A PRAYER FOR GRACE TO:
Listen, to be open to the Word, and to all the ways God is speaking to me in my daily life.
MEDITATION
God Speaking in Dreams (Job 33: 14-15)
For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep.
Penetrating My Heart (Heb 4: 12-13)
Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, …penetrating even between soul and spirit, …and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is exposed to the eyes of him…
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CONTEMPLATION
Hear my Voice (Rev 3:20)
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.
Teacher (John 14:26)
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
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SPIIRTUAL EXERCISE
THE PRAYER OF QUIET
The Prayer of Quiet, Prayer of the Heart, also called the Prayer of Silent Love, is a mystical prayer of silence.
In the Christian traditions Meditation mostly often refers to thinking about sacred events or writings. While in the Eastern religions Meditation is a thoughtless activity. Prayer of Quiet (or also called Centering Prayer today ) is a method of Silent Prayer using a focusing word in the beginning to bring us back from distractions. Other terms Christian Meditation and Christian Contemplation are used interchangeably at different times in history depending upon the tradition for the same method of prayer – ultimately it is all done in Silence.
· This type of Contemplation I am writing on is a prayer that has our desire for our entire selves to be in union with our Creator. Sitting in silence is just being with and loving God as we await the manifestation of God’s presence.
o What we do as the prayer is just….to be
· Infused Contemplation is a particular term used in the Carmelite Christian tradition, by using the term infused, it denotes an experience that is a gift from God of His grace in which we are lifted up into a state, thus experiencing the mystical union. It is something we can not give ourselves or try to do or something we can achieve by being present .
o It is what God does to us….
§ We may or may not be given the gift of infusement, yet sitting and waiting in His presence is enough of a gift. This is a level of contemplation called the Mystical prayer.
How to Begin:
Find time to be at peace in quiet for 20 minutes. Sitting comfortably, select a word or phrase or become aware of your breath, which you can use later to bring any thoughts that drift in, to help back into silence.
Open with an opening prayer.
Sin silence, just rest in the love of God being with you.
Any thoughts that intrude, just let them drift away. If you are distracted with thoughts, move your mind to think of the word or phrase or to your breath.
· Stillness – outer body
· Silence – interior mind
· Surrender – your body, mind, heart and soul
The Power of the Pause
Allowing our soul to catch up with our body
Be still and know that I am God. (Ps 46:10)
A Spirituality of the Heart
The heart has its reasons of which the mind knows nothing
What did you hear today?