"The Lord has risen indeed."
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: from Luke 24: 13-35
When he was at the table with
them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes
were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They
said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking
to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour
they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their
companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and
he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and
how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
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:
At some point in our spiritual growth, Jesus asks us
to adjust ourselves to a new relationship with himself. Since this happens
without much warning, almost no one has any awareness of what is taking place
when it actually happens. It comes on gradually, slowly but surely. However, we
can so successfully distract ourselves from our interior life that we actually
never make the adjustment and never forge the new relationship Jesus asks of
us. . . . Some people who have received a distinct gift for prayer lose it,
because at the time of this transition they surrender to excessive activity,
get fed up, or stumble over some obstacle to forging the new relationship.
--Thomas Keating, Crisis of Faith, Crisis of Love, 11.
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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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