contemplative at home

A 20-minute audio guided body scan, resting in God's love, Psalm 46:10 A deeply restorative meditation in the body, for the mind and spirit. You will emerge feeling calmer, more centred and more deeply connected with the Spirit of God. This kind of meditation is known as yoga nidra, and I love to offer it to […] The post Twenty Minute Body Scan – Be Still and Know That I Am God appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 21-minute audio guided meditation, with text from John 19:38-42 Though it is wildly tempting to rush to Easter morning, I invite you to tarry a while with me, to stay here in the holy, devastating moments as the body of Jesus is removed from the cross. As Michael Rosen so wisely said: we can't go […] The post When God is Absent: A Meditation for Holy Saturday appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 21-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 18:1-14, using Lectio Divina. A meditation with John's account of the arrest of Jesus. Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, […] The post Arrest: Lectio Divina: John 18:1-14 appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 23-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 13:21-30, using Imaginative Contemplation. Everyone has gathered in Jerusalem for the passover, and Jesus knows that his hour has come. As he sits around the table with his disciples, he becomes visibly distressed before he says aloud “One of you will betray me.” This meditation brings us to this […] The post Jesus and Judas: Imaginative Contemplation: John 13:21-30 appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 22-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 13:1-17, using Imaginative Contemplation. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look' at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. Here we have […] The post Are You Going to Wash My Feet?: Imaginative Contemplation: John 13:1-17 appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 22-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 12:27-28, 34-36, and 42-43, using Lectio Divina. Glory. Light. An access to eternity that doesn't look like the power and longevity we might have imagined. I think that Jesus is inviting us to listen very deeply here. I remember my high school French teacher setting out to teach us […] The post The Glory that Comes from God: Lectio Divina: John 12: 27-43 appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 19-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 8:12-20, using Lectio Divina. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look' at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. Just for these […] The post We Want to See Jesus: Lectio Divina: John 12:20-26 appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 24-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 12:1-11, using imaginative contemplation. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look' at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. Just for these […] The post Mary Anoints Jesus' Feet: Imaginative Contemplation: John 12:1-11 appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 16-minute guided audio meditation on 2 Corinthians 4:5-11, using Lectio Divina. This meditation emerged as a reflection on the human capacity for bringing both beauty and pain into the world. While this is true collectively, it is also true on an individual level. We are all capable of bringing forth beauty and harm, and […] The post Jars of Clay: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 20-minute meditation with the writings of Julian of Norwich, using Lectio Divina. You are probably familiar with Mother Julian's saying “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.” On her deathbed, Julian was given a vivid and powerful vision of Christ on the cross. She […] The post Love was His Meaning: Lectio Divina with Julian of Norwich appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 19-minute guided audio meditation with Job 11:8-9 and Ephesians 3:17-19, using Lectio Divina. I came to this text hoping to bring you a meditation on the depths of the love of God (Eph 3:18-19), but as I sat with a handful of translations, Greek words and Hebrew references, I was taken more mystically into […] The post Filled with the Unknowable: Lectio Divina: Job 11 and Ephesians 3 appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 19-minute guided meditation blending gentle physical movement (yoga), breath and the Ignatian Examen. Ignatius of Loyola taught his followers that the one prayer they could never eliminate from their daily practice, is the prayer of review, or the Examen. As Teresa of Avila (who for some time had a Jesuit confessor) said “I've gone […] The post Embodied Examen appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 15-minute audio guided meditation with Song of Songs 2:8. Song of Songs 2:8 The voice my beloved! Look, he comes leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills. In this guided meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to imagine that you are in the mountains, and that the beloved comes towards you with playfulness […] The post 15-Minute Meditation on Song of Songs appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 16-minute guided meditation, linked to Isaiah 42:1-3 This is what the Lord says…. “I have called you by name…” This meditation is designed to help you pause, connect deeply with the Beloved, to imagine yourself beholding the LORD beholding you, and to hear the LORD calling you by name. It asks you to listen […] The post Intimate Encounter: Finding Your Name in God's Love appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

This guided meditation offers you a quiet pause to reconnect with your breath, the Presence of Love, and the question “What is Your will for me for the next few hours?” This might be a little prayer you make at midday, or a few times throughout the day, though there is no incorrect time to […] The post A Moment Aside with the Beloved: 12-minute Guided Meditation appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 22-minute guided meditation with Psalm 96, using Lectio Divina. Psalm 96 is a Psalm of rejoicing, celebrating in the greatness of the Lord. It is a Psalm for Christmas. This guided audio meditation invites you to be aware of your body and your breath as you meditate, allowing the words of the Psalm to […] The post Let the Earth Be Glad: Psalm 96: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 15-minute guided meditation for Advent. The Antiphons are short chants which appear throughout Christian liturgy, and feature in Ambrosian chant and Gregorian chant. The O Antiphons are sung in the final seven days before Christmas. Each short verse – one per day – calls on the Lord by a specific name (O Wisdom, O […] The post Finding Your O Antiphon: An Advent Meditation appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 19-minute audio meditation for Advent. The opening image of Caryll Houselander's book The Reed of God, describes Mary's “virginal quality” as emptiness. Not a formless or useless emptiness, but a shaped emptiness, prepared to hold something specific. She relates this emptiness to the hollow of the reed, which is prepared to “receive the pipers […] The post Preparing Space: A Guided Meditation for Advent appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 15-minute audio guided meditation for Advent. During Advent, we remember that Christ has come, Christ is coming (now, among us) and Christ will come again. For those who seek to follow Christ, this meditation offers space to reflect on the Kingdom of God: what it is, what it does and how you are uniquely invited […] The post Thy Kingdom Come: Advent: A Guided Meditation appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 13-minute guided meditation to help you settle on how you will observe Advent this year.  If you're not quite sure what your advent observance will look like this year, or how to balance the sacred time of waiting with the jolly buzz of December, let me accompany you as you pray through these questions. […] The post Preparing for Advent: A Guided Meditation appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 11-minute audio guided meditation with mindful breath awareness. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, God's mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning Great is Thy Faithfulness. All blessings as you pause with these profound verses. May they be new to you as you pray. Lissy Contemplative at Home offers guided […] The post Steadfast Love : Lamentations 3 : Guided Meditation appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 25-minute audio guided meditation in Luke's Gospel, Luke 10:38-42, using Imaginative Contemplation. “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that […] The post Mary and Martha: Luke 10: Imaginative Contemplation appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 19-minute audio guided meditation with text from Mirabai Starr's translation of The Interior Castle.   In this meditation I invite you to pray with the wisdom of St Teresa of Avila. Listening prayerfully to the text, you are invited to ask: How is the Lord speaking to me in these words? Teresa was given a […] The post The Interior Castle: The First Dwelling: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 17-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 17:1-4, 10-11, 13, 23, 26, using Lectio Divina. In Jesus' final prayer/teaching before he arrested, in John's Gospel, there is both a summary and climax of the primary messages of John. These messages include: the intimacy or one-ness that exists between Jesus and the Father, the invitation to all […] The post We Are One: John 17: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

An 18-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 16:16-27, with questions for reflection. This meditation takes on a slightly different pattern as we allow the text to open up questions for our spiritual journey. Firstly we see how Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure, for a radical shift in their relationship to him. All […] The post Reflecting on Your Relationship With Christ: John 16:16-27: Guided Meditation appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 21-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 16:7-13, using Lectio Divina. John 16:7-13 “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will […] The post The Spirit of Truth: John 16:7-13: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 17-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 15:12-17, using Lectio Divina. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look' at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. Just for these […] The post Love One Another: John 15:12-17: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 21-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 15:1-11, using Imaginative Contemplation. We continue our series in John 15 with an imaginative contemplation on the vine and branches, exploring the notion of abiding in God. Imaginative Contemplation invites us to see the scripture in new ways, to attend to it with different parts of our mind and […] The post Imagining The Vine and The Branches: John 15:1-11: Imaginative Contemplation appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 20-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 8:12-20, using Lectio Divina. “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.” “Abide in me.” “Abide in my love.” “I have said these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.” This meditation is in the second half […] The post Abide: John 15:5-11: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 17-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 15:1-5, using Lectio Divina. There are so many layers for reflection in this well-known passage and I invite you to come to it fresh today, open to what nuggets of wisdom might be waiting for you in these images today. Abide in me, as I abide in you. Perhaps […] The post The Vine and The Branches: John 15:1-5: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 23-minute audio guided meditation on the Gifts of Summer. The summer is a time of ripening and fullness, a time to allow the long, warm days to ripen the fruit of the labour of spring. To contemplate, according to Walter Burghardt SJ, is to “take a long, loving look at the real.” Summer, with its […] The post Meditation: The Gifts of Summer appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 22-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 11:45-54, using Lectio Divina. In this meditation on John's Gospel, we consider the variety of responses people made to the radical and astonishing life that Jesus brought. I invite you to consider the ways you resonate with those who respond with suspicion and concern, as well as those who […] The post What are we to do?: John 11:45-54: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 25-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 11:32-44, Lazarus is raised from the dead, using Imaginative Contemplation. There are so many feelings in this story: Mary and Martha's great grief mixed with feelings of profound disappointment with Jesus. Their angry confusion that he hadn't come to heal Lazarus. Their apprehension when Jesus asks them to open […] The post Imaginative Contemplation: John 11: Lazarus appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 25-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 11:32-44, Lazarus is raised from the dead, using Imaginative Contemplation. There are so many feelings in this story: Mary and Martha's great grief mixed with feelings of profound disappointment with Jesus. Their … Continue reading "Imaginative Contemplation: John 11: Lazarus" The post Imaginative Contemplation: John 11: Lazarus appeared first on .

A 21-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 10:31-42, using Lectio Divina. The text in this meditation comes from the NRSV and NIV, and includes most but not all of the verses in John 10:31-42. See below for verses in today's meditation. 22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple […] The post I am in the Father: John 10:31-42: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 21-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 10:31-42, using Lectio Divina. The text in this meditation comes from the NRSV and NIV, and includes most but not all of the verses in John 10:31-42. See below for verses in … Continue reading "I am in the Father: John 10:31-42: Lectio Divina" The post I am in the Father: John 10:31-42: Lectio Divina appeared first on .

A 20-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 10:11-15, using Lectio Divina. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look' at a few verses of text, beholding the words as … Continue reading "I am the Good Shepherd: John 10:11-15: Lectio Divina" The post I am the Good Shepherd: John 10:11-15: Lectio Divina appeared first on .

A 20-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 10:11-15, using Lectio Divina. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look' at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. Distraction is a […] The post I am the Good Shepherd: John 10:11-15: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 23-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 10:1-10, using Imaginative Contemplation. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to imagine that you're on a Galilean hillside, listening to Jesus speak. Just for these few minutes, I invite you to leave your dogma, your creed, your thoughts, and your rational mind aside, and become present […] The post Imaginative Contemplation: I am the Gate: John 10:1-10 appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 23-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 10:1-10, using Imaginative Contemplation. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to imagine that you're on a Galilean hillside, listening to Jesus speak. Just for these few minutes, I invite … Continue reading "Imaginative Contemplation: I am the Gate: John 10:1-10" The post Imaginative Contemplation: I am the Gate: John 10:1-10 appeared first on .

A 10-minute meditation on the love of God with breath awareness and verses from the Psalms and prophets. This is an updated version of a meditation released in 2022, with more space to let the verses settle in … Continue reading "Meditation – Soaking in the Love of God – Updated" The post Meditation – Soaking in the Love of God – Updated appeared first on .

A 10-minute meditation on the love of God with breath awareness and verses from the Psalms and prophets. This is an updated version of a meditation released in 2022, with more space to let the verses settle in to your psyche. Listeners to the previous meditation responded in the following ways: “Deep deep thanks. I […] The post Meditation – Soaking in the Love of God – Updated appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A guided meditation with John 20:11-18, using imaginative contemplation. 23 minutes. This is the re-release of a meditation first published in 2022. This passage has meant so much to me and helped me, in a crisis of faith, … Continue reading "Imaginative Contemplation – Mary Meets Jesus at the Tomb – John 20" The post Imaginative Contemplation – Mary Meets Jesus at the Tomb – John 20 appeared first on .

A 16-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 20:1-10, using Imaginative Contemplation. Christ is risen. Alleluia! In this meditation we are reminded that the resurrection of Jesus broke over his friends and disciples slowly, amidst confusion and stress. As I … Continue reading "Imaginative Contemplation – Early on the First Day of the Week – Easter Meditation" The post Imaginative Contemplation – Early on the First Day of the Week – Easter Meditation appeared first on .

A 19-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 19:13-42, using Lectio Divina. I am struck by two key invitations as we meditate on the suffering of Jesus in Holy Week. The first invitation is to see how … Continue reading "A Good Friday Meditation – The Passion of Christ – John's Gospel" The post A Good Friday Meditation – The Passion of Christ – John's Gospel appeared first on .

A 17-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 19:1-9, using Lectio Divina. In this Holy Week meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look' at Jesus as he endures … Continue reading "Lectio Divina – Jesus is Handed Over – Holy Week meditation – John 19" The post Lectio Divina – Jesus is Handed Over – Holy Week meditation – John 19 appeared first on .

A 22-minute audio guided meditation on John's Gospel, John 18:33-40 using Lectio Divina. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look' at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. […] The post Lectio Divina – Jesus Before Pilate – John 19 appeared first on Contemplative at Home.

A 22-minute audio guided meditation on John's Gospel, John 18:33-40 using Lectio Divina. In this meditation on John's Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look' at a few verses of text, beholding … Continue reading "Lectio Divina – Jesus Before Pilate – John 19" The post Lectio Divina – Jesus Before Pilate – John 19 appeared first on .

A 22-minute meditation with John 18:12-27, using breath work and Lectio Divina. A meditation for Lent as Jesus is arrested and interviewed by Annas. Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to … Continue reading "Lectio Divina – Peter Denies Jesus" The post Lectio Divina – Peter Denies Jesus appeared first on .

A 16-minute guided audio meditation with John 8:31-36, using breath work and Lectio Divina. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying ‘You will be made free'?” John 8:33 Jesus invites his followers … Continue reading "The Truth Will Make You Free – Lectio Divina – John 8" The post The Truth Will Make You Free – Lectio Divina – John 8 appeared first on .

A 22-minute audio guided meditation in John's Gospel, John 8:12-20, using Lectio Divina. My invitation to you, always, is to engage with scripture through your creative, non-rational self. Rational engagement with scripture is equally important – we usually … Continue reading "The Light of the World – Lectio Divina with John 8:12-20" The post The Light of the World – Lectio Divina with John 8:12-20 appeared first on .