Dear Lord, Let your Word lead me to become the person you desire me to be in the company of the people you desire us all to become. Amen.

Lawrence Freeman had many good things to say about Sr. Joan's book Monasteries of the Heart on his Meditation Page tonight. (World Community for Christian Mediation.) Nice to see that affirmation.

Dear God help me to be
A caring bridge of peace;
Help me to be first to love, first to forgive
And to let all anger cease.

Make me aware of Your Presence
In everyone I see;
Help me bridge the gaps
By living in harmony.

Dear God fill me with the grace
To be always a reflection of Your love;
Let me be the pillar of peace
That I’ve been dreaming of.

Give me the strength and courage
To help others cross the bridge of peace;
Let my prayer be heard above the clouds
That all of us within our souls
Feel your love increase.

Amen

Jo Marie, that is so beautifully written. I'm going to pray it myself. It echoes St. Francis prayer that we might all be a channel of peace and lightness. His feast day is Monday. Thank you for sharing this.

Peace,
Kam

Why, I wonder, is "new" so important that it is repeated four times.
It rings so right, we need newness, always;
perish the thought that something get stale and old, worn out,
no longer enlivening or enriching.
We all suffer from ADHD these days and need re-energizing, more stimulation
it makes me tired just to think of it:
can we just let something be
comfortable - and worn well

"...and come to know
your presence
at every moment
of our lives
with new clarity
and new courage,
with new faith
and new urgency. "

Just speaking for myself, I think I could use another couple dozen "new" ways to know the presence of God. I'd love to get to a point where I could find my being with God "comfortable - and worn well". There are times I find it comfortable and new (sorry Wren, there is that word again!). I have walked on marble stairs that are about a hundred years old in a convent converted for women who are homeless. The "worn well" stairs that dip in the middle from so many feet climbing them for so long take us to places those nuns from decades past could never have imagined.

Thank you Wren for pushing me to look deeper in this prayer. I hope there is space for us to hold different ways of seeing.

A monastery of the heart is expansive-
A huge empty receptive space-
With corridors leading to eternity-
An empty space fertile with seeds of stillness, solitude, and silence-
A sanctuary for the tired, addicted, and wounded of the world-
To come and sit and breathe.

There is a phrase in 'the monastery of the heart' prayer, "Give us hearts where all may enter in", and this phrase keeps ringing in my ears. Our hearts can be very expansive, loving and forgiving, welcoming everyone, or, too often, very tight and constrictive, unforgiving, like a human heart that has so much scar tissue. We would like to have expansive hearts that are loving and forgiving of others, but we ourselves can't remove the scar tissue. God is the Surgeon who has to remove the scar tissue and make our hearts expansive, like a cave. Our capacity to love others, even our enemies, would be limitless if we would let Him do the surgery! I used to think that love and forgiveness was all you needed to solve the world's problems. But it all has to begin with God, the Surgeon, and then us, His instruments, in prayer for peace and forgiveness.

Your wonderful prayer reminds us that we must always "renew" our desire for peace, for love and openness. Thank you for sharing it and may peace fill us all this Christmas season with a new understanding of all our needs, especially the need for tolerance and understanding. Blessings and peace to all!

AT the end of the day, I thank God for a glorious day regardless of what trials or gifts come my way. Today is over, tomorrow is a new day. This is the day the Lord has made let us be glad and rejoice in it. I used to live deep into the past in my life. It was second nature. Pain from trials stayed with me and haunted me. Little by little it is getting easier. So this is what I do everyday and every night. Each day is a new start to heal. But I must have the attitude of thankfulness, gratitude, hope, and love. God finally got through to me to be gentle with myself. Who am I not to forgive myself or those who hurt me. To forgive those who trespass against me; how often did I not sin against myself? May God use my trials to help others heal from the hurt, I pray God will turn my pain into a blessing for someone who needs it. Everyday.

I have been musing on the possible dichotomy of old and worn versus new (and probably chaotic as ADHD is). Maybe both are parts of the whole, and needed for balance. If all is old, worn and comfortable, there is no renewal. If all is new fresh and creative, the element of chaos may lead to overwhelm - at least for me. Any living thing has the possibility of growth and healing. I believe that in order for this transformation to happen both the groundedness, 'mulch' if you like, of the old and the vitality of the new need to be present. This, in my opinion, goes for spiritual growth as much as plant growth. I suppose wisdom is knowing how to balance the two, but don't ask me that question :) Nearing 60, I have still got to learn when to let go, when to hold on, how to achieve balance in my spiritual life. Spirituality as juggling act - discuss! Or tightrope walk, or unicycle ride.

I am a relative newbie to this site and hope to learn much; Lectio quickly gets cancelled out by my ADHD as my mind flits off and I stop being attentive. If I did not have both this site and Gratefulness permanently on my search engine so that they come up as I switch my computer on over my early morning coffee, it is my fear that I would forget the daily discipline of prayerfulness - the Divine has a tough job getting a cave in my heart - so far there is more likely only a small indentation, but I am ever hopeful!

Bless you all for being here, and being spiritual companions on the journey.

Welcome Ronnie,
God has shown you great wisdom----thank you for sharing with us,
Deb.

Ronnie, I love your "dichotomy"! I have always been a person of contradictions...I am spiritual but distracted, I am loving but impatient, I am forever searching for the balance that allows 'being' into living. You are definitely not the only one who has challenges with finding that perfect balance that we imagine/hope will develop into peace of mind, spirit, and soul.

Your honest wisdom speaks volumes to me, as it describes in different ways the dichotomy of the ying and yang of my mind and soul. I have much I want to achieve spiritually, I get distracted, and I am dedicated to something like a daily rosary at night, and even than I fall asleep while praying, or if upset, tears will fall from my eyes and it as if the Blessed Mother is holding me, and teaching me, and comforting me. Someone told me years ago, and I am trying to remember what they said, it was something about my falling asleep with my rosary at night? Stevie, when you greet the Blessed Mother, she will gently chide you for your sleeping, but will embrace the effort.
I honestly think I have these grandiose schemes of what I need to do, and fail
over and over again. I need to learn that Jesus is not looking for perfection, but imperfection, and sincere attempts. If I am gentle with myself, and love me, than what follows is a sincere love of all, in Christ's name!

The beginning of this prayer makes me want to sing "Day by Day" from Jesus Christ Superstar". To me, the words and meaning of both echo the same message.

When gratitude was mentioned above, it reminded me of the daily (attempt) to pray the Examen Prayer each night before I go to sleep. I spend about 15 minutes recalling where I saw God during the past day and express gratitude for the remembering of presence. Then I look back to see when God was absent - which is really about me not being attentive to his presence - and express gratitude for that awareness, for without awareness of this, I can do nothing to change. In both recollections, I am aware of the consolation and desolation I may have experienced. Then, looking forward to a new day, I examine what is the deepest desire of my heart for the next day. I journal about the whole process. This takes about 15 minutes and usually leaves me in a very peaceful state for the night's rest. Journaling allows me to look back to see how I am progressing in seeing God in all things. And in noticing what distracts me.

The Inn

An inn at
the end of a
path
lights adorning
blazing hearthfire imagined
one traveler's de-light
trudging pain forgotten
in-sight at last
A glance
behind
a darkness thickens
lonely campfires burning
strangers disconsolate
dim visions and
dreams
the traveler must
turn
reversing her course
painful steps returning
campfires need tending
strangers seek comfort
and her
story.

I live in Australia and often go into the "Prayer" section. The daily prayer is usually one day behind (today is Monday here)....probably Sunday in U.S. I'm wondering if there is some method of logging into "Monday" for example.???
Many thanks, Monastery of the Heart has been extremely helpful to me spiritually and supports me in the Benedictine spirituality group myself and a friend have introduced in our area (Newcastle, NSW, Australia).
Blessings to all,
Tom Sobb

As one Maitland-Newcastle person to another, greetings and welcome Tom. Delighted to hear that there is an onsite Newcastle group meeting to explore Benedictine spirituality, through Monastery of the Heart. I'm down at the Lake, and participate online. I'd love to hear more about your group and how it is going.

Your question about time zones -I'd suggest you just settle for being a day out, and think a day behind, as in the end it doesn't make much difference. Well, that's what I do, anyway.

Blessings to you and your group and wishing you many riches in your seeking ---- Janet