Psalm 50

Psalm 68

And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body. And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. And I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father. -Gospel of Matthew 26:26

“What obstacles you might ask?” You are too faithful to receive Holy Communion poorly disposed. Likewise, it is not sin which presents the sacramental action of divine grace from taking place in you. No, the obstacle is a lack of trust. You simply do not sufficiently esteem the indescribable visit of the Body and Blood of Our Savior. You do not pray to Our Lord with the burning faith and holy expectation that conquers Our Lord’s heart. In those precious moments of actual grace, present to Him the litany of your woes. Mention them all without forgetting a single one. Say to Him: “I believe firmly that from this heap of dung Thou canst cause virtues to flourish. I ask Thee this in the name of Thy promises, and I go as far as to demand that Thou dost transform my heart. Day and night will I cry out to Thee until Thou dost accomplish this miracle of love.”

Without doubt, He will tell you what He told others during His ministry: “As you have believed, so be it done to thee.” If your trust is small you will obtain little; if it is great, you will obtain much.

Perhaps your faith is asleep. Perhaps you are gripped by secret anxieties. Ask the Blessed Virgin to inspire in you with an unshakable trust in Jesus truly present in the Eucharist. Ask her for this favor in the name of maternal love and the name of the final words of her agonizing Son to her on the Cross. Whatever your weakness or pain, surrender them with closed eyes to God Who loves you to the point of concealing Himself for you under the veil of the Host. “The Virgin Mary” Father Raymond de Thomas de Saint-Laurent

The other night driving home from work after midnight an impressionable incident occurred. A police officer in an unmarked car, distinct as a law enforcement vehicle yet nondescript at a quick glance, pulled out of a parking lot right behind me, stealthily while observing. I was speeding in a twenty-five mile per hour zone so I slowed down. The police officer stayed behind. I approached a major intersection hosting the grocery store Whole Foods. Coasting through a series of green lights, I started to pass through the intersection when I turned my attention to my left. Instantly, a racing vehicle careening through a red light snapped into my vision. My brake reaction time was immediate and I brought my vehicle to a halting emergency stop. I was stunned how close the vehicle passed before me. I checked myself, observing the traffic light. It was green. I looked to my rear and saw the police officer react, pulling forward to allow him to pursue. My racing heart and clear mind turned to God, thoughts reflecting upon a guardian angel protecting. It was a near miss that rattled me while producing gratefulness. I pulled around the shopping plaza in order to see if the officer apprehended the offender. I was amazed that by the time I circled around there were three police vehicles with red and blue lights blaring. The moment left an imprint regarding the urgency of moments, and a sense of protection and authority.

ode to the feast day of St John of the Cross passed

Oh, living flame of love
That tenderly woundest my soul in its deepest centre,
Since thou art no longer oppressive, perfect me now if it be thy will,
Break the web of this sweet encounter.

Oh, sweet burn! Oh, delectable wound!
Oh, soft hand! Oh, delicate touch
That savours of eternal life and pays every debt!
In slaying, thou hast changed death into life.

Oh, lamps of fire,
In whose splendours the deep caverns of sense
Which were dark and blind with strange brightness
Give heat and light together to their Beloved!

How gently and lovingly thou awakenest in my bosom,
Where thou dwellest secretly and alone!
And in thy sweet breathing, full of blessing and glory,
How delicately thou inspirest my love!

Unknown author supplied by a man from the Sacred Heart men’s group.

…spend time in the presence of the One. We simply allow ourselves to fill with the presence of God. In this process where our thoughts, actions, and beliefs vis-à-vis the world are our text, we do the same: Having offered up our awareness, and having listened in contemplative prayer for guidance and for gentle invitation, we can simply rest in a place of gratitude for the presence of the Divine in our lives and in the world. Emerging from this contemplation, compassion can fill our being as we become one with the broken world. In his works on lectio divina, the late Trappist monk and priest M. Basil Pennington notes, “In this encounter with God our whole being is opened up to experience the brokenness of all creation. We find ourselves united not only with God but with all who live”. This inner work (breathing in) is necessary and important preparation for the next phase of operatio, the external work of breathing out and moving into the world.

Operatio: Acting on God’s Word

This is the stage where we take our inner work into the world. “It is the moment…when we end our prayer and return to daily life”….this return to the world and to daily life is not so much ending our prayer as it is moving to a different form of prayer. It is, to continue the analogy of the breath, the completion of the breath cycle. As we move off cushion, what is Spirit inviting us to do or to be differently in response to the lectio process?…It is the time for prayer action. As a spiritual director, I cannot tell my directees what standing differently in the world might involve for them. I cannot tell them what they should do or be. I can only invite them into a process that opens them to Spirit to illumine the path…my work is simply to facilitate my spiritual directees’ openness to the invitation of Spirit to engage in the external world however the Divine invites, as part of their contemplative practice.

Words from a mother,
Singing a song,
Guiding to shelter,
Drawing within,
Silently bowing,
Pointing beyond,
To her Son,
Repeating,Iron and Wine
For all the love you left behind,
You can have Mine.