emptied to be filled

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, what you really want from me is not some sterile, duty-filled perfection, but simply to be the beautiful creation that you intended for me to be from the very beginning.  Continue to make me, by your grace, complete and whole in you.  Amen.

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1-3

Journal: What does your life need to be emptied of?  What does it need to be filled with instead?

Reflection: God means to fill each of you with what is good; so cast out what is bad!  If he wishes to fill you with honey and you are full of sour wine, where is the honey to go?  The vessel must be emptied of its contents and then be cleansed.  Yes, it must be cleansed even if you have to work hard and scour it.  It must be made fit for the new thing, whatever it may be. ~St. Augustine

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know, to love what I ought to love, to praise what delights you most, to value what is precious in your sight, to hate what is offensive to you. Do not allow me to judge according to the sight of my eyes, nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of my ears; but to discern with a true judgment between things visible and spiritual, and above all things, always to inquire what is the good pleasure of Your will. ~Thomas À Kempis