Be Still
Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted. Get comfortable. Let your body relax and your mind quiet down. Take a few deep breaths and then ask God to make his presence known to you. Be still. Take some time to sit and soak up God’s presence.
Prayer of Approach
O God, whose grace and mercy flow like an endless river from your great being, help me now to place myself in the path of your rushing love and limitless compassion, that I may find my spirit renewed. Amen.
Psalm 141
A psalm of David.
I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me;
hear me when I call to you.
May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.
Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.
Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,
and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
They will say, “As one plows and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”
But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign Lord;
in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.
Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers,
from the snares they have laid for me.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety.
Devotional Thought
Matthew 26:40 - What? Could you not watch one
hour with me?
You do not say this only to your apostles, O my Lord,
but to all of us who might watch with you, keep you
company in the sadness of your Sacred Heart, console
you with faithful love. But we do not do it. We go off to
sleep; we lack courage and love, forgetting how pre-
cious is a vigil with you, forgetting that to watch at
your feet is such an infinite privilege that even the
Saints and Angels are unworthy of it, forgetting to
rejoice in your presence as one rejoices in the presence
of some much loved creature, and to long to console
you with passionate love. If our longing was great and
passionate enough to console and comfort you, we
should never give in to this low, bestial temptation to
sleep. If we felt, as we should, the infinite peace of
praying at your feet, should we not always be there
praying with you, not noticing how the time goes,
fearing only one thing in our happiness—its end? Alas!
God, I am one of these low, base creatures, for how
often do I fall asleep at your very feet when I should be
praying with you. Forgive me, forgive me. Help me,
my God, never to fall into this hateful coldness and
infidelity. Many times have I fallen, I hate my fault, it is
horrible to me. I ask your pardon, my God, with all my
soul.
— Charles de Foucauld
Romans 6:1-14
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Reflection
Take time to pause and reflect on your time with Jesus through the Scriptures and devotional thought. What thoughts are being drawn out of you? What emotions are being provoked? What might God be saying? Consider using a journal to write as you process, reflect, and pray.
Time for Prayer
God invites us to cast our cares on him because he cares for us. God is all-together good, already knows what we need, and is eager to give us good things. So we don’t need to pray out of anxiety or fear, but confident trust. Spend a few minutes making your requests known to God.
- For the church
- For others
- For myself
Closing Prayer
O God, it is true that no eye has seen nor ear has heard what wonderful things you hold in store for your children, yet in these moments with you, I have seen more clearly and listened more deeply. I give you thanks. Amen.