PHASE FOUR: THE POWER OF SHARED PRAYER
Authentic spiritual life is marked by development and growth. Stagnation is not a sign of healthy life. In this section our Blessed Mother invites us to a wider dimension of prayer: shared prayer through which we can demonstrate oneness of mind and heart that befits the members of Christ's Body the Church.
Shared prayer has two main objectives: Firstly, with reference to the previous phase, in our 'spiritual warfare' against Satan, alone we may be weak and vulnerable, but united in prayer, in heart and mind, we are strong. Secondly, shared prayer in the family, in a group of friends like a prayer group, or in the parish community, becomes instrumental for the working of the Holy Spirit to build up the Body of Christ, to give glory to God in union with Jesus and with each other (Cf. 1 Peter 2:9). This is our Blessed Mother's principal aim, the renewal of the Church by deepening our awareness of being the 'Upper Room Community,' the Eucharistic commuity where Jesus is present, even among two or three as long as they are united in prayer: "In truth I tell you once more, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you buy my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name I am there among them" (Matthew 18:18-20).
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1), He would not have them pray in such a manner that each prayed only for himself. We do not say: "My Father, ...give me this day my bread." No, Jesus taught us to pray as members of one body and for the whole people of God, because in God we are on. "Our Father...." (Matthew 6:7-15).
Mindful of the teaching of Jesus, the early Christians lived and practised communal prayer and life as we learn from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:46; 4:23-24, 32). Facing a hostile world, they found great comfort and strength in their being united in prayer. Monastic and religious communities of later periods were established following the same gospel ideals of shared prayer and life.
In our present age when evil forces try to destroy life in the family and church communities, it is significant that the Mother of the Church draws our attention at Medjugorje to the remedy for overcoming the Evil One: renewal of family prayer, especially Family Rosary and the formation of prayer groups and communities. Once Father Tomislav Vlasic OFM, the first spiritual director of the seers, asked Our Lady through one of the visionaries if it was good to have prayers groups in the parish. Our Lady responded: "Yes, it is good not only in Medjugorje but also everywhere in all parishes. A spiritual renewal is necessary for the entire Church."
The messages in this phase are mainly centered on prayer in the family. But the family is the model for all church families and communities because the ideals of sharing, of mutual love, respect and interdependence, the ideals of humility and obedience are the same. We can recognise that our Blessed Mother's concern for the family originates from her own experience in the family home of Nazareth (Cf. Luke 2:51-52).