All love is not friendship, for we may love without being loved in return. Friendship is mutual love, and unless it is mutual, it is not friendship. - Francis de Sales
(Who are your friends? Take time to express gratitude for the love the bring into your life.)
Readings of the Day
2 COR 8:1-9; PS 146:2-9; MT 5:43-48
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise the LORD, my soul! I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD, his God, Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them.
Who keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets captives free.
The LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who were bowed down; the LORD loves the just. The LORD protects strangers.
Jesus' command to love our enemies is one of his most challenging teachings. Because all people are children of God, we should love them all--even those with whom we disagree. Then will new things happen in our lives and in our world.
Is it possible to disagree with someone and still love that person? Think of a few people with whom you often disagree; how can you love them?
Do you believe it is ever appropriate for a Christian to kill someone with whom he or she disagrees?
Pray for the grace to be able to recognize all people as children of God.
How the affection should not place reliance chiefly on penance, but rather on virtues; and how discretion receives life from humility, and renders to each man his due.
This virtue of discretion is no other than a true knowledge which the soul should have of herself and of Me, and in this knowledge is virtue rooted. Discretion is the only child of self-knowledge, and, wedding with charity, has indeed many other descendants, as a tree which has many branches; but that which gives life to the tree, to its branches, and its root, is the ground of humility, in which it is planted, which humility is the foster-mother and nurse of charity, by whose means this tree remains in the perpetual calm of discretion. Because otherwise the tree would not produce the virtue of discretion, or any fruit of life, if it were not planted in the virtue of humility, because humility proceeds from self-knowledge. And I have already said to you, that the root of discretion is a real knowledge of self and of My goodness, by which the soul immediately, and discreetly, renders to each one his due. Chiefly to Me in rendering praise and glory to My Name, and in referring to Me the graces and the gifts which she sees and knows she has received from Me; and rendering to herself that which she sees herself to have merited, knowing that she does not even exist of herself, and attributing to Me, and not to herself, her being, which she knows she has received by grace from Me, and every other grace which she has received besides.
From: The Dialog of Catherine of Siena [1347-1380] - Dictated by her while in a state of ecstasy to her secretaries and completed in 1370.
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.
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)
(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.
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.
