A Daily Spiritual Seed
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
- blogcast from http://dailyspiritualseed.blogspot.com (comments option open)
Message of the Day
“Only
God can enable us to understand our neighbour according to the
‘feeling’, the intuition of the ‘Spirit’. Then we perceive in him or
her an irreducible personal existence beyond limitations and errors,
beyond even the disappointment we may have felt for a moment. The
other is in the image of God, not of us.”- Olivier Clement [20th C.], “The Roots of Christian Mysticism”
(To welcome the Word-made-flesh into our lives is to welcome our neighbor as well. Strive to do so this day.)
Readings of the Day
- http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
1 JN 2:18-21; PS 96:1-2, 11-12, 13; JN 1:1-18
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name;
announce his salvation, day after day.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult before the LORD.
The LORD comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
Reflection on the Scriptures
- from Praying the Daily Gospels, by Philip St. Romain
John 1: 1-18 John's prologue
Matthew and Luke provide genealogies which trace the human origins of Jesus back to David and Adam, respectively. John, however, proposes that the Word, who became flesh in Jesus, has existed with God from the beginning. This magnificent truth enables us to have a share of love following upon love."
* Read slowly through this passage, spending time with the verses that move you. Write your reflections in your journal.
* Make a list of concrete, achievable resolutions for the new year by noting your responses to the question: "What would I like to see different in my life at this time next year?" For each response, write down a plan for achieving your objectives.
* Pray for openness to change during the coming year.
Spiritual Reading
The Dialogue of Catherine of Siena (1347-80)
"A Treatise on Discretion"
How this Bridge has three steps, which signify the three states of the soul; and how, being lifted on high, yet it is not separated from the earth; and how these words are to be understood: “If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things unto Me.”
“For this reason I said to you that, being lifted on high, He was not lifted out of the earth, for the Divine nature is united and kneaded into one thing with it. And there was no one who could go on the Bridge until It had been lifted on high, wherefore He said,—’Si exaltatus fuero a terra omnia traham ad me ipsum,’ that is, ‘If I am lifted on high I will draw all things to Me.’ My Goodness, seeing that in no other way could you be drawn to Me, I sent Him in order that He should be lifted on high on the wood of the Cross, making of it an anvil on which My Son, born of human generation, should be re-made, in order to free you from death, and to restore you to the life of grace; wherefore He drew everything to Himself by this means, namely, by showing the ineffable love, with which I love you, the heart of man being always attracted by love. Greater love, then, I could not show you, than to lay down My life for you; perforce, then, My Son was treated in this way by love, in order that ignorant man should be unable to resist being drawn to Me.
- Dictated by her to her secretaries while in a state of ecstacy. Completed in 1370.
Methods of Prayer and Reflection
Listed below are several traditional methods of prayer and reflection. As St. Frances de Sales noted, we learn to pray by praying, but it is also good to try different methods to see which seem to help facilitate connection with God. Indeed, the more we learn different methods, the better we can sense how the Spirit is moving us to pray for any given prayer time.
Lectio Divina Process
First, you choose a passage of Scripture that you will pray with. It might be the Gospel reading used in the liturgy of the day, or anything else you want. The process then follows these steps:
- Reading (lectio) After settling in
and quieting yourself,read the passage slowly, prayerfully.
Just let it sink in for a minute or two, then read it a second
time, paying closer attention to the words or phrases that
speak to you.
- Reflecting (meditatio) What do you
hear God saying to you in this passage? What words or phrases
caught your attention?
- Responding (oratio) What do you
want to say to God in response to what you've heard? Here you
can also voice your prayers of petition, remorse,
thanksgiving, praise, and so forth. If you sense God speaking
to you in your thoughts, feelings or imagination, you
respond as you would in any conversation.
- Resting (contemplatio) If, at any time, you feel drawn to simply rest in the awareness of God's loving presence, you let yourself do so. Remain in loving silence as long as you feel comfortable, perhaps using a simple word or phrase from the Scripture passage to help deepen your openness to rest in God (see Centering Prayer method, below)
Centering Prayer
(Works best after a period of Lectio Divina, as described above; two 20 minute periods a day are recommended.)
This term, centering prayer, is of recent origin, but the method is described in many places, most notably The Cloud of Unknowing .
1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God's presence and action within. (This can be any word.)
2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly, and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God's presence and action within.
3. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.
Hesychast Prayer ("quiet" prayer)
(This form of contemplative practice was widely used by the fathers and mothers of the desert in the early days of Christianity and is still very popular in Eastern Christian churches. At least two 20 minute prayer periods are recommended.)
1. Sit quietly, with back straight and hands resting in the lap, palms up.
2. Lovingly introduce into your mind the prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." (Note: this may be shortened as the prayer proceeds).
3. Let this prayer move in synchrony with your breath, praying the first part with your inhalation, the second with exhalation.
4. When distracting thoughts attempt to break in, persist with the Jesus Prayer. Allow yourself to feel your emotions, however.
Practice of this prayer may lead to feelings of warmth in the heart and perception of inner light. Enjoy. . .
Praying With Scripture (Benedictine Approach)
1. Relax. Settle in. Be aware that God is here, now, loving you.
2. Read a short passage of Scripture as though God were speaking directly to you in it.
3. Choose a phrase from the passage that strikes you and repeat it slowly, prayerfully, non-analytically.
4. When your heart is full, express to God the needs and sentiments awakened by your meditation. When you're done, read another passage and repeat steps 3 and 4.
5. If, at any time, you feel moved to simply be present to God in loving silence, put the Scripture aside and rest in God.
Review of the Day
- from, Handbook for Spiritual Directees
Here is a practice used by many at the end of the day to see what lessons can be learned and how God was present and active through the day. Set aside fifteen to twenty minutes at the end of the day for prayer and review of your day. A suggested format is described below:.
1. Take a few moments of quiet. Breathe deeply. Ask God to help you see yourself as you truly were during the day.
2. Look back over your day - not to see what you did wrong but to honestly acknowledge what was going on with you and others.
* What happened? What did I do today?
* How did I feel? Why did I feel that way?
* Were my expectations and beliefs reasonable?
3. Affirm the healthy things you recognize.
4. Admit to yourself and God the unhealthy things. Ask God's forgiveness, believe it is yours, then decide if you need to apologize or make amends.
5. Use creative visualization to grow stronger. Honestly acknowledge the troubling situations of the day. See and feel yourself acting honestly and lovingly in these situations. Ask God for the grace to help you act in this new way.
6. Close with simple awareness of the sights and sounds around you, grateful for the good things in your life.
This process can be undertaken as a daily journal exercise or by prayerfully reviewing your day in your own mind. I like to take a walk before bedtime for examen. The important thing is to do it. It is a discipline, to be sure, but a very important one.
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