Diocesan News
Prayers and readings to calm the soul – new booklet for anxious times
A new booklet which is aimed at bringing comfort during anxious times has been published by a Dublin Lay Reader. Calm for the Soul – Readings and Prayers for Anxious Times has been compiled by Ruth Gyves. It is an excellent resource for focusing hearts and minds on God in these days of uncertainty.
Ruth, who is a Diocesan Lay Reader and Lay Assistant Pastor with Holy Trinity, Rathmines, in Dublin, has taken scriptures and prayers and put them together in an accessible and appealing format. The booklet is easy to keep close and read throughout the day and has proved to be a great source of comfort and hope to many people of all ages. It is available for churches, care homes, groups or individuals.
Calm for the Soul is Ruth’s second booklet. She compiled a booklet in October 2018 called Food for the Soul - Prayers & Readings for Every Day. This was a more general booklet with Morning Prayers, Prayers for Family and Friends, Prayers of Thanksgiving, Help in times of trouble and Evening Prayers.
“I produced this mainly for the folk in Holy Trinity and it proved a very useful tool to help people in daily prayer and reading of scripture. It was always in my mind to do another and when COVID-19 hit, I realised that I was becoming anxious and found verses that really helped me. Of course, I quickly realised that if I was finding scriptures and prayers to help me, then surely they would be of help to others. Calm for the Soul was born from that time,” Ruth explains.
Initially, she did it with Holy Trinity in mind but then decided to have it printed to offer around other parishes and other denominations. It has gone to several different churches at this stage – and has proved so popular that she needed a second print run. Originally, she had the worrying time of the pandemic in mind but it's useful in any time of anxiety.
“My motivation and my vision is to help people connect with God through a relationship with him and to find what they need in the Bible. For some it's a daunting task and they don't know where to start. Putting relevant verses together in one place helps. Also, many people don't know how to pray or where to start, so giving them prayers that have survived for centuries or ones that are brand new, is really useful,” she says. “There are more in the offing - Peace for the Soul, Joy for the Soul, Psalms for the Soul etc etc. I've a sneaky suspicion that God has a plan!”
You can obtain copies of Calm for the Soul by contacting Ruth on 085 858 2939 or by email: ruthgyves@gmail.com
For further information please contact:
Diocesan Communications Officer, Dublin & Glendalough
087 235 6472
Mrs Lynn Glanville
dcodublin@gmail.com