"The light shines in the darkness..."
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...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
First reading & silent reflection: Reflect in silence.
LECTIO: from John 1: 1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. . . . And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
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 Divina to Centering/Silent Prayer.
* * * * * * * * * * *
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.
The New Zealand Anglican Lord's Prayer
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and for ever.
Amen.
--The New Zealand Book of Prayer | He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa
Teaching / Reflection:
If you were to imagine the great world religions like the colors of a rainbow, each one witnessing in a particular way to some essential aspect of the divine fullness, Christianity would unquestionably hold down the corner of incarnation—by which I mean the vision of God in full solidarity with the created world, fully at home within the conditions of finitude, so that form itself poses no impediment to divinity. . . . At its mystical best, Christianity reverberates with the warmth of this assurance: with the conviction that creation is good, that God is for us, and that what ultimately gets worked out in the sacred mystery of Jesus’s passage through the human realm is a profound testament to love.
~Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Jesus, 93-94.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
We now take some time to share our thoughts and reflections on our own spiritual journey and our prayer practice. This may be 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 Richard and Linda Hall, Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington, DC]
No comments:
Post a Comment