IN THE BEGINNING (7)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Settle into silence, into peacefulness, into profound silence, into pure joy. Keep listening in such quietness and serenity. Come to that place, that space within, that place of deep silence, solitude, to just being here and now, without having to accomplish something.

Let us begin with a prayer in our heart:

Open my eyes Lord, help me to see your face,

Open my eyes Lord, help me to see….

Open my ears Lord, help me to hear your word,

Open my ears Lord, help me to hear….

Open my heart Lord, help me to love like you,

Open my heart Lord, help me to love…..

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

Our last meditation was on being created and blessed with a purpose for our life. Be grateful! We have a “God-ordained purpose” and we must participate in the fulfillment of that purpose.

We reflected on this purpose not as an individual or specific goal, but the fullness of our nature, to be and to become what God made us to be…to be his image, to image him where he has placed us.

Take a moment…..Prayerfully reflect on your noble calling and the purpose God has for you.

In the beginning……God looked at everything he made and found it very good….(Genesis 1:31). Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed and God rested from all the work He was doing….and blessed and made them holy(Genesis 2:1-2).

• God finished His work of creating the universe.
  
• God rested when His creation work was finished.
  
• God blessed and sanctified the day He rested.
  

Take a moment….use your imagination…visualize if you can……God, gently, tenderly and patiently at work, creating the heavens and the earth….fashioning us in his own image and resting from the work he has been doing!

The Lord, definitely did not need to rest from the fatigue of His labor. Neither did God simply abandon his Creation because he was tired, worn out, “burned out”. The “break’ from work, “resting” on Sabbath, must have much deeper meaning. The prophet Isaiah (40:28) and the Psalmist (121 :3-4) tell us that God does not grow weary. And Jesus tells us, “My Father has been working until now” (John 5:17).

St. Paul speaks of the Sabbath as part of the “shadow of things to come” (Colossians 2:16). The letter to the Hebrews speaks of the Lord’s day of rest as a type of the eternal rest of His people (Hebrews 4:1-11). Some of the early fathers of the Church also shared similar ideas about the Sabbath.

The Book of Exodus saw the Lord’s seventh day rest as having a social and moral sense. God rested in order to affirm something important about man’s moral and social life. It served as a symbol of human freedom and dignity (20:10-11). God himself has provided a model for man’s imitation.

The Torah provided an entire day each week for human rest. This law guaranteed limit on the exploitation of human labor. This guarantee was considered so important to human existence that the Lord Himself provided the model for it.

The Lord’s original day of rest is a symbol of human freedom and dignity. God takes a rest from his creative activity – God takes a “break” from Creation, so to speak, to let the creatures take care of themselves. The Lord gives creatures room to be themselves and to act according to the innate dispositions that he had given them. He steps back, as it were, to affirm human freedom.

The Sabbath is one of the most important commandments of the ten. It is a part of those commandments related to our relationship with God and our worship of God. It is also the commandment chosen to be the “sign” of the entire Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 31:13). It was so important that a violation of this commandment is to result in the death penalty (Exodus 31:14).

Three significant events happened when God completed his work of creation (Genesis 2:1-3):

• God finished His work of creating the universe.
  
• God rested on the seventh day because His creation work was finished.
  
• God blessed and sanctified the seventh day because on it He rested.
  

Genesis (1:1-3) does not speak of a commandment – the seventh day is not even called the Sabbath. The seventh day is differentiated and set apart (sanctified, made holy) from the other six creation days. It is made special (blessing) by God, because it was the day on which God rested. The sanctity of the seventh day has already been established (here, at creation) by God.

Thus, the Israelites were not commanded to sanctify the Sabbath – nor are we today, but to conduct themselves (ourselves today) in such a way as to keep it holy and not to profane it, because it has already been declared holy.

We are called to image God by acting as God did (by imitating God) in His response to having finished His creation. God is worshipped as we imitate His actions and character, not as we serve the things He created.

True religion requires the imitation of God, to imitate God by being like Him and by obeying His commands. Israel was set apart by God to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). She was to manifest God to men by being like God in holy conduct. God is made known to men when God’s character and conduct are reflected in and through men.

Jesus came to the earth to reveal God and His loving presence to us in His earthly body. Now that He has ascended to heaven, it is us, the church which is the manifestation of Christ to the world. We are His body. We are to ne holy as he is!

Just like Israel, we who constitute the church are called to be “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into light” (1 Peter 2:9). Just as God commanded Israel to be holy because He is holy, so He has given this same command to the church (1 Peter 1:16).

Keeping God’s commandments guided the Israelites as to how they were to be God’s people and God-like people and live in a God-like manner, about living lives which imitate God’s character and conduct. Jesus spoke to his men about keeping His commandments (John 14:15; 15:10).

The first three commandments impress upon us the necessity and the priority of worship. The fourth commandment insures the time which is required for worship. When viewed together these commandments inform us that it takes time to be holy. The fourth commandment prohibits preoccupation with the normal activity of work so that we may worship God.

The initial teaching on the Sabbath focused on the absence of normal labor on the seventh day. Eventually the Scriptures offered principles and a structure for Israel’s worship. The two things are directly related: Israel’s cessation of normal work was to facilitate her worship.

Israel needed freedom and time for her worship. The fourth commandment, the law of Sabbath provided both. Slaves have no time of their own. This is Sabbath economy and it is Yahweh’s economy. Celebrate Sabbath…celebrate God!

To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God. (William Temple)

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

BEGINNING AGAIN

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Settle into silence, into peacefulness, into profound silence, into pure joy. Keep listening in such quietness and serenity. Come to that place, that space within, that place of deep silence, solitude, to just being here and now, without having to accomplish something. Let us begin with a prayer in our heart…….

Open my eyes Lord, help me to see your face,

Open my eyes Lord, help me to see….

Open my ears Lord, help me to hear your word,

Open my ears Lord, help me to hear….

Open my heart Lord, help me to love like you,

Open my heart Lord, help me to love…..

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

We begin again, our meditations on The Word of God, titled “IN THE BEGINNING”. We made six meditations on His Word. Before we begin again, we want to review and reflect again on some of the major thoughts and inspirations from the six meditations. This will enable to reflect more deeply into the mystery of His WORD! Please take a few moments and reflect over the following thoughts and insights.

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, ” let there be light” and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)

Take a moment….use your imagination…visualize if you can……the formless wasteland!

• Remember those living in “formless wasteland”, in chaos, in confusion, without clarity and direction, without purpose and so on.

   

Take a moment….use your imagination…visualize if you can……darkness covering the abyss!

• Remember those living in fear, in ignorance, alone & lonely, alienated form loved ones, burdened with anxieties and uncertainties and so on.

Take a moment….use your imagination…visualize if you can……mighty wind sweeping over the waters!

• Remember those swept by the “mighty wind”, whatever form the wind takes today; those living under oppression, violence and abuse; those who carry heavy burdens; those for whom the wind is “mighty” and so are unable to balance themselves; those unable to stay focused and so on.

Take another moment…use your imagination…visualize if you can…the transformation that happened to the formless wasteland!

• “formlessness” was transformed…earth was fashioned!

• “Wasteland” was made fertile, life-giving!

• “darkness” vanished and light made all things visible!

• “mighty wind” became life-giving breath!

   

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. (Genesis 1:1-3)

Take a moment….use your imagination…visualize if you can……mighty wind sweeping over the waters!

The mighty wind that swept over the waters became life-giving breath of God and gentle cool breeze where God and man could walk in comfort and harmony.

We must remain tuned and sensitive to the movement of the spirit if we are to be transformed in Christ. The movement of the spirit may be in a gentle breeze or in a violent storm or in more subtle ways. We must remain open and docile to the spirit to recognize the spirit’s movement.

The rushing wind often sweeps through our inner space cleansing and purifying it and filling it with light and love. The love of God is poured into the heart by the holy Spirit (Rom.5:5). God’s love is poured generously into our hearts.

Then God said: “Let us make man in our own image, after our own likeness……God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them and commissioned him to have “dominion” over the earth…” (Genesis 1:26-28)

Made in God’s image, we must IMAGE God, Participate in the very life and creative activity of God….and share in the governance (dominion) of the earth.

Take a moment….use your imagination…visualize if you can……God, gently, tenderly and patiently at work, creating the heavens and the earth….fashioning us in his own image and commissioning us to share in the governance of the earth!

We are commissioned to participate in God’s life-giving act: must speak life-giving word; show deep concern for life, work for preserving and raising the quality of life…….

We are commissioned to participate in Gods’ life-redeeming/saving act: seek the lost, heal the sick, forgive the sinner, love the enemy………

We are commissioned to participate in God’s Ruling Act: maintaining integrity, wholeness, and harmony, establish just and right relations, work for peace, order and harmony, show concern for the total well-being of humanity……

God found all his creation good and blessed them and his creative activity concluded with blessing the day of his rest.

In the beginning God blessed everything….if we are to image God, we must cultivate a blessing attitude……

To bless is to make somebody or something holy, to bestow holiness on somebody or something, to protect somebody or something, to watch over somebody or something protectively, to wish somebody or something well, to affirm/approve and support somebody or something, to confer desirable quality on somebody or something, to rejoice and to express gratitude…..

To bless is to desire, wish, pray and say good, noble and praiseworthy things…….

Now from the depth of your heart wish your mind well, wish your heart well, wish your body well, wish your family well, wish your morning well, wish your day well, wish your world well, wish your “all” well……

Bless all that you are and have…. bless all your desires, hopes, plans, projects and those of your family and loved ones……..

In the beginning………God looked at everything he made and found it very good….(Genesis 1:31). Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed and God rested from all the work He was doing….and blessed and made the holy(Genesis 2:1-2).

• God finished His work of creating the universe.
  
• God rested when His creation work was finished.
  
• God blessed and sanctified the day He rested.
  

Take a moment….use your imagination…visualize if you can……God, gently, tenderly and patiently at work, creating the heavens and the earth….fashioning us in his own image and resting from the work he has been doing!

In the beginning, the whole universe was created, ordered and held together with a purpose. We are created and blessed with a purpose for our life. Be grateful!

We have a “God-ordained purpose” and we must participate in the fulfillment of that purpose.

To be human is to be born with a purpose. This purpose is not an individual or specific goal, but the fullness of our nature.

The purpose is to be and to become what God made us to be…to be his image, to image him where he has placed us.

The purpose must be seen as goodness, holiness, perfection, fullness of life with God, life in heaven, eternal life, etc.

God has loved us and has called us to a holy life, not because of any merit of ours but according to his own design – the grace held out to us in Christ Jesus before the world began. (Timothy 1:9)

You are no longer a slave but a son! And the fact that you are son makes you an heir by God’s design. (Galatians 4:7)

“You are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God – being built to become a dwelling place for God in the spirit” (Eph.2:19-22)

Take a moment…..Prayerfully reflect on your noble calling and the purpose God has for you.

In the beginning God found all his creation good and blessed them and his creative activity concluded with blessing the day of his rest.

Now take a moment, bless all the things that God found good and blessed that you may find them good and holy, that you may preserve the goodness of God’s earth……

Be still, rest with God and bless this moment, this morning, this day and all around you!

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

all my inmost being, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
       and forget not all his benefits-

Who satisfies your desires with good things
       so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-2, 5)

We will continue our meditation on HIS WORD next week.

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

BEING AND BECOMING PRAYERFUL (15)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

(Psalm 46:10)

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Settle into silence, into peacefulness, into profound silence, into pure joy. Keep listening in such quietness and serenity. Come to that place, that space within, that place of deep silence and Solitude; to just being here and now without having to accomplish something.

Now I invite you to consecrate this day and all that come with this day….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words………..

Thank you for the gift of another day……..

Thank you for silence, stillness, solitude……………

Thank you for blessing and grace………

Thank you for just being, for me, God

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well…..

Take a few deep breaths right now…slow and gentle!

Breathe in God’s Way and breathe out my way – God’s way in, My way out.

You may not be happy about it right now, but in the bigger picture of life, you’ll be glad you chose to surrender to God.

Pray from your heart……

O God, this morning I have come into the quietness and stillness of your presence, to begin the day, so that out of this moment, I may take with me a quiet serenity, which will last me through the rough and smooth of this day’s life. Many hours of the day are waiting to be filled a hundred ways with a hundred prayers. But, right now, at this very moment, I am at peace. You have blessed and Graced my day. I walk with you, God. I sit with you, God. I run with you, God. Thank you for the morning…Thank you for stillness….Thank you for blessing and grace…..Thank you for peacefulness…..Thank you for just being, for me, God…..Thank you. Amen

Our last meditation was on the many thoughts and reflections on prayer which have been inspiring for each of us. We now bring our meditation on “Being and Becoming Prayerful” to a closer. We have reflected on various aspects of Prayerfulness and tried to cultivate a very dynamic, positive and creative attitude toward being prayerful. There is much more to reflect on nurturing Prayerfulness.

However, we must now bring our reflections to a closure and wait for another opportunity to reflect more deeply. Before we bring it to a closure, we take a moment to pray with Jesus as he prayed.

Jesus Prays for Himself (John 17:1-5)

“Jesus looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

Jesus, first prayed for himself that he may glorify the Father, then for his chosen disciples and for all who will believe in him and his word that they may have eternal life. Jesus remained faithful to the mission that the father gave him and fulfilled that mission. He says that his disciples too have remained faithful to God’s word. He prayed to the father that he would keep his disciples faithful since they have to continue his mission in the world.

He describes eternal life as knowing the only true God and his son Jesus. To know is to become one with what is known and not a gathering of information or ideas or concepts. To know, in the sense used here, is to become intimate, to become one with, to enter into that which is known. In this sense, eternal life is to enter into the mystery of God’s life and love, to be “baptized”, to be immersed into God’s Life.

Take a moment, make the prayer of Jesus your prayer……pray for being more fully immersed into the eternal, into the mystery of God’s life and love…pray for grace and courage to be faithful in completing your mission in life………

Jesus Prays for His Disciples (John 17:6-19)

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”

“All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.

Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled”

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

Jesus prayed for the safety and protection of his disciples. He knew that he was leaving them in the world. He knew that they didn’t belong to the world’s standards, that they had to live a different life style and that they would face difficult situations.

Be safe! Pray for those who are unsafe to be with and pray for those living in unsafe conditions! Pray for those who are exposed to difficult situations!

Jesus prayed that the disciples would be happy…to its fullness. He said to them that all said and did was to bring them joy to its fullness. Remember those who do not experience joy in life. Pray with those who are sad, lonely, depressed, unhappy…….

Jesus prayed that the disciples may be consecrated in truth. To “consecrate” means to empower a person with the necessary qualities of mind and heart and character to fulfill his/her God-given purpose in life.

Pray that you will be empowered with the necessary qualities of character to fulfill the mission God has given you!

Jesus Prays for All Believers (John 17:20-26)

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Jesus, first, prayed for himself as he was preparing himself to face the cross. Then he prayed for his disciples and God’s power for them. Now his prayer takes a sweep into the distant future and into distant lands and prays for all who will believe.

His prayer was that all will be one – all will experience the kind of oneness that he experienced with the Father; that all will be one in the oneness of himself and the Father; that the world will believe that the Father sent him; that the unity of all will be complete; that all will have a vision of the gift of glory that comes from the Father’s love; that the Father’s love will live in all…….

The prayer of Jesus centers on abiding in him, in love, in unity, in harmony, in eternal glory – God living in us and we living in God. It is this unity, harmony, oneness that will convince the world of the truth of Christianity, the truth that Jesus came to proclaim and the place of Jesus in our life and the life of the world. Only the love that abides in the hearts of men and women can tear down the barriers that keep us apart and bring us into communion with God and one another.

God grant me,

The serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And the Wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right,

If I surrender to His will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy in the next. (Reinhold Niebuhr)

Don’t ask God for what you think is good;

Ask Him for what He thinks is good for you.

The God to whom we pray is a God of love, who is more ready to answer than we are ready to pray. We do not have to force His Gifts and His Grace out of Him. We do not come to a God who has to be coaxed, or pestered, or battered into answering our prayer. We come to the ONE who simply wills to give. We, actually, come into the presence of the ONE who has already GIVEN. We come with desire in our hearts and words on our lips: “Thy will be done.”

GOD IS PERFECT AND PERFECT WISDOM.

WE DO NOT PRAY IN ORDER TO CHANGE HIS WILL,

BUT TO BRING OUR WILLS INTO HARMONY WITH HIS.

(William Temple)

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

BEING AND BECOMING PRAYERFUL (14)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

(Psalm 46:10)

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Settle into silence, into peacefulness, into profound silence, into pure joy. Keep listening in such quietness and serenity. Come to that place, that space within, that place of deep silence and Solitude; to just being here and now without having to accomplish something.

Now I invite you to consecrate this day and all that come with this day….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words………..

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well…..

Take a few deep breaths right now…slow and gentle!

Breathe in God’s Way and breathe out my way – God’s way in, My way out.

You may not be happy about it right now, but in the bigger picture of life, you’ll be glad you chose to surrender to God.

Pray from your heart……

O God, this morning I have come into the quietness and stillness of your presence, to begin the day, so that out of this moment, I may take with me a quiet serenity, which will last me through the rough and smooth of this day’s life. Many hours of the day are waiting to be filled a hundred ways with a hundred prayers. But, right now, at this very moment, I am at peace. You have blessed and Graced my day. I walk with you, God. I sit with you, God. I run with you, God. Thank you for the morning…Thank you for stillness….Thank you for blessing and grace…..Thank you for peacefulness…..Thank you for just being, for me, God…..Thank you. Amen

Our last meditation was on being attentive to the deepest desires of our hearts – dwelling in God’s presence and expressing our hunger and thirst for His will and purpose for us.

Take a few moments, prayerfully read the following thoughts and reflections on prayer and dwell on any of the thoughts that inspires you, moves you, speaks to you or challenges you at this time.

One of the greatest virtues that can change one’s life is prayerfulness. It is the best way of communicating with GOD, who has our well-being in his heart. It is an act of sharing our thoughts, feelings, thankfulness, requests, and whatever is in our hearts that we would like to share with our God.

Every individual needs daily prayer for guidance, knowledge, a meaningful relationship with GOD and for the discernment of His will and purpose.

Every family needs daily prayer for refuge, strength, confidence, and blessings for better living.

Every nation needs daily prayer from her citizens in order to maintain her greatness, worthiness, peacefulness, trustworthiness, solidarity, harmony and peace.

Humbleness in spirit is important when we pray. It is the most powerful virtue that draws us closer to Our GOD. “If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

GOD speaks in the silence of the heart.  Listening is the beginning of prayer. (Mother Teresa)

Prayer does not change GOD, but it changes him who prays. (Søren Kierkegaard)

I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs. (Frederick Douglass) 

Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for GOD knows best what is good for us. (Socrates) 

I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. (Abraham Lincoln) 

“At every opportunity pray in the Spirit, using prayers and petitions of every sort. Pray constantly and attentively for all God’s people” (Eph. 6:18).

Prayer is the peace of our spirit, the stillness of our thoughts, the evenness of our recollection, the seat of meditation, the rest of our cares, and the calm of our tempest.

Prayerfulness implies a need for silence, solitude and openness to God

To pray means to expose oneself to the love of the Father so as to be enabled to live even better as his child.

To pray is to open ourselves to the Father so that our entire life – from the seeking of daily bread to the transformation of the world – is filled with love.

The attitude of prayerfulness needs to be often re-energized through new acts of prayer.

Prayer is coming to God with desire in our hearts and words on our lips: “Thy will be done.”

Prayer is being with the Lord in a “deserted place”, in silence and solitude.

Prayer is a chance to know that someone really cares, in spite of myself.

Prayer is like love; it must be expressed in action and not just in words.

Prayer is a way, not to get something, but a way to be with someone.

Prayer is knowing that you will never be alone in the world.

Prayer is a bunch of words, often meaningless, offered to God in the hope that they find meaning.

Prayer in common with others is not a mass movement to create an emotional sense of togetherness. It creates a sense of group solidarity and concern. The community nurtures the prayer life of its members.

Prayer is the raising up of our mind and heart to God in his honor and glory and not to promote ourselves.

Prayer is not doing the fashionable, but doing what helps us get in touch with God.

Prayer is relating God to a situation and then seeing His power and love at work. The model prayer is that of the three young men in the fiery furnace calling on the trees, the hills and mountains to praise God (Daniel 3).

Take a moment and pray with the three young men in the fiery furnace….

Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord
Praise and exalt Him above all forever
Angels of the Lord bless the Lord.
You heavens, bless the Lord
All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord
All you hosts of the Lord, Bless the Lord
Sun and Moon, Bless the Lord
Stars of heaven, bless the Lord.
Every shower and dew, bless the Lord.
All you winds, bless the Lord
Fire and Heat, bless the Lord

Cold and chill, bless the Lord
Dew and rain, bless the Lord
Frost and chill, bless the Lord
Ice and Snow, bless the Lord
Nights and days, bless the Lord
Light and darkness, bless the Lord
Lightings and clouds, bless the Lord

Let the earth bless the Lord
Praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Mountains and hills, bless the Lord
Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord
You sprints, bless the Lord
Seas and rivers, bless the Lord
You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord
All you birds of the air, bless the Lord.
All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord
You sons of men, bless the Lord.

O Israel, bless the Lord
Praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord
Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord
Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord.
Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord.
Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord.

Praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever
Blessed are you Lord, in the firmament of heaven.

Praiseworthy and glorious and exalted above all forever

Don’t ask God for what you think is good;

Ask Him for what He thinks is good for you.

The God to whom we pray is a God of love, who is more ready to answer than we are ready to pray. We do not have to force His Gifts and His Grace out of Him. We do not come to a God who has to be coaxed, or pestered, or battered into answering our prayer. We come to the ONE who simply wills to give. We, actually, come into the presence of the ONE who has already GIVEN. We come with desire in our hearts and words on our lips: “Thy will be done.”

GOD IS PERFECT AND PERFECT WISDOM.

WE DO NOT PRAY IN ORDER TO CHANGE HIS WILL,

BUT TO BRING OUR WILLS INTO HARMONY WITH HIS.

(William Temple)

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

BEING AND BECOMING PRAYERFUL (13)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

(Psalm 46:10)

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Settle into silence, into peacefulness, into profound silence, into pure joy. Keep listening in such quietness and serenity. Come to that place, that space within, that place of deep silence and Solitude; to just being here and now without having to accomplish something.

Now I invite you to consecrate this day and all that come with this day….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words………..

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well…..

Our last meditation was on being attentive to the deepest desires of our hearts – desire for, forgiveness, healing, peace, harmony, integrity, wholeness, holiness and everything that can bring our wills into harmony with the will of God. We want to continue to nurture this desire. This meditation again is another opportunity to dwell in God’s presence and hunger and thirst for His will and purpose for us.

Take a few deep breaths right now…slow and gentle!

Breathe in God’s Way and breathe out my way – God’s way in, My way out.

You may not be happy about it right now, but in the bigger picture of life, you’ll be glad you chose to surrender to God.

Pray from your heart……

O God, this morning I have come into the quietness and stillness of your presence, to begin the day, so that out of this moment, I may take with me a quiet serenity, which will last me through the rough and smooth of this day’s life. Many hours of the day are waiting to be filled a hundred ways with a hundred prayers. But, right now, at this very moment, I am at peace. You have blessed and Graced my day. I walk with you, God. I sit with you, God. I run with you, God. Thank you for the morning…Thank you for stillness….Thank you for blessing and grace…..Thank you for peacefulness…..Thank you for just being, for me, God…..Thank you. Amen

Begin to speak in your heart…..

Bless the Lord O my soul….Let all that is within me give God praise……

Bless the Lord O my soul……….Let me never forget your blessings……

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

May my heart be pure that I may see you………………

May my heart be humble that I may surrender to your will………

May my heart be gracious that I may serve you…………….

May my heart be noble that I may reflect you……………..

May my heart be trusting that I may be safe in you………….

Keep repeating these words in your heart for a few moments

May my heart be hopeful that I may be free in you…………

May my heart be loving that I may abide in you…………….

May my heart be compassionate that I may be present to others in compassion………

May my heart be poor, empty and spacious that I may offer you space to work your plan in me and for me and with me………………

May my heart be caring, sensitive, compassionate that I may live in solidarity with those who suffer and are in need of healing………

Keep repeating these words in your heart for a few moments

May my heart be gentle, lowly, meek that I may be welcoming, hospitable and others may find comfort in my presence……….

May my heart be hungry and thirsty that I may desire everything virtuous, noble, true and good; that I may hunger and thirst for you and your wisdom…….

May my heart be understanding, merciful, forgiving that I may be forgiving; that compassion may be my way of life………….

May my heart be Pure that I may have a single, undivided heart; that my motivations may be pure and transparent………..

May my heart be peaceful that I may abide in your peace; that I may be a channel of peace for others…………….

May my heart be full of love that there is no space for anything else……

May my heart be full of you that I may live and move in you, from you, for you,

with you…..…..

Keep repeating these words in your heart for a few moments

Now take a moment……Bless your morning……let the morning bless you……

Morning is a sacrament………….

    of new beginnings….so new and untried…so unique…never to return….…

    of hope…..offering new opportunities…new possibilities…never to return……

Welcome the morning! Receive the gift that she is! Be ready to be faithful to the possibilities that she brings!

Take another moment. Bless your world. Let your world bless you.

Every day that we wake up is a good day. Every breath that we take is filled with hope for a better day. Every word that we speak is a chance to change what is bad into something good.

Now I invite you to consecrate this day and all that come with this day….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words………..

Don’t ask God for what you think is good;

Ask Him for what He thinks is good for you.

The God to whom we pray is a God of love, who is more ready to answer than we are ready to pray. We do not have to force His Gifts and His Grace out of Him. We do not come to a God who has to be coaxed, or pestered, or battered into answering our prayer. We come to the ONE who simply wills to give. We, actually, come into the presence of the ONE who has already GIVEN. We come with desire in our hearts and words on our lips: “Thy will be done.”

GOD IS PERFECT AND PERFECT WISDOM.

WE DO NOT PRAY IN ORDER TO CHANGE HIS WILL,

BUT TO BRING OUR WILLS INTO HARMONY WITH HIS.

(William Temple)

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

CELEBRATE EASTER

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Now I invite you to consecrate your time and all that come with this moment….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words………..

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

Our Lenten journey has brought us to Easter – to new life, to new beginnings, to new presence. We celebrate our call to be an Easter People, a People of the Resurrection, a people transformed by the death and resurrection of Jesus, a people who must continue to journey in faith, in hope and in love……….

People of the Resurrection are people of Hope……

Be men and women of Hope…………..

The gift of Easter is the gift of Peace………….

Be men and women of peace……………

We now take a moment to reflect on the different stories of the resurrection of Jesus…..

The Gospel of Mark (Mark 16:9-15) tells us that Jesus rose from the dead and first appeared to Mary Magdalene, but the followers of Jesus refused to believe her testimony. The disciples did not expect Jesus to be visiting Mary of Magdala after his resurrection. After all, her past was not that great and she was not one of the specially chosen apostles….she did not fit the common criteria for a visit from the world beyond…..

Be open! The Lord has his own way of surprising us! He comes to us through the most unexpected people, events, places and situations! No one expected to find the messiah in a manger or on the cross….that is just the way God revealed the power of His unconditional, unconquerable, benevolent love for us.

Two of the disciples on their way to Emmaus had an experience of the risen Jesus, while they were on the road. The rest of the disciples did not believe them either.

The Gospel of Luke (Luke 24: 1-10) speaks of two young men in white robe at the tomb of Jesus. They said to the women of Galilee who came to visit the tomb: “He is not here, but he has been raised……and they (the women) returned and announced all these things to the eleven and to all others”. And the eleven had trouble believing them too!

For us today, JESUS IS ALIVE! He goes ahead of us into our Galilees…..He will meet us where we are and we must move on and meet him where we are….in life and in death……

In the Gospel of John, we read the moving story of Mary of Magdala (John 20:1-9) going to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning and running to Peter and John to tell them that the tomb was empty. Peter and John went to the tomb and found everything as Mary had described. This excerpt concludes by saying that they believed without understanding the scripture “that he had to rise from the dead”.

Real faith is born of relationship. It is not an affirmation or acceptance of doctrines or acceptance of details of an event that can be verified scientifically or otherwise. To believe is to relate…to believe is to trust…to believe is to be intimate…to believe is to be in communion. Our belief in the resurrection and our commitment to live a resurrected life is the result of our communion with the risen Christ.

Finally, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples and rebuked them for their disbelief. Then he sent them with the mission: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation”.

Jesus surprised them again by sending them with his message to fulfill his mission. Men of weak faith……..men who could not see beyond their disappointment………men, who did not grasp all that Jesus said to them about his death and resurrection while he was among them, were sent to proclaim the good news of the resurrection!

Don’t wait and don’t hesitate to share and announce the good news of God’s love till you have fully matured in faith!

Take a moment…Be still and gently breathe in the breath of life!

Take another moment…..dwell on the following thoughts.

• Easter comes after the race to the tomb……reflect on racing to the tomb!
  

• Racing to the tomb means moving through uncertainty, doubts and fears and embracing the emptiness of the tomb……this must happen if we are ever to understand life.
  

   

• Reflect on what awaits you on arriving at the tomb…..emptiness and death have been changed into life.
  

• Racing to the tomb means losing life…it also means finding life! It means the grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying only to rise again.
  

• It means life dug out of death, joy born out of sorrow, light breaking out of darkness.
  

• We will be racing to the tomb as long as we live. We will be peering into the tomb to see if Jesus is really there!
  

• In our moment of uncertainty, we, like Mary, would do well if we remember to check with the gardener…mystery of life and death would get unraveled.
  

• Mary was blessed to run into the gardener….in the gardener she found the one she was looking for! God does have ways of surprising us!
  

• Our willingness to remove all the stones from the doorways of the tomb is urgent, however huge the stones may be, if we wish to find the hidden life in us.
  

• The women moved to the tomb wondering who will roll the stone away from the tomb…they moved with uncertainty, they moved all the same!
  

• The mystery of hope unfolds before the tomb – only an eye of faith can see it as it unfolds. The Cross and the tomb call us to wait in Hope for victory/glory beyond understanding.
  

• We can withdraw from the tomb… OR look deep inside and find it empty… OR look around and find HIM alive and moving and calling us.
  

• Remember…Jesus stepped on death, stepped into the tomb, leaped out of it, moved out into the world….life to its fullness is his gift to us! Embrace it!
  

I wish you a very happy, holy, faith-filled and joy-filled Easter. I wish you God’s

Peace – the peace that Jesus promised, the kind of peace the world can not offer. I

Pray for you and your families that the Lord will keep you safe in the hollow of his hand, in the center of his will and in the circle of his love.

HAPPT EASTER!

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs