"Today salvation has come to this house."
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 19: 1-10
He entered Jericho and was
passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax
collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of
the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and
climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When
Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and
come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was
happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to
be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the
Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I
have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a
son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
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:
Salvation is an ongoing process of growth. . . . The
Kingdom of God, Jesus said, “is like a grain of mustard seed,” the tiniest of
seeds. The first stage of the process is to put the mustard seed into the ground
where it germinates. Afterwards, it pushes a shoot through the earth and starts
to grow. Later, it puts forth branches and leaves and becomes a tree. It is only
at the end of the process, and not without a certain amount of pruning, that the
tree bears fruit, . . . In similar fashion, the process of salvation is going on
all the time, and although, for a Christian, it starts with faith in Jesus
Christ and repentance, it has to go through a long period of growth before the
follower of Christ becomes mature and “equipped for every good work” (2 Tim.
3:17).
~Thomas Keating, The Heart of the World, p. 52.
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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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