Fasting

Theme for the week: Entering into the love of the Lord
Grace for today: To know his love for me and respond to his love in my prayertime
Scripture reading: John 17:20-26
"When it is accompanied by prayer it can be used to manifest humility before God. The man who fasts turns towards God in an attitude of total dependence and abandonment." --taken from In Conversation with God, Vol 2, p.13

Thursday

Theme for this week: Entering into the love of the Lord
Grace for today: To know his love for me and respond to his love in my prayertime
Scripture reading: John 15:11-17

Lord, Teach Me to Pray

Welcome to an online Lenten retreat. Each week will have a theme. Each day will have a grace and scripture suggestion for your prayer time. The themes, graces and readings will be taken from "Lord Jesus, Teach Me To Pray," by Lucy Rooney S.N.D. and Fr. Robert Faricy, SJ.
See link on left "How to Meditate on Sacred Scripture".

Theme for this week: Entering into the love of the Lord
Grace for today: To know his love for me and respond to his love in my prayertime
Scripture reading: John 15:1-10

Our Awesome God

The presence of God is awe-inspiring and glorious. He both dwells within us and is boundless in his majesty. What a privilege it is that this great God wants to know us and have a personal relationship with each one of us. Despite our lowliness and sinfulness, God wishes to reach down and caress us in His tenderness. Let us stand in awe before this God of glory and kindness.
--taken from Magnificat Feb. 2010, p.112.

Trust Him

"By waiting and by calm you will be saved. In quiet and in trust your strength lies." Is 30:15b

"The Lord himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still."
Ex. 14:14

"God in his power is refuge and strength; God in his mercy is the river that refreshes the soul; God in his beauty stills our useless struggles and gathers us into his peace." -- taken from Magnificat, Mon, Feb 8, 2010

The Interior Life

If one will but study his deeper soul carefully, his journey will be safer. Let him be absorbed in his own faults to correct them, in God's guidance to follow it, difficult though it may seem, and dark and strange. Whosoever behaves thus shall not be overwhelmed when opposition comes, nor altogether oppressed with anguish of soul... But God will now lead and again drive him forward until he has reached the depths of the interior life...

--taken from Magnificat, Feb 5, 2010, p. 84 (for full text of the meditation, click here)

Trapped by the Devil

If you, O Lord, will not give me who am miserable understanding, nor enlighten my heart, then, due to my great indifference, shall I be unable to recognize my ruin and decay.
Because I am trapped by the merciless enemy who oppresses me, with tears do I ceaselessly cry day and night to your goodness to deliver me from his snares. For hourly does he renew the trickery he wields against me; hourly does he disturb my soul with wanton thoughts and desire for pleasure.
May your power, O Christ, that rebuked the waves of the sea also rebuke him, that he may have no influence on me, your useless servant. Be quick to send, O Master, your grace, that it might drive away from your servant the great serpent and all his defilements and evil thoughts. For the wounds that the arrows have inflicted on my heart have become fetid sores, and I in my folly try to hide them every way I can.
The good Physician calls me and demands no payment, nor does he spill my blood. But my slothfulness prevents me from going to him. He comes himself to heal me, but always finds me engaged in acts that prevent his remedies from rendering me their healing power.
O Lord, enlighten and sober me. Cure me and I will be cured!
--by Saint Ephrem the Syrian, taken from Magnificat Magazine, February 1, 2010.