"God's love has been poured into our hearts."
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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First reading & silent reflection: Reflect in silence.
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LECTIO: from Romans 5: 1-5
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained
access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the
glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing
that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and
character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has
been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
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.
Our little lives, our big problems—these we
place upon Thy altar!
Brood
over our spirits, Our Father,
Blow upon
whatever dream Thou hast for us
That
there may glow once again upon our hearts
The light
from Thy altar.
Pour out
upon us whatever our spirits need of shock, of lift, of release
That we
may find strength for these days—
Courage
and hope for tomorrow.
In
confidence we rest in Thy sustaining grace
Which
makes possible triumph in defeat, gain in loss, and love in hate.
We
rejoice this day to say:
Our
little lives, our big problems—these we place upon Thy altar!
Howard
Thurman, Meditations of the Heart (Beacon Press: ©1953, 1981), 83‒84.
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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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