Come to
Stillness:
Take a few
minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before
God.
Opening Prayer:
Opening Prayer:
Late have I loved you, O Beauty, so ancient and
so new, late have I loved you! And
behold, you were within me and I was outside, and there I sought for you, and in
my deformity I rushed headlong into the well-formed things that you have
made. You were with me, and I was not
with you.
~St. Augustine
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 86
Scripture for the Day: 2 Peter 1:3-11
Reading for Reflection:
Meister Eckhart wrote: "There are plenty to follow our Lord half-way, but not the other half. They will give up possessions, friends, and honors, but it touches them too closely to disown themselves." It is just this astonishing life which is willing to follow Him the other half, sincerely to disown itself, this life which intends complete obedience, without any reservations, that I would propose to you in all humility, in all boldness, in all seriousness. I mean this literally, utterly, completely, and I mean it for you and for me—commit your lives in unreserved obedience to Him. (A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly)
Oh be generous in your self-surrender! Meet His measureless devotion to you, with a measureless devotion to Him. Be glad and eager to throw yourself headlong into His dear arms, and to hand over the reins of government to Him. Whatever there is of you, let Him have it all. Give up forever everything that is separate from Him. (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)
Reflection and Listening: silent and written
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Song for the Week: Lord Most High
From the ends of the earth
From the depths of the sea
From the heights of the heavens
Your name be praised
From the hearts of the weak
From the shouts of the strong
From the lips of all people
This song we raise, Lord
Throughout the endless ages
You will be crowned with praises,
Lord Most High
Exalted in every nation
Sovereign of all creation
Lord Most High, Be magnified
Closing Prayer
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. (Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton)
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