper and mission magazines to class. Help students sort
through stories and name a place where the healing presence of Jesus is needed. Then during a time of
prayer, take a flat map or globe and place an adhesive over the country that is hurting. Or, write words like
God, food, peace, love, bread or other Gospel values on the adhesives. Invite the students to place the strips
on the map where people are hurting and in need of those gifts/qualities.
➜➜ People
pray in many languages. Research the “Our Father,” also known as “The Lord’s Prayer” in different
languages. Learn to say the words “Our Father” in the language of a mission country. Use the “Our Father”
in the language you learned to start your prayers.
➜➜ Invite
students to write prayers of praise, thanksgiving, forgiveness, petition, each relating to the Missions
and missionaries. Keep these prayers, as well as a picture of a child in a mission country for each prayer, in
a prayer journal. Have students pray for their brothers and sisters in the Missions every day.
➜➜ Use
adhesive strips for a fundraiser for the Missions. Prepare a set of clear labels with a mission Scripture
passage, such as, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). Sell the adhesives for a
reasonable price. Perhaps you can do this on the day of a school Mass, or after Saturday/Sunday Masses in
the parish, with permission.
F acilitate communication and interaction with missionaries around the world with the MISSIO app. MISSIO
provides opportunities to interact directly, build relationships, and support people in mission lands. These
one-to-one relationships enable change in their lives and in the lives of others. MISSIO provides a firsthand experience with direct contact with change-makers in the Missions. In keeping with Safe Environment
protocols minors’ information is not shared rather the adult/teacher/catechist serves as the point of contact
for the group.
National
Prayer
Penny
and
Week
2016
2016 National Prayer Week Prayer Service
Overview
In Scripture, we read of the challenges faced by Paul and Barnabas and other missionaries of the very early
Church. We are told that those who are called on behalf of the Church to bring the Good News of Christ to
others in foreign lands must receive support from those of us at home. We must be ready to encourage, pray for
and offer our support to those who are called to the work of the Missions. This prayer service invites us to do
just that.
➜➜ Music
will greatly enhance this service. Begin and end with a song. Consider selecting songs that speak of
faith and belief. Some options include:
•Thuma Mina/ Send Me, Jesus (South African tune)
•God Has Chosen Me by Bernadette Farrell
•Here I am Lord, by Dan Schutte
•God Make a Difference by Steve Angrisano and Tom Tomaszek
Introductory Prayer
We begin our prayer in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Ever faithful God,
You call us to proclaim the Good News of Jesus each and every day.
Hold us in your love, and grant us strength to be faithful to Your ways.
Send us into the world as ambassadors of your compassion and goodness
that by our hands all will be transformed by Your loving kindness.
May we work fervently to grow in our faith,
and to share that faith with all the world.
Receive this prayer we offer today,
for those who seek new life in Christ and for all people everywhere.
Glory to you forever and ever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Amen.
The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith
Missionary Childhood Association
70 West 36th Street | New York, NY 10018
Proclamation of the Word
A Reading from Acts (14:21-28)
After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch. They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and
exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter
the kingdom of God.” They appointed presbyters for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting,
commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. Then they traveled through Pisidia and
reached Pamphylia. After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed
to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and
how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970.
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any
means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Sharing
Invite participants to discuss practical steps they can take to support the Missions beyond Prayer and Penny
Week.
Prayers of the Faithful
Ever mindful that our God is present, faithful and true to our needs and those of the world, let us bring our
needs before Him. Our response is Lord, give us greater faith, and hear our prayer:
• We pray for all leaders, those in the Church, those in governments and other institutions. We pray that they
answer the essential call to care for the poor and vulnerable among us, and in all places throughout the
world.
• We pray for all missionaries, those near and far, that God will continue to bless their work and that through
their service and example they might make Jesus known to others.
• We pray for our school/parish community; that we may be witnesses without fear in our homes, our schools,
our communities, our country, and our world.
• We pray for all missionaries who have sacrificed their lives in the service of God and to the poor, that they
may be raised to new life with Christ.
• We pray for those missionaries who minister in challenging and often dangerous environments. May they be
of strong faith, and serve as a continual sign of hope for those they serve and care for.
The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith
Missionary Childhood Association
70 West 36th Street | New York, NY 10018
God of justice, God of kindness, God of love, we pray these prayers knowing that you are all powerful and
that all things are possible in you.
The Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray in the words that Jesus taught us.
Our Father… For the kingdom, power, and glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray:
God of love,
You show us all that is right.
Help us to become living signs of Your goodness and love.
Lead us to new ways of seeing You, praising You, and growing in our love and commitment to you.
We ask that you give to all missionaries a spirit of wisdom, understanding, strength and courage as they seek
to serve You in the name of our Church.
Grant them boldness to walk with our brothers and sisters who live in poverty, loneliness, and despair.
Provide them with safety, perseverance, and the fortitude they need to bring Your Son, Jesus to those in
need.
And give to us, Lord Jesus, humble hearts.
Give us hearts for serving all we meet.
Inspire all of Your followers to carry Your love to all people.
We ask this through Your good and faithful name.
Amen.
Blessing and Sending Forth
Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing:
May God give you today the same grace given the holy apostles.
May God fill you with the Holy Spirit to sanctify yourselves.
May God communicate to you your mission in order to procure
the salvation of others.
And may God Bless you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Adapted from - St. John Baptist de La Salle, Meditations, No. 43.3
The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith
Missionary Childhood Association
70 West 36th Street | New York, NY 10018
National
God our Father,
Help us to be your witnesses and disciples and share the
Prayer
Penny
and
Week
Good News of the Gospel with our lives.
Jesus, our Lord,
You teach us that all life is sacred. Strengthen us to witness every day to
Your love with our words, actions and sacrifices.
Holy Spirit, Giver of Life,
as missionary disciples you invite us to share the Good News, cooperating
with you and one another
to walk with our brothers and sisters who live in poverty, loneliness,
and despair.
In a special way we ask You to bless all the missionaries sharing Your love.
We send this prayer across the world in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
2016