Domestic Prayer Missionaries of Saint Thorlak

Tomorrow (14 December) begins the Novena in Honor of Saint Thorlák, prayed during the nine days leading up to his feast day of 23 December.

This year, we would like to suggest praying this novena as a spiritual bouquet to the clergy serving in the Diocese of Reykjavik: offering our prayers for the intentions and wellbeing of its sixteen priests, one deacon and one seminarian.

This bouquet reflects the prayer on a regular basis throughout the year by the Domestic Prayer Missionaries of Saint Thorlák, a volunteer corps of missionaries-in-place whose work is to pray from where we are, in our current circumstances, in our present states of body and mind.  We are “domestic,” meaning, staying in place; we pray from wherever we are able to be, transforming “everywhere” into one, common household, one family of God: “Domestic” Missionaries of St. Thorlák do our work from within the “home” of God’s Household. This Domestic form of missionary work differs from that of missionaries who leave home to do their work elsewhere, publicly.

The Domestic Prayer Missionaries’ focus is prayer in any way we are capable, including all forms of communication: fully spoken, low speaking, variably spoken and non-speaking. Our prayer takes the form of however we best express our hearts and intentions to God, in the place best suited to our abilities: at home, in chapel, outdoors; standing, kneeling, sitting, walking; wherever we connect fully with God at any given moment. Many Domestic Missionaries spend their time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, but others may pray better in motion. Some “practice the presence of God” throughout the day, offering as we go, and some simply focus on the breath in prayer (e.g., breathe in “My Jesus,” breathe out “Mercy”) to create a “chapel of the heart” wherever we happen to be. Domestic Missionary prayer deliberately minimizes physical and social demands to keep our efforts focused on prayer. We draw special inspiration from the ways of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, whose Practice of the Presence of God is an excellent model for anyone, in any state of ability or disability, to offer prayers efficaciously and sincerely alongside those called to more conventional and active forms of missionary work.

To learn more about the Domestic Prayer Missionaries of Saint Thorlák, or to become a Prayer Missionary yourself, download our prayer manual or contact us at AutismConsecrated.Com.

 

Domestic Missionaries of Saint Thorlak – Prayer Booklet

 

 

Novena in Honor of St. Thorlac

by Aimée O’Connell

 

The summer Feast Day of Saint Thorlak is observed each year on July 20, which commemorates the translation of Bishop Thorlak’s relics which took place in the summer of 1198.  Such a date would be necessary for any exhumation in the twelfth century, but also reflects a season when pilgrims from all parts of Iceland would be able to make the journey to Skálholt to attend the ceremony and have the opportunity to personally venerate the relics of Iceland’s newly-declared patron saint.  More details about the summer feast day can be found in this blog post of the Icelandic National League of the United States (INLUS).

The Novena in Honor of Saint Thorlac (which uses the Latinized spelling of Thorlak’s name) was approved by the Bishop of Iceland, Most Rev. David B. Tencer, in 2018, and is a nine-day prayer and reflection on St. Thorlak’s life and example.  The English text of this prayer is available for free viewing and download on the Autism Consecrated website, and is now also available in spoken English audio on each day’s page for those who prefer to listen to the words or move about as you pray.  Furthermore, the spoken prayers of the novena have been uploaded to our YouTube Channel with ambient background music and photo slideshows of Iceland for each day’s devotion.

May we join our prayers to St. Thorlak’s, for the physical and spiritual wellbeing of Iceland, and may St. Thorlak pray for each of us in our own particular needs!

Thorlak of Iceland: Apostle of Autistic Theology

by Aimée O’Connell

We are nine days away from celebrating the summer feast day of St. Thorlak, and the Catholic Church in Iceland is taking this time to observe the Novena of St. Thorlak at the conclusion of each weekday Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Reykjavik between now and July 20.  The text of that Novena is available for daily prayer on our website.

Autism Consecrated references St. Thorlak throughout all that we do, starting with our tagline, “Living the Way of Saint Thorlak.”  An entire section of our website is dedicated to the ways his life inspires and directs our work and the manner in which we strive to live, autistically, in the Body of Christ.

Many have asked why we turn to Saint Thorlak before some of the other saints who appear autistic, or whose devotional specialty centers around matters of behavior and mental health.  Thankfully, there is no competition between and among the saints.  The holy women and men of God are all on the same team, and it is impossible to have too many benefactors praying for us.  What sets St. Thorlak apart for us is the way he lived in the time he did.  Thorlak was a child prodigy groomed by medieval Iceland’s political elite to be someone of power, both through his academic superiority and the offices he attained within the Catholic Church.  While he never denied his achievements, he considered them a reflection of his love of God and a reminder of his duty to share that love with everyone, equally, regardless of social status.  He steadfastly held to doing what was morally right, to the detriment of his political security.  His deep love of theology also lent itself to a more contemplative lifestyle, and thus he was further misunderstood by his fellow clergy who, like all Icelanders of that time, placed top priority on that which was practical and concrete.  It is not difficult to see why a life structured around prayer might seem foolish in twelfth-century Scandinavia, where physical survival depended on daily labor and economic survival on favorable political connections. Yet, Thorlak’s love of theology, coupled with a child-like air of wonder, made him the kind of priest whose mere presence drew people closer to God and the practice of their faith.  How?  He was physically weak and a poor speaker, easily ridiculed by political rivals who more closely resembled their Viking ancestors – but Thorlak was not ashamed of his marginality.  Rather, he consecrated it to God, offering that very weakness to Divine Love.  His accomplishments, and his sainthood, are the rich fruits of that contemplative life mocked by his contemporaries.

Iceland is especially blessed to have Thorlak as its patron saint, and the autistic community worldwide is likewise blessed to know his story and example.  Holy Saint Thorlak: Pray for us!