Action-movie star Liam Neeson is teaming up with the prayer app Hallow for a special Pray25 Advent prayer challenge. “Advent with C.S. Lewis,” a four-week-long prayer series, will feature the works of the famous Christian author.
Neeson voices Aslan, a character in the film adaptations of Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” books. He will lead the reflections alongside actor Jonathan Roumie and Sr. Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, starting on Monday, December 4. Roumie is best known for playing Jesus in the TV show “The Chosen.” Heidland is a popular Catholic speaker, podcaster and author.
Advent begins this year on Sunday, December 3, and the liturgical season leading up to Christmas is viewed as a time of preparation and penance ahead of the birth of Jesus.
“I’ve partnered together with Hallow for this project to help guide folks through some beautiful meditations,” said Neeson, adding that it was “an honor to journey through them with the community on the app.”
“Advent with C.S. Lewis” will draw from various passages from the writings of Lewis. It “seeks to help participants acknowledge the desires of their hearts and see how those desires point to far more and greater than what the world offers,” Hallow said.
“I’m incredibly excited to partner with Liam Neeson and Sr. Miriam James for Hallow’s Pray25 challenge this year,” Roumie said. “The content is fantastic and will really impact people and help them find peace during this hectic time of year.”
In addition to prayers and meditations led by Heidland, Neeson and Roumie, Pray25 participants also will have access to traditional Christmas hymns from Andrea Bocelli and Matt Maher, Hallow Original Advent Lo-Fi and more Advent and Christmas music, the company said.
Alex Jones, Hallow’s CEO and cofounder, said producing a prayer series inspired by C.S. Lewis has been a longtime goal.
“It’s always been a dream of ours to do a challenge with C.S. Lewis’ incredible writings,” he said. “They changed my own life, and we’re honored to be able to pray through them this Advent. And I couldn’t think of a more phenomenal voice to lead us through the writings than Liam’s. He, Jonathan and Sr. Miriam do such a beautiful job bringing them to life.”
Jones hopes that those who join in on Pray25 will provide a focus on God during the “busy season filled with distractions.”
“We’re so excited to help people pray this Advent,” he said. “We believe that prayer is transformative, and we are blessed to have partners like Liam Neeson and Jonathan Roumie to help folks prepare their hearts for Jesus.”
The prayer app has been criticized for including Neeson because of his support for abortion.
–Alan Goforth