Tag Archives: plan of life

United to the vine

Christ chose his apostles and gave them the mission to go out and bear fruit, fruit that would abide. He warned them that they would be persecuted as he was. After his ascension into heaven they went to the upper room to pray. We too have been sent out, into a very damaged world, and we too need to be very united to the vine of Christ if we are to hold on to our faith and share it with others. In this meditation we consider how:

  • We are united to the vine of Christ through our life of prayer and penance
  • We need a daily plan for our spiritual life just as we do for our bodily life
  • Having a plan gives us order and peace
  • Our plan might include such activities as mental prayer, Holy Mass, spiritual reading, the rosary, reading of Scripture, and a  visit to the Blessed Sacrament.

A daily plan of spiritual life

vocal prayer and mental prayer

 

Anyone who wants to achieve an important goal has a  plan of daily activities to reach it: the athlete, the student, the business person. Our goal is the most important of all: eternal salvation, heaven. Our happiness here and hereafter depends on it.  In this meditation we consider how:

  • We are called to love God with our whole heart and in order to achieve that we must spend some time with him each day
  • We are called to eternal life with God in heaven, the goal of our whole life
  • Like the student, the athlete, the business person, we need a daily plan of activities to achieve our goal
  • We can dedicate some time each day to such activities as mental prayer, Holy Mass, the Rosary, spiritual reading, reading of the New Testament, the Angelus, morning prayers, the examination of conscience, etc.
  • We can achieve this by having regular times for prayer spread out throughout the day

Witnesses for Christ

Christ sends the apostles

We are called to be witnesses to Christ. Here we see our Lorde sending out his disciples.

 

Christ has called all the baptised and sent us out to be his witnesses in the world, to bear fruit that will abide. If we are to fulfill this mission we must be branches very much united to the vine. We do this through our life of prayer, following a daily plan. In this meditation we will consider:

  • Our calling to be witnesses for Christ
  • How we must be branches united to the vine
  • The need for a daily plan of spiritual activities, just as we have a daily plan of meals, work, relaxation and sleep
  • The principal activities of this plan

Meditation on a spiritual plan of life

We all have a daily plan for looking after our body, including regular times for eating, sleeping, exercise, entertainment, etc. But we should also have a daily plan to look after our soul. In this meditation we consider the importance of having such a plan and how we might go about making it and living it.