Tag: Inspiration

Teach Us To Pray

Offering Praise

Smitten With Goodness
Season of goodness in prayer

Let’s offer this prayer of praise to the Lord, beckoning all of creation to give Him the praise due His name:

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels;
praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon,
praise Him, all you shining stars!
Praise Him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord!

For He commanded and they were created.
And He established them forever and ever;
He gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling His word!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for His name alone is exalted;
His majesty is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for His people,
praise for all His saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to Him.
Praise the Lord! (Psalm 148)


Father, I thank You today for the gift of praise. Thank you for revealing Yourself to me through Your Word, by Your Spirit, and in Your creation, that I might stand in awe of You. Amen

Teach Us To Pray

Delivered 

Smitten With Goodness
Season of goodness in prayer

We are all familiar with temptation, that desire from within that invites us to act, contrary to what we know to be right. We are called to seek God‘s guidance and strength to persevere against temptation, for God does not tempt us. Rather, he offers us the ability to resist the temptation to grow in holiness. We are called to be pure of heart, and when we walk with God at our side, we are more easily able to achieve that goal. We are delivered. What are the things that tempt you? Ask for God’s help to identify and persevere against them.

God of all understanding, you are our source of strength and perseverance, in the midst of trials and Temptations. You lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil. Protect us oh, Lord, from fear and doubt, from sadness, and a spare, from isolation and loneliness, from trials, and temptations, from persecution, weariness us, the tendency to give up, apathy, pain and hardship, sickness and death. Help us recognize you are by our side, offering compassion and assistance, so that we may overcome the wearisome burdens. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen 

Teach Us To Pray

Orienting My Day

Smitten With Goodness
Teach us to pray

One of the first things I do when I start waking up each day is to give God the glory for giving me another day. As I grab my coffee and sit in my prayer chair, I express gratitude for the things that are on my mind and heart since the day before. I pray the Morning Offering to help orient my day:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month. Amen.

Teach Us To Pray

Pray with simplicity

Smitten With Goodness
Teach us to pray

As humans, we overcomplicate things. There is richness in the simple things, when we focus and go deeper within the meaning. Matthew 6:5-14 from The Message is our prayer of simplicity today:

And when you come before, God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for 15 minutes of fame! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

Here’s what I want you to do: find a quiet, secluded place, so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply, and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer ignorant. They are full of formulas and programs and advice, pedaling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God, like this loving you, you can pray very simply like this:

Our Father, in heaven, 

reveal who you are. 

Set the world, right; 

do what’s best – as above, so below. 

Keep us alive with three square meals. 

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. 

Keep us safe from ourselves and the devil. 

You’re in charge! 

You can do anything you want! 

You’re a blazing beauty! 

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Amen

Teach Us To Pray

A Simple Prayer

Smitten With Goodness
Teach us to pray

When I first found myself being drawn into a deeper spiritual relationship with my Creator, there were many time when I would sit and contemplate scripture. Psalm 25 turned into a constant prayer for me and to this day I still say it often as I need the Lord to “make” me lose my self-sufficiency.

Lord, make me know your ways. 

Lord, teach me your paths.

Make me walk in your truth and teach me.

For you are God my savior.

Psalm 25

Amen

Inspiration

Everyday Miracles

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

“If we do not risk anything for God we will never do anything great for Him.”
–St. Louis De Montfort

Recently I’ve risked being satisfied.

Savor was my focus word last year. A time where I slowed down enough to really, see, enjoy, taste, smell and touch what was before me. In essence I was practicing the sacrament of the present moment.

The stillness of the present moment is where we find God. It’s a place where we find joy, connection and be thankful. We are nourished and satisfied.

God revealed how in my striving and doing, I lost sight of satisfaction. Through my distrust, I turned to my will rather than His, where forcing my solutions rather than trusting and waiting on His became my norm. Like quicksand, the shaky ground I stood on was one of lack and scarcity. Through allowing God to heal my heart, I now realize I am standing on a solid foundation of trust and abundance.

What a gift this is to be satisfied and share my peaceful heart with others. It’s actually a miracle and Gods visible work today.

How will you risk growing with God this new year?

Inspiration

The Gift of Love

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living


The longer I live in the light of God’s holiness, the more I become aware of the subtle, deceptive sins of my heart, the nagging idolatries, and the places where I lack godly character. As I walk with the Lord, I become increasingly aware of the labyrinth pathways of sin that course through every area of my life.

I simply cannot stand before the searching light of the glory of God’s holiness with an open heart and walk away proud.

The longer this light shines on me, the louder my cry for grace grows. The longer I live in the presence of God’s holiness, the more I become aware of the depth and extent of my sin, the more I am dependent on God’s grace, and the more I am amazed by his patience.

How beautiful God designed it this way. Lifting the veil to my neediness. Bringing me to humility and my knees, turning me to right order my desires and give my gifts to my Savior, divine born man in the most humble way on Christmas Day.

Giving me, and us all, the gift of love.

Inspiration

Advent Day 11: The Spirit of Goodness

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent. Read, Reflect, Respond

Read: Selfless desire to be generous to others. Ephesians 5:8-10

Reflect: Goodness is a gift of the Holy Spirit when we renounce evil and strive to do God’s will. What exactly is goodness? The word good is used so frequently in our everyday lives that it almost loses its meaning. For example, how many times a day do we say, good morning and good luck and good job? But the Bible tells us that the word good actually means holy, pure and righteousness. Literally goodness is godliness.Goodness comes from living a life of virtue, of good habits. At the end of the day, the foundational or cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance are the only things within our human power to control. Like a muscle, these powers get stronger when used. Virtue allows us to perfect our thoughts and our actions, have courage, and moderate our desires and passions. Infused by grace, we bear the fruits of the Spirit. We become smitten with goodness. We are drawn to more goodness and drawn away from the attractions of the world.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:6

Respond: Lord, help me to be a person of great integrity—the same inside and out.

Inspiration

New Heart

Smitten With Goodness
Reflection for contemplative living

The saints understood the need for a singular focused heart. Not one formed by the world but one aligned with our creator.

St. Benedict of Nursia says, “You change your life by changing your heart.” St. Therese of Lisieux stated: Jesus, help me to simplify my life by learning what you want me to be, and becoming that person.

As scripture reminds us, we are to be new wine.

No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.  Matthew 9:14-17

Thank you, Lord, for giving me a new heart to fill up with the things you deem worthy.