Presence

God is with me, but more,
God is within me, giving me existence.
Let me dwell for a moment on God’s life-giving presence
in my body, my mind, my heart
and in the whole of my life.

Freedom

Everything has the potential to draw forth from me a fuller love and life.
Yet my desires are often fixed, caught, on illusions of fulfillment.
I ask that You, God, through my freedom, may orchestrate my desires
in a vibrant, loving melody, rich in harmony, fulfilling Your will through me.

Consciousness

Heavenly Father, thank You that Your love never fails and that Your mercies are new every morning. May I never fail to turn to You with my needs, with my love.

The Word of God

³⁹In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Inspiration

Mary, in her kindness hastens to go to her elderly cousin, knowing that she will need help in her pregnancy. Elizabeth recognises the great privilege being given to her. Today, we have the privilege of being able to speak to our God and to Mary.

Elizabeth praises Mary for her great faith in believing the message of the angel. As Jesus grew up in Mary’s home from childhood to manhood, it must have been extraordinarily difficult for her to realise that this was God. In our prayer let us ponder with Mary over this mystery of our God who became one of us and who is with us now through his Spirit within us.

Conversation

I sit quietly with my God who knows my every thought, every need and every desire, and I allow Him to minister to me in this moment. I receive whatever nourishment I need for the journey.

Conclusion

I thank God for these few moments we have spent alone together and for any insights I may have been given concerning the text.

Amen