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Friday, December 7, 2012

attention, day 6

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Lord, I ask for the grace to let go of my own concerns and be open to what you are asking of me, to let myself be guided and formed by my loving Creator. (Sacred Space: the Prayer Book 2010 by Jesuit Communication Centre)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 130

Scripture for the Day: Mark 13:32-37

Reading for Reflection:

Spiritual discernment asks us to pay attention.  We need to attend to both what goes on around us and within us.  Ideally, this attentiveness goes on much of the time, a sort of low level, constant spiritual sifting of the data of our experience.  But there are times when discernment becomes much more focused, when a crossroad is reached or a choice called for.  At times like these the cumulative wisdom of tradition tells us to pay attention on many levels: to consult scripture, to seek the advice of trusted advisors, to heed the sensus fidelium (the collective sense of the faithful), to read widely and deeply the best ancient and contemporary thinking, to pray, to attend to the prick of conscience and to the yearnings and dreamings of our hearts, to watch, to wait, to listen. (Passing Angels: The Arts of Spiritual Discernment by Wendy M. Wright from Weavings November/December 1995)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: O Come, O Come, Emanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell thy people save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Dayspring come and cheer
Our spirits by thy justice here.
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel


Closing Prayer
My God, since You are with me, and since it is Your will that I should apply my mind to these outward things, I pray that You will give me the grace to remain with You and keep company with You. But so that my work may be better, Lord, work with me; receive my work and possess all my affections. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)

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