NEW BEGINNINGS (3)

NEW BEGINNINGS (3)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

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

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……

Breathe in all that is of God and from God…all that is true, honest, pure, admirable, noble, decent, virtuous, worthy of praise, good, loving, kind – all that deserves respect..

Breathe out all that is not of God and from God……..

Settle into silence, into peacefulness, into profound silence, into pure joy. Keep listening in quietness, stillness 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.

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

Our last meditation was on the special name God has for each of us: Forgiven and Graced.

This is the moment of new beginnings: God calls…forgives….and Graces! And in His Grace we begin NEW!

I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the stony heart from their bodies and replace it with a natural heart, so that they will live according to my statutes and observe and carry out my ordinances; thus they shall be my people and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:19-20)

The heart is a small vessel,

but all things are contained in it;

God is there, the angels are there,    -

and there is also life and the Kingdom,

the heavenly cities and the treasures of Grace. (St. Makarios)

The Spirit rushes in – even into the smallest and seemingly insignificant corners of our lives, with gifts that transforms us into Sons of God.

Abide in these thoughts for some time

God helps us to create new life……we do not have to stay in old patterns of living, thinking, feelings, behaving…new life is open to us…Grace, the gift of God makes this possible for us.

Take a moment….Remember God loving you….holding you tenderly….breathing life into you!

As you go through the day, be attentive to your breathing patterns……..this can connect us to God, our breath of life……….

Slowly breath in and out. Become aware of the life-giving flow of “Breath”. Breath in all that is “of God” and breath out all that is not “of God”.

Now breath in and breath out all that is “of God”…….

It is not always easy to believe that we have been forgiven and graced. It takes humble efforts to move toward life and to believe that we can make new beginnings, we can live again…….come to life and love again!

Be humble! Be patient with yourselves! Trust in the Grace of God and respond to His Grace to enable and empower you to begin again………………..

Go beyond your own discomforts, pains, loneliness, guilt or shame………to try to reach deep down inside for the gift of God dwelling within, for the love of God poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5)!

Enter the sacred space within with patience….with hope……..with abiding confidence in the forgiving, healing, transforming power of God’s Grace!

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthian 2:3-5)

I pray that He would grant you gifts according to the riches of His glory. May he strengthen you inwardly with power through His Spirit. May Christ dwell in your heart……(Ephesians 3:16)

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Take a moment….Remember the spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, giving you strength for all things that you have to face in life……..

Take another moment….express your longing, your hunger and your thirst for strength of the spirit, for the gift of Grace…….

As the deer pants for streams of water,
     so my soul pants for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
     When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42)

These ancient words of the Psalmist– over three thousand years old – express the hunger, the thirst, the restlessness, the longing, the urgency of the desire…..

When you look (search) for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart…you will find me………..I will let you find me………….(Jeremiah 29:13ff)

When we find our true self, we find God and when we find God, we find our true self. (Thomas Merton in New Seeds of Contemplation)

Thou didst call and cry out and burst in upon my deafness;

Thou didst shine forth and glow and drive away my blindness;

Thou didst send forth Thy fragrance,

and I drew in my breath and now I pant for thee;

I have tasted and now I hunger and thirst;

Thou didst touch me and I was inflamed with desire for thee. (St. Augustine)

This is my prayer for you:

• That you may live and grow in God’s Grace.
  

• that you may live gracefully.
  

• that all you are and all you do flow from God’s Grace
  

• that you may live well-disciplined lives and become Grace-filled, compassionate, gentle, noble, patient, optimistic, strong, virtuous and wise
  

• that you may be carried in God’s Grace through difficult days and times.
  

Pray your prayer for yourself:

Pray your prayer for those who journey with you:

Pray your prayer for those special people in your life:

Loving God,

Give me faith and trust, courage and patience,

strength and insight, discerning and trusting heart

and the wisdom to remain open to the transforming power of your Grace. Amen

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs