Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25;    Ps 71:3-6, 16-17;    Lk 1:5-25

R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!

Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.

For you are my hope, O LORD;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother's womb you are my strength.

I will treat of the mighty works of the LORD;
O God, I will tell of your singular justice.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.







Luke 7:18-23 (John's disciples seek the Messiah)

It is apparent that even John the Baptist is surprised at the kind of Messiah Jesus is turning out to he. Jesus reassures his imprisoned friend that making people whole is more important than political glory.

• Do you often question who Jesus was and what he was about? Do you find such questioning a threat to your faith? Why? Why not?
• How do you feel about the response Jesus gave to John's disciples? How well does his response describe your own lifestyle?

(From Praying the Daily Gospels, by Philip St. Romain)

Attentive Living (pt. 1)

To get an idea of what the experience of eternal life is like, consider a time recently when you really enjoyed yourself. Maybe it was a movie or a visit with a friend. During such a period, did it not seem as though time did not exist? "Time flies when you're having fun" goes the old saying. Of course, there was linear time plodding away, and eventually you had to leave the experience and go on to something else. If that something else was an unpleasant task, you probably became very conscious of time and began to look at your watch frequently.

What does all this tell us about time and attention? The most obvious conclusion is that time seems to go slowly when we're unhappy with what we're doing and seems to disappear when we're thoroughly enjoying ourselves. The difference between these two experiences has nothing to do with time itself, but it has everything to do with how we are in time. When we enjoy ourselves, we are un-self-conscious: we aren't thinking much about ourselves because we're too busy experiencing the life that is happening. The self is there, of course, but we are not reflecting on it. When the experience. is over and we reflect on it, we note how we were feeling and thinking and thus relive something of the experience (chairotic time). While it is happening, however, it seems as though there is no-self and no-time.

These common experiences of enjoyment give us a taste of what eternal life is like. We note two essential characteristics of the experience. One, as we have already mentioned, is that the self is not reflecting on its experiences but is so actively engaged in the moment as to be un-self-conscious. This very well describes God's basic attitude, which theologians tell us is Self-Transcending Love. To experience this, however, we must be completely open to the gift of the moment, and this is the second characteristic. We must be here now, without past or future interfering. Horizontal and vertical time meet in a now moment, and so the eternal dimension of time can only be experienced when we have dropped the past and quit projecting into the future. This is the hard part.

(From: Reflecting on the Serenity Prayer, by Philip St. Romain)

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.