Rest In Thee

Come and stand at the shore of the Father's love, and allow it to soak over and through you. Wherever you need His love in your life today, take some time to let Him meet you there. "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful enkindle in them the fire, the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth." Traditional Catholic Prayer from Roman Missal, Pentecost Sequence.

Spend some time with Jesus reflecting on the blessings of life, your life, and give your heart a chance to bloom in gratitude.

We all long for life. Life is pure gift, and the kind of life Jesus offers us is made accessible only through Him, only through and on account of the Sacred Heart, pierced open in love for the world. To help us deepen in this week's feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this meditation includes the second reading from the Office of Readings for the feast from St Bonaventure (Opusculum 3, Lignum vitae, 29-30. 47: Opera omnia 8, 79), as well as a song that Kathryn has written reflecting on this passage.

Be ministered to by the Holy Spirit as you open up your heart and call on Him to dwell in and with you in this meditation helping us to enter into Pentecost. Love, peace, joy, guidance, healing, whatever you need, spend some time calling on the Spirit.

Enter Luke 19:1-10, allowing the story of Zacchaeus to become a place of encounter in your own story with Jesus. Things about or in us, as well as things outside us can stand between us and Jesus. But if you seek Jesus, he will find you.

"Man is the priest of all creation; he speaks in its name, but only insofar as he is guided by the Spirit...[the initiative of God] restores in us our true humanity; it restores in us our unique dignity. Yes, we are brought into the higher dignity of the children of God, the children of God who are the hope of all creation." In a book containing a series of answered interview questions, Pope St John Paul II reminds us that when we pray it is not in isolation by or for ourselves. Responding the initiative of God as we step into our role as those in creation giving voice to God's glory, we find restoration.

Sometimes we just need to "have it out with God". In the Old Testament we see examples such as the entire book of Job, or Jacob's wrestling with an angel (Genesis 32). And in the New Testament we see examples both where as a result of fierce determination someone receives what they want (Mark 7) and where they don't but God still meets them (2 Corinthians 12). Whether it is grief, pain, anger, confusion, or any number of other things that might rise up, this is an episode you can return to again and again when you need to "have it out with God".

We are called to align the sacrifices of our lives with the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. In doing so, we are able to rise with Him to new life. During the Last Supper, Jesus gives us the model for how we can do this: take, bless, break, give. "While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." (Mark 14:22-24)

The Cross is the central symbol of Christianity. It is the pinnacle expression of God's love for us. Yet often we can wrestle or struggle with it. This meditation opens up a space to sit with the mystery of the Cross.

Lent is a time for stripping back other things in our lives so that we can see our relationship with God more clearly. As we allow the light of God's love to enter our hearts, it's natural that we might start to see areas of darkness; bitterness, hurt, pain, unforgiveness. This meditation is an opportunity to open those areas to the power of God's love. Corrie ten Boom is our companion here, as we look at an excerpt from her own experiences from her book The Hiding Place. Excerpt read from: https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/positive-living/guideposts-classics-corrie-ten-boom-forgiveness

Jesus lives with intimacy with the Father at His right hand. We are told of the intimacy the beloved disciple shares with Jesus during the Last Supper in John's Gospel. In moments of closeness and security, we learn about ourselves and the other. What is waiting for you in intimacy with Jesus?

The Litany of Humility is a prayer that has taken various shapes from varying authors over the years. It is a prayer that helps us to seek a single gaze on Jesus, stripping back all desire and fear that keeps us from this. As we enter Lent, this is a beautiful prayer to help us enter into the wilderness with Jesus. The Litany of Humility Lord Jesus. Meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus. That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. — Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930)

Already listened to the Hand Examen episode, or generally familiar with the movements of an Ignatian Examen? By request, we've recorded this special episode that you can use as prayer for your daily examen without any of the beginning introductions.

Based on the Examen of St Ignatius of Loyola, this simple examen walking through five steps represented by the five fingers on your hand can go with you anywhere, and can be used in your prayer life over and over and over again.

Perhaps the real gift we are being invited to this Christmas is not what we give, but what we take away. Space can feel like a void that can highlight our insecurities about who we are, our purpose, and what we have to offer. When we take away everything but God, we can be left feeling vulnerable. What if He doesn't come? What if He doesn't fill the space and we are left in want? And yet, the only way we can fully receive God is to carve out the space and surrender control of what that space should look like.

There are so many situations in our lives and our world that might feel hopeless; a pile of dry bones. The coming of Jesus is the truth of God breathing life where there is death, shining light into darkness, speaking joy into despair. In this meditation you are invited to allow the Word of God to bring transformation to these situations, whether in the external situation or the internal lives of those experiencing them. Allow the promise of Christmas to breathe new life into your day. Ezekiel 37

Key to Christian belief is God as Trinity. Enter a personal encounter with each of the persons of the Trinity in a way that you can come back to again and again.

Have you ever been on the brink of a new horizon and realised there's something holding you back from exploring it? The Israelites were on the brink of Promised Land, but were unable to initially embrace the offering of God. Come away to the ocean in this meditation and allow the Spirit to breathe through new waves of inner freedom.

We often find Jesus coming to spend time in people's homes. What is it like to invite Jesus into your sacred space?

John's Prologue is considered one of the most impressive pieces of literature ever written. In this meditation, allow its words to flow over you as a healing rhythm, proclaiming the truth of the Word Made Flesh. John 1:1-18 (The New Jerusalem Bible) "In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him. What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men; and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it. A man came, sent by God. His name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, he was to bear witness to the light. The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world. He was in the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognise him. He came to his own and his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in his name who were born not from human stock or human desire or human will but from God himself. The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John witnesses to him. He proclaims: 'This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because he existed before me.' Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received -- one gift replacing another, for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known."

Before you did anything, you were loved. He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” Matthew 19:14

Jesus' knowing our inmost being means we are safe to move into the deepest of intimacies with him. Like a quiet night by the fire. Take some time out of your day to dwell with Jesus in friendship.

In Matthew 11, Jesus invites us to share our burdens with him as we take up his yoke. Our burdens ease when we give ourselves permission to not carry them alone, and this is exactly what Jesus offers us. In loving relationships, our burdens indeed become lightened. Take the time today to unload your backpack and set out anew with Jesus.

The Israelites couldn't rest until the walls of Jerusalem had been restored. If you're longing for rest, maybe embarking with Jesus on some restoration is just what you need.

St. Augustine notes that our souls are restless until they rest in God. Take the time today to rest in God. "Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee. Lord, teach me to know and understand which of these should be first, to call on Thee, or to praise Thee; and likewise to know Thee, or to call upon Thee. Oh! how shall I find rest in Thee? Who will send Thee into my heart to inebriate it, s that I may forget my woes, and embrace Thee my only good? What art Thou to me? Have compassion on me, that I may speak. What am I to Thee that Thou demandest my love, and unless I give it Thee art angry, and threatenest me with great sorrows? Is it, then, a light sorrow not to love Thee? Alas! alas! tell me of Thy compassion, O Lord my God, what Thou art to me. "Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation."" St. Augustine, Confessions 1,1.5