"Jesus prayed for his disciples."
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.
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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.
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LECTIO: John 17: 6-19. Jesus prayed for his disciples, “I have made your name known to
those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to
me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given
me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and
they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have
believed that you sent me. . . . They do not belong to the world, just as I do
not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you
have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
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: The spiritual journey is a call into the unknown. Its
scriptural paradigm is the call of Abraham: “Leave your father’s house, your
friends, your relatives, and property, and come into the land that I will show
you” (Gen. 12:1). God first calls us out of our childish ways of reacting into
relationships that are appropriate for full mental egoic consciousness. But
after that has been stabilized, we have not the remotest idea where God is
taking us. Paul says, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much
as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Cor. 2:9).
The only way to get there is to consent not to know. The desire or demand for
certitude is an obstacle to launching full sail on the ocean of trust. Thomas Keating, Invitation to Love, 75.
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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.
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Go in the name of Christ Jesus to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God!
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[This is an adapted format courtesy of Martha Johnston, Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington, DC]
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