Tag Archives: presence of God

Contemplatives in the middle of the world

Mary and Jesus praying

A contemplative person is more patient, peaceful, kind and cheerful. Picture shows the young Jesus praying beside her mother.

 

 

St Josemaria taught that all Christians can be contemplatives in the middle of the world: that they can find God and be aware of his presence in every activity. This is within the reach of all but it requires effort on our part. In this meditation we will consider how:

  • Jesus promised the apostles, and us, that he would be with us always, until the end of the world.
  • God is with us in many different ways.
  • Like St Augustine, we often have to say that God was with us but we were not with him.
  • In order to grow in contemplative life it is important to live well our regular times of prayer and space them out throughout the day.
  • We can intersperse our regular times of prayer with aspirations.
  • A contemplative person is more patient, peaceful, kind and cheerful.

 

Preparing for Christmas with Our Lady

Now that we are in Advent, we want to prepare well for Christmas. A good way to do this is by the hand of Our Lady. After all, she too prepared for the birth of Christ. In this meditation we consider nine lessons Our Lady gives us about how to prepare for this great feast:

  • Avoiding sin and going to confession
  • Docility to the will of God
  • Charity with others
  • Spreading joy
  • Presence of God
  • Not complaining about hardship
  • Penance
  • Contemplation and meditation
  • Bringing Christ to others