I was involved in organising a live-in for a group of teenagers and young adults.  The venue for the live-in was a retreat house. Following discussions and planning sessions with the other leaders, it was agreed that we would set up a prayer space during one of the evenings.  A fairly large room was identified for setting up the prayer space where there would be about six prayer activities.

 I wished to tackle one very tangible problem. I observed that, as often happens in these groups, some were falling behind due to their low self-esteem or lack of social skills.  The live-in was held during lent so this gave more scope to tackle inter-personal issues like accepting and listening to others, keeping in mind that the youth are at a crucial phase of life and that some of them find it hard to integrate with their peers. 

I came across a prayer by Don Tonino Bello “Dammi Signore un’ ala di Riserva” (Lord give me a spare Wing). This served as a good inspiration around which I could build a prayer activity.    This activity would aim to make them think about their friends and be aware of the needs of certain individuals who are generally marginalised due to some particular characteristic which makes them unpopular in the group.  The group of youths knew each other fairly well, so they would easily identify someone who was struggling with some sort of difficulty and whom they would be able to help.

Following are the instructions for the prayer activity:-

Wings

The legend says that humans are angels with only one wing and for this reason, they cannot fly unless they hug another person.

  • Think about people you live with….your family, your friends, people you meet at school or work.
  • Think of friends whom you help by sharing your talents, by letting them know you care about them.
  • Thank the Lord for them.
  • Now think of one or more particular person/s who you think might need your help. Think about how they might need your wing to help them “fly”.
  • Take an angel and write the name/s of the person/s on it.
  • Take a wing and fix it on the angel to make him complete.
  • Pray for the person/s you named, and pray to Lord Jesus to make you sensitive to the needs of all the people in your life.
  • Place your angel in the sky.

Materials needed:

Blue material hung on a wall, white tulle, single-winged cardboard angels, matching cardboard wings, paper clips, felt pens, glue sticks, cushions, and instruction card.

Conclusion

This prayer space gave the young people a good opportunity to reflection on things that usually go unnoticed in a vibrant youth group.  With all that goes on in their young lives, they have little time to reflect on the suffering or loneliness that others are experiencing.  It also brought them closer to each other, acknowledging the fact that the weakness and vulnerability others might be experiencing, can be overcome by kindness.  Being a catholic group it also emphasised the importance of praying for others.