zeal and fervor

Opening Prayer:

I ask you, Lord Jesus,

to develop in me, your lover

an immeasurable urge towards you,

an affection that is unbounded,

longing that is unrestrained,

fervor that throws discretion to the winds!

The more worthwhile our love for you,

            all the more pressing does it become.

Reason cannot hold it in check,

            fear does not make it tremble,

            wise judgment does not temper it.

(The Fire of Love by Richard Rolle)

Scripture: Romans 12:11

Journal: What do the words zeal and fervor do within you?  Do they describe your spiritual life?  Do they describe anything in your life?  How would you describe your spiritual life right now?  How do you increase your spiritual zeal and fervor?

Reflection: To kindle in his heart such a divine love, to unite with God in an inseparable union of love, it is necessary for a man to pray often, raising the mind to Him.  For as a flame increases when it is constantly fed, so prayer, made often, with the mind dwelling ever more deeply in God, arouses divine love in the heart.  And the heart, set on fire, will warm all the inner man, will enlighten and teach him, revealing to him all its unknown and hidden wisdom, and making him like a flaming seraph, always standing before God within his spirit, always looking at Him within his mind, and drawing from this vision the sweetness of spiritual joy. —The Inner Closet of the Heart by St. Dimitri of Rostov, from The Art of Prayer, Igumen Chariton of Valamo

Prayer

Closing Prayer:

O living flame of love

That tenderly wounds my soul

In its deepest center!  Since

Now you are not oppressive,

Now Consummate! If it be your will:

Tear through the veil of this sweet encounter!

O sweet cautery,

O delightful wound!

O gentle hand!  O delicate touch

That tastes of eternal life

And pays every debt!

In killing you changed death into life.

O lamps of fire!

In whose splendors

The deep caverns of feeling,

Once obscure and blind,

Now give forth, so rarely, so exquisitely,

Both warmth and light to their beloved.

How gently and lovingly

You wake in my heart,

Where in secret you dwell alone;

And in your sweet breathing,

Filled with good and glory,

How tenderly you swell my heart with love.

—John of the Cross