E&W 2-17-13

Sacred Story

Encouragements & Wisdom: February 17, 2013

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Encouragements and Wisdom: February 17, 2013 (PDF).

E & W reflections are additional helps for your Sacred Story prayer journey. Reflect on them at the beginning of the week or outside of your fifteen-minute prayer windows.

Presence

As Director of Retreats at Georgetown University, I realized how difficult it was for most people to take time away for a “silent” retreat. The most common excuse ‘not to attend’ that I heard went something like this: “Father, I am not the silent type so this would not work for me.” I soon discovered that the true motivation behind this response was anxiety about what a person might discover in the time of silence.

Most of us live life on the surface, never having the time to allow our deep thoughts and feelings to surface. We are afraid of what we might discover. Or we are afraid of what God might ask of us.

We must remember that this fear does not come from God – it comes from the enemy of our human nature. Entering “presence” necessarily means that we allow the Spirit to enter into the depths of our lives: our memories, feelings, and thoughts. We must resist the fear that keeps us from entering into our hearts, that deep place where God meets us. Be Not Afraid!
 
 

Pray this week to resist the fear that keeps you from entering the depths of your heart’s memories, feelings and thoughts.
Pray for a spirit of courage to enter into presence.
Pray that the Holy Spirit illuminate all your thoughts, words and deeds.
Awaken to Creation, Presence, Memory, Mercy and Eternity.

No evil shall befall you,
nor shall affliction come near your tent,
For to his angels he has given command about you,
that they guard you in all your ways.

(Psalm 91:10-11)

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