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
Good Teacher, help me in this hour to hear your clear call to discipleship. By the power of your Spirit grant me wisdom, courage and strength to live as your disciple all day long. Amen.
Psalm 1
Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the Law of the Lord,
And on His Law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.
Devotional Thought
Now to complete the journey—the flight, as the
Spanish mystic would say—love must be purified and
transformed into charity.
What does this mean?
It is simple.
It means imitating Jesus on the road to Jerusalem.
Every situation must be reversed.
I who have used Jerusalem for my pleasures must
sacrifice my pleasures for Jerusalem.
I who have made use of others for my amusement
must make my life the tool of (others].
I who have been so afraid to suffer must accept
Calvary with Jesus.
Like Jesus.
My exodus does not end when I die in my bed, but
when I die on the cross of Christ.
Now there is something to fear. And we want to
shout, “No one can go that far!"
And we would be right. But we know that the
miracle worker is love itself.
God is God... the God of the impossible.
— Carlo Carretto
Matthew 5:12-16
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
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 my God, since you are with me, and I must now, in obedience to your commands, apply my mind to this outward things, I beg you to grant me the grace to continue in your presence. To this end, prepare me with your assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections. Amen.