Do you accept that the goodness that God lives within your heart? The wisdom and truth of the Holy Spirit lives inside us, constantly breathing life into us. How often are we in too big of a hurry to notice, or too exhausted and overwhelmed with the to-do list where we put what really needs to be first on the list at the end of that list? Often, I ignore the whisper within calling me to make a certain “better” live giving choice for myself. Take that walk, eat that salad, stretch your body, sit with Me.
Faith allows me to live in detachment from all the ups and downs of life. Have you spent any time reflecting on your attachments? Is there anything you believe you couldn’t live without?
Every strong and beautiful flower must have a strong root in the ground. It must send a root down so that it may be rooted and grounded, while at the same time it sends a shoot up to be the flower that shall gladden the world. Both growths are necessary.
There is wisdom in simplicity. There is much to be learned through the cross. Through contemplating Jesus’ crucifixion, we learn the paradox of what it means to suffer and bear wickedness, and we also learn compassion, mercy, and love.
Faith is more than our greatest gift; sharing it with others is our greatest responsibility. A beautiful thing about faith is that the more I share with others, the stronger my faith becomes and the more secure it becomes inside of me.
Faith is an attitude of trust and how I approach God. Faith is an openness to what God wants to reveal to me, to do in my life, and to invite my participation. It should be obvious that in dealing with the infinite and all-powerful personal God, I am never in control.
Friday – Image of Beauty. I am the image and glory of God. 1 Corinthians 11:7
Looking for God’s Goodness in contemplation and prayer.
You might find goodness in this simple prayer of being from Fr. Richard Rohr comes from Psalm 46:10 of the Hebrew Scriptures: “Be still and know that I am God.”
Instruction
1) Find a quiet place, gently close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Prepare to pray the Psalm in 5 consecutively diminishing sentences.
2) Either aloud or quietly to yourself, say the words, “Be still and know that I am God.”
3) After a couple deep breaths, pray, “Be still and know that I am.”
4) After a couple deep breaths, pray “Be still and know.”
5) After a couple deep breaths, pray, “Be still.”
6) After a couple deep breaths, pray, “Be.”
7) When ready, pray, “Amen.”
This prayer can also be prayed with a group. The facilitator leads with each phrase and the group repeats aloud after each consecutively diminishing phrases. The pause between each phrase can be lengthened depending on your need or the needs of the group.
My spiritual relationship is only as deep as I am willing to go. The truth is that God knows everything about me, but recently I’ve been contemplating how vulnerable I have been with Him. Will I stand in the nakedness before Him, allowing Him to restore the beauty that has been chipped away over time?
True confession – my nickname growing up was ,Worry Wart. It’s funny how my father could see in me a part of myself that I couldn’t see. That is the beauty of sacred loving relationships. Many years later, I was ready to accept that part of myself…the planner, the controller, the worrier. It made me successful in the eyes of the world, but it didn’t serve ME well.
Recently I’ve been meditating on the truth that “It is not that we have loved God, but that he first loved us.” (John 4:10) On some level, yet again, I thought it was all up to me, thinking I needed to earn God’s love. God is God and He loves me even should I not love Him. This has been a hard concept for me to understand.
Smitten With Goodness 