During my stay in Cairo in the early 80’s, my Dominican mentors, Frs. George Anawati and Jacques Jomier, invited me to join the Badaliyya prayer session. It was my first introduction to the group. I heard a lot about it through the professors during my studies at the Pontifical Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies in Rome.
The Badaliyya prayer begins in silence. Then the Blessed Sacrament is exposed; and adoration follows. The silent adoration is devoted to “standing before God” as an “offering” for and in behalf of our Muslim brothers and sisters.
It is during the prayer of adoration that one strives to become the “ransom” or a “substitution” for whatever is lacking or inadequate in Islam.
In some Badaliyya circles the prayer of adoration is followed by intercessory prayers that includes, among others, a plea for peaceful resolution to the crises in the Middle East and for conversion of hearts of all those whose hatred leads them to violent actions.
This is followed by a concluding prayer that asks for the courage to forgive the offenses and the wrong inflicted on each one by offering one’s self as a “ransom”/”substitution” in the place of those to be reconciled to a benevolent God. The prayer closes the Lord's Prayer.After about an hour of adoration, a light snack follows – a sort of a light passage to the second part of the monthly session.
The second part is devoted to sharing of significant events that affect Muslim and Christian relations. I remember the discussion on Mother Theresa’s visit to Cairo. It was the time that Egypt was being rocked by religious violence… the months prior to the assassination of Pres. Anwar Sadat.
The discussion ends always with a positive note and a short prayer… until the next session.
It is a monthly prayer session that is usually done on any Friday of Thursday evening… preferably the first Friday of the month. (Bapa Jun Mercado, OMI)
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