"Go in peace, and be healed of your disease."
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: Mark 5: 21-43.
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to
the other side, a great crowd gathered around him.
Now there was a woman who had been suffering
from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians,
and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his
cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.”
Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed
of her disease.
Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him,
Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his
disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say,
‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman,
knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before
him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has
made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
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 divine energy is the most powerful when it
is least perceived by our faculties. When we sit down to do Centering Prayer and
form our intention, we know the divine presence is already there. We do not
create it. All we have to do is consent. The divine energy flows into us and
through us. In its purest form it is available to us twenty-four hours a day at
maximum strength. By consenting, we open to God as God is without trying to
figure who or what God is. We consent to the divine presence without depending
on a medium to express it, translate it. . . . God communicates himself on only
one condition. Our consent. Thomas Keating, Intimacy with God, 102-03.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
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