"Grant me justice against my opponent."
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 Luke 18: 1-8
Then Jesus told them a parable
about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain
city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In
that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me
justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to
himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because
this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not
wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the
unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to
him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will
quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find
faith on earth?”
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 or another contemplative guide.
Teaching:
We long for God because we are
created by God, and this longing is both the source of our hope in God and the
very thing we resist. Prayer is an awakening to the fact that the fulfillment
of my life lies in God.
God delights in creation and loves each
of us with a personal love. Prayer, therefore, is God’s desire to breathe in
me, to be the spirit of my life, to draw me into the fullness of life. When I
pray—when I breathe with God—I become part of the intimacy of God’s life. The
Franciscan theologian, Saint Bonaventure [c. 1217–1274], wrote in his Soliloquy,
“[God] is the One who is closer to you than you are to yourself.” Prayer is
recognizing the intimate in-dwelling of God in our lives, the One who remains
faithful in love even when the world around us may fall apart.
~Ilia Delio, Ten Evenings with God (2008), p. 15.
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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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