"Love one another as I have loved you."
We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.
Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.
CONTEMPLATIVE / SILENT PRAYER
Our Centering Prayer sit is 20 - 30 minutes sounded by the chime/chant. At the end of the Prayer sit, we will linger in silence a few minutes, then follow by praying together the Our Father.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
LECTIO DIVINA: Listening to the Word of God with the ears of our heart [See Chopping Wood (or Carrots) Under the Gaze of God for a discussion of Lectio Divina].
First reading & silent reflection: Reflect in silence.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
LECTIO: John 15: 9-17. Jesus said to his disciples, . .
. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No
one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You
are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any
longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have
called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have
heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed
you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give
you whatever you ask him in my name.”
Second reading & reflection: What word or phrase catches your attention? Share or pass.
Third reading & reflection: How does this word or phrase touch your life? Share or pass.
Fourth and last reading & silent reflection: How is God inviting you to grow? We will reflect in silence for a few moments before we move from Lectio Prayer to the teaching by Father Keating.
Teaching: To love as Jesus loved us is to
love with Divine Love, with the Love of the persons of the Trinity, which is
total self-surrender. They love not in order to receive love in return, but
because it is the nature of divine love to give, to pour itself out, to
surrender, and to do so for no other reason than because it is what it is –
sheer gift. We too must love not in order to become something, but because we
are called to be stewards of divine love; to be identified with it and to be
channels of this immense energy, till the world is transformed by Christ and he
is all in all. We surrender not because we choose to, but because Jesus has
chosen us and commanded us to love as he has loved us. Thomas Keating,
Awakenings, 117-18.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
We now take some time to share our thoughts and reflections on our own spiritual journey and our prayer practice. Followed by brief prayers of intercession. Share or pass.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Go in the name of Christ Jesus to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God!
------------------------------
[This is an adapted format courtesy of Martha Johnston, Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington, DC]
No comments:
Post a Comment