Help me in my weakness, Lord. Do not let my fears, terrors and anxieties conquer me. Let me find that strength that you promise to those who suffer for the sake of righteousness, and let me boast only of the cross of your Son.

- from Saint Paul: Called to Conversion

Lord Jesus, hide not your resurrected face from me. Help me find the treasure you have placed deep within me that I might be comforted by your love.

- from Saint Paul: Called to Conversion

Good and gracious God, give me the strength to persevere every day in my faith, so that I will not become discouraged when life“s troubles keep pounding on my door. Give me courage to embrace whatever comes my way and to recognize that you do not place on my own fragile shoulders any task that I cannot bear.

- from Saint Paul: Called to Conversion

IN CONTEMPLATION, ONE IS AWARE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. Often a person in prayer remains in complete silence, reflecting on spiritual things. Through “centering prayer” and other approaches, contem-platives take time to get behind the busyness, noise, wordiness, and information overload of today’s world. Contemplative prayer does not replace all other types of prayer. It simply balances words and activity with silence and repose.

The Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton’s description of his way of praying is as good a definition of contemplation as any: “I have a very simple way of prayer. It is centered entirely on the presence of God and to [God's] will and [God's] love.”

Due largely to Merton–who exposed many to contemplative life through his books The Seven Storey Mountain and New Seeds of Contemplation–as well to the efforts of his brother Trappists, Thomas Keating, Basil Pennington, and William Menninger, the modern contemplative movement seeks to restore a tradition somewhat neglected in the history of Christian spirituality.

Since the Protestant Reformation, Catholic spirituality has been dominated by prayer involving words and formulas, obscuring the contemplative tradition evident in figures such as Gregory of Nyssa, John Cassian, Bernard of Clairvaux, Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux.

But God’s first language, contemplatives remind us, is silence. Before creation, there was utter silence, and that silence has remained, like a backdrop to the universe. Contemplation is a movement beyond conversation with God to communion with God and a more powerful sense of God’s active presence in every person and situation of our lives.

Though the ex-perience of contemplative prayer may produce relaxation, inner peace, greater creativity, personal insights, a greater acceptance of others and circumstances, and even lessening of compulsive behavior and painful emotions and thoughts, these effects flow out of its main purpose of developing a deep relationship with God that carries over into the rest of life.

While not asceticism or self-denial, contemplation moves us beyond selfishness and attachment to a place where our true and natural selves find completion, transformation, and fulfillment.

At Gethsemane Abbey in Kentucky, for many years the home of Thomas Merton, a sign on one of the library shelves reads: “Silence is spoken here.” By connecting to that silence through contemplation, we can hear the “voice” of God.

- Excerpt from an article by Joel Schorn

God

let us see the many ways

you are working in our world ,

in my world.

Let me feel your constant presence

and the warmth of your love.

Amen

- Joan of Arc : God’s Warrior

God,
open my eyes
and my heart
to see you and hear you.
May I really listen to all you are telling me today.

From Joan of Arc: God’s Warrior

Dear God,
help us to listen
to all the angels and saints you send us,
especially those disguised as
our fellow companions in faith.
Amen.

-  from Joan of Arc: God’s Warrior

Penitent’s Rose 

When we pray for our inner healing , we permit Jesus to visit all those areas  of our life where we have been wounded . At the base of these wounds , we discover the potential for forgiveness . This is the door through which we pass in order to take up our life as filled with the love of Jesus . When we encounter the One who forgives , we forget the anguish of the past and are able to forgive ourselves.

- The Journey Within : Prayer as a Path to God

Find strength and peace to greet the day with morning meditation , based on a beloved Irish prayer.

This Irish prayer is attributed to Saint Patrick and often referred to as the “breastplate” of St. Patrick . . . . . . words that shield.

I arise today, Through the strength of heaven;

Light of the sun ,  Splendor of fire , Swiftness of wind,

Depth of the sea , Stability of earth , Firmness of rock.

I arise today, Through God’s strength to pilot me; God’s might to uphold me ; God’s wisdom to guide me ; God’s hand to guard me.

Afar and anear , Alone or in a multitude.

Christ shield me today ,  Against wounding : Christ with me , Christ before me , Christ behind me ,

Christ on my right , Christ on my left,

Christ beneath me, Christ above me , Christ in me.

I arise today, Through the mighty strength , Of the Lord of Creation.