with Mickey Rooney

Prayer Group Guidelines, Current Prayer Leaflet

Fr. Flanagan league Prayer

Loving Father, God of mercy, love and compassion, we are grateful that You gave Father Edward Joseph Flanagan special graces to love, protect and guide neglected, vulnerable and oppressed youth.  Thank you that the work he began with the foundation of Boys Town has continued to spread throughout the world.  We pray Father Flanagan will inspire many to adopt his caring, loving ways as mentor and protector of youth.  We bring our own needs to you now, asking that through the intercession of Father Flanagan, in accordance with your Holy Will, you grant us these favors:______________.  Thank You for Your Faithfulness and Providence, and for hearing these petitions which we ask in the Name of Your Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Father Flanagan

at Boys Town

  Establish a monthly prayer group in your community.

Prayer Group Guidelines

• Establish time and place of meeting before or after a mass or a regularly scheduled meeting in your parish, e.g. Women's Club, Knights of Columbus, Conference of St. Vincent de Paul.

• Allow about 20 minutes, including time to gather and to distribute materials.

• Make copies of the new prayer leaflet and any other materials provided.

• Assign leaders for prayers and for the readings.

Format

• Opening Prayer

• Reading from Fr. Flanagan's writing

• Communal prayer for the canonization and private petitions

Materials*

• Handout new materials

• Invite participants to keep prayer leaflet, take additional prayer cards to share with others.

Contact

League of Father Flanagan

Boys Town National Alumni Association

Attention: Sharon Nelsen

P.O. Box 2, Boys Town, NE 68010

402.498.3056

snelson@fatherflanagan.org

* A free packet of materials and guidelines will be sent to you when you are ready to establish a group.  Each month, you will receive the new prayer leaflet and any newly developed  materials.

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Since July of 2000, a prayer group has been spreading devotion to Father Flanagan. It meets at St. Croan's Church in Ballymoe, County Galway, Ireland, the home parish of Father Flanagan.

Throughout the United States, alumni pray daily and are in the process of establishing more prayer groups.

The prayer group at Boys Town has been meeting monthly since August, 2000. About 15 to 30 people attend.   Two alumni lead the group, and Spiritual Advisor, Msgr. Peter Dunne* attends and gives the final blessing.  If there is a request for a personal prayer for healing, Father Dunne and a group pray and bless the person with a  Father Flanagan relic.

*Father Dunne is the last living priest who knew and worked with Father Flanagan.

Prayer Leaflet 

Volume 3, No. 2

Excerpts from Father Flanagan's prayers

O Heavenly Father, we acknowledge with grateful hearts Your numerous graces and blessings bestowed upon us, as individuals and as a nation that is especially favored by You.

Teach us, Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, a deep sense of our duties and responsibilities not only towards our own children but all children who come within our reach of influence...Teach us, Dear Lord, to be unselfish, with our time and our talent...to set a good example by that unselfishness, and by our way of life, that we may set forth a pattern to the young…

Dear Lord, our children are so precious, so needed to be trained and developed into a citizenry that will be wholesome and constructive that all their thoughts, words and actions may be directed towards You and mutual service to each other, which will insure a safe and sane citizenry strong enough to protect it against the powers of evil. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen!

Children are not given to silence, even on the most sacred of occasions they talk. I speak of the chapel...one must try to keep the child interested...give a little instructions during the Mass, keeping up the spiritual morale of the child. I am not speaking of the Dialogue Mass, I’m speaking only of a reference to the principal parts of the Mass—perhaps say in English the lovely orations in the Mass—the prayers before Communion, a little devotional exhortation prior to Holy Communion, a little thanksgiving after Holy Communion. Just a few words to keep the child’s mind on the great privilege which is theirs in receiving our dear Lord...All of these will help the child to be cognizant that the House of God is a place to pray and not to play—a place to meditate, to keep one’s eyes on the altar or on the prayer book, but it is not necessary to read too much in the prayer book, but enough to keep one’s thought on the principal parts of the Mass. Now silence in other parts of the house is of secondary importance. Some Superiors would like to have perfect silence in certain parts of the convent, which is proper, but it seems to me that the laughter of little children even in those sacred places, is not too offensive to Almighty God, and it should not be used as a cause for severe punishment if a child does forget and make mistakes. You see the important thing is always to remember that love dominates the whole situation, and when a child realizes that a Superior or Nun or Priest loves that child, then the child does not resist the preceptor, and with such a mental and spiritual attitude, all that child needs is just a little kindly reminder...Sometimes I think that we become so efficient in our administration that we brook no violation of even the smallest rule. People think that makes for good discipline—in my mind that’s all poppy-cock. I always try to analyze in my own mind how Christ would deal with the situation. With love pouring out of His Sacred Heart, I would imagine that He would look upon the violation as just a little human trait from a little innocent child. Think of the tremendous contrast between that kind of an attitude and that of the bully (of course I’m not referring here to Nuns) who would scowl at the child and maybe strike at the child. What would such an attitude of discipline mean? It means fear, and because there is no love, hatred, hatred of that particular individual. It doesn’t make any particular difference how holy or saintly that individual is, that child still hates. That’s destruction in the highest sense of the word because it destroys the very essentials of the soul and the mind and the heart, which should be emanating love. So much for silence.