Entering the time of prayer:
First, I find a quiet corner to begin this time with God. I close my eyes and allow myself to feel God’s loving gaze, to feel God’s delight that we are about to spend this precious time together. I allow myself time to absorb this truth. I let myself be held in the warmth of God’s loving embrace.
I take a deep breath and then, bit by bit, breath by breath, I let go of all the busyness, let go of whatever has been on my mind in the hustle and bustle of my day. This is a time for God; everything else can wait. I breathe again and open myself more and more to that place of stillness within me. I feel God’s loving presence that is always there. I let it fill me as I open my heart and my mind to this time of prayer.
First thoughts:
The darkness of the night can cause confusion. We can lose our way, sometimes without realising it. God’s love for us, however, shines even in the darkest night, like the north star giving us a true and sure direction. It is a light that can be clouded, but it never goes away. It is always there to be found.
Today’s Bible text: Matthew 17:1-2, 5
Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John with him and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white . . . While he was still speaking, suddenly a radiant cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
I read the scripture passage slowly, I repeat it again and let the words fill my heart. What is the word or image that touches me most? How does it make me feel?
Some questions for reflection:
On the mountain, with his closest friends and companions, not long before his death, Jesus is seen in full glory, shining like a star. Heaven has opened for a moment and the reality of God is revealed as loving relationship between Father and Son – a loving relationship that shines bright and overflows into the world.
- Jesus revealed the light of his glory, the depth of the love between Father and Son, so as to strengthen his friends for the trials to come. I think of the ways love has given me strength in the past, and in the present. I give thanks for those times and those people.
- We can often experience the light of God’s love reflected in the people around us. In what ways have others brought something of God’s love to me? In what ways do I bring something of God’s love to others?
- I let myself bask for a moment in the warm glow of God’s love for me.
Bringing our time of prayer to an end:
I close this time of prayer by speaking openly and freely to God for a few moments about what I have experienced. I speak just as I would to my closest friend. And I listen also for the ways God might be speaking to me – in the images that stay in my mind, or the feelings I am having. Then, I bring our time together to a close with a small gesture of gratitude and love, perhaps by making a sign of the cross, bowing my head, or by saying an Our Father or Glory Be.
Noticing the fruits of the prayer:
After my prayer I look back for a moment. I ask myself, what was it like? What touched me the most? What was challenging or difficult? What gave me feelings of warmth or peace of strength? I write down some keywords to record and remember, so that the things that are most important are not lost. I hold on to one positive and life-giving word or image in particular and hold it close to my heart as I make my way, with God, through the rest of the day.
