Sunday, February 7: Let Us Go…

What wisdom is being offered for my life? I have known my commitment to the spiritual journey included, as Father Keating pointed out, everybody; past, present and to come. I had an opportunity to do a prayer reflection with my maternal grandfather, via an imaginative reflective journaling exercise. His encouraging words to me are “do this for us.” The wisdom offered me is “stay the course,” so I shall, to the best of my ability. <3 linda

Sunday, January 31: Taught With Authority

Being committed to a life of deep communion with the Spirit of God is one way I sense truth. Does what I hear align with God’s love for us? Does it affirm us as beloveds? Developing over time a mind that can hold paradox is difficult to accomplish, yet immeasurably valuable for discernment. “…make us able to test everything, and to hold fast to that which is good.” (Barclay) <3 linda

Sunday, January 24: Beyond Opposites

This has been my lectio passage: “In the simplicity of God, everything is revealed. It’s into that unity of consciousness that God is inviting us in our human adventure.” How do I resolve conflict within and without? “In the simplicity of God.” It is a great trust adventure into which God calls us to participate, and not as spectators but as active co-creators. We allow God “to experience human nature in your uniqueness.” My uniqueness is my gift I can bring. <3 linda

Sunday January 17: What Are You Looking For?

Yes, as I practice Centering Prayer my relationship and understanding of God changes. Human props fall away for varied reasons: moves away, job transfers, new calls, etc. The relationships God deems important are solidified and deepened. I know I have been invited into these relationships so that I may, as Anthony de Mello eloquently explains, remember “the one thing you need most of all is the readiness to learn something new.” <3 linda

Sunday, January 10, 2021 – Coming Out of the Water

Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?” has been one of my active prayer sentences for decades. I hold fast to God’s promise of love for us. <3 linda

Sunday January 3: To Journey By Another Way

I marvel at how the Holy Spirit directs these meditations to time so precisely to current events. Thanks be to God for this week’s lesson.

I have been living in liminal space for a year. First, uprooted by a physical move to a new city. Second, sheltered in place by a microscopic virus. Seeking God’s face. My journey to another way crystallized this week as I completed life goals for 2021. Trusting they are Spirit led, I go forth daily in prayer and to do the next practical thing.

Sunday December 27: The Waiting Is Over

Creation blessed eastern TN with Divine Life with a beautiful white Christmas, and temperatures mild enough to walk river paths last weekend. FaceTime calls with our children shone their Divine Light to us. What precious gifts our sons and their wives are to us. I organize a new home office location and set 2021 goals in the days ahead, trusting Divine Love via my contemplative vocation will direct my efforts. What a wonder-filled way to close the year. Thank You, Abba. Amen. <3 linda

Sunday, December 20: May It Be Done To Me…I Consent

What will be the next mutation for my life? I am working on goal setting and a life plan with the purpose of making 2021 the best year of my life. I am exploring myself and mining deep to see how I can be more a handmaid of the Lord than I have ever been. I pray, thanks to Kathleen Norris, “I may be virgin enough to respond from my deepest, truest self, and say something new, a ‘yes’ that will change me forever.” Amen. <3 linda

Sunday December 13: The Morning Stars Will Sing

Joy! In the midst of a global pandemic, we see joy expressed in very practical and extraordinary ways. People stepping up to help neighbors who cannot get out. People showing compassion to those suffering from other’s inconsideration due to the stresses of their situations. Grace upon grace being extended to wrap the world in a soft netting of God’s love. Come, Lord Jesus! <3 linda

Sunday December 6: The Mild Light of Radiant Fulfillment

When I was a young woman, I had my life mapped out – I used to be a planning machine. God intervened and overlaid God’s plan for me, and sometimes I obeyed better than others.

Now, I am fully submitted to God’s presence and action within me, and to God’s plan for my life. I will once again plan goals for 2021, all according to God’s will, and I will “bow to this strange choosing.” <3 linda

Sunday November 29: In A Garment of Silence

My mantra for this year is quite apt for Advent. It is four words I say on two breaths, as follows:

Inhale: Cease. Stop worry, frets, concerns before they can gain a toehold.

Exhale: Release. Breath those concerns out to God’s hands.

Inhale: Heal. Breathe in the calm of the Spirit’s healing.

Exhale: Peace. Send waves of the peace that passes understanding back into the world.

For Advent, I will focus on one word each week, taking it deeper into prayer. <3 linda

Sunday, November 22: Whatever You Did, You Did to Me

Yes, my contemplative practice has changed the way I live my life. I’d like to believe I am more open to allowing others into my life – God may have a different point of view. So, I continue to pray. My quarantine time has allowed me to affirm my prayer practice and I don’t set foot out of my house without prayer to undergird me. <3 linda

Sunday, November 15: Come Share Your Talents

Yes. It takes a great deal of prayer to rick the silence of my mind instead of listening to the nagging voice insisting I have more important things to do. Centering prayer demands I risk loving the unknown other (hard) and risk loving myself (harder). Without risk there can be no growth, so I thank God for them and pray the Holy Spirit’s strength to take them. <3 linda

Sunday, November 8: Oil in the Lamp

Our region of the country is attending to the coming winter, watching leaves change, feeling temperatures cool, attending the animals readying for the months ahead. Our country is in special watchfulness still from the national election. I attend to my heart, keeping my lamp as trim and full as I can, so when I discern through my watchfulness someone needing light, I can provide without cost. <3 linda

Sunday November 1: Such is the Kingdom

Can I open my heart and let “those others” in, too? In a word, yes. Each centering prayer time I open my heart to all others, past, present and to come, as Father Keating taught so well. Fidelity to the practice, show up every day, pray and do the next practical thing. <3 linda

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