Presence

Dear Jesus, today I call on You in a special way. Mostly I come asking for favours. Today I’d like just to be in Your presence. Let my heart respond to Your Love.

Freedom

Lord, I let go of the worries, resentments and fears
that I can sometimes hold on to so tightly.
Let me open my hands and my heart to receive freely
all the gifts that I need at this time.

Consciousness

At this moment, Lord, I turn my thoughts to You.
I will leave aside my chores and preoccupations.
I will take rest and refreshment in Your presence.

The Word of God

²⁸Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news^{, 30}who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Inspiration

We can never outdo the Lord in generosity. Whatever we can give to him has already been his gift to us. The hundredfold is nothing in comparison to the gift of our God giving himself to us in love, as he wishes to do for each of us. In his Spiritual Exercises St Ignatius urges us to ponder on this always with ‘deep affection’.

Because of the gift of our free will, we can always give joy to the Lord by choosing to say yes to his will. We pray for generosity and discernment and for the grace to make good use of this gift.

Conversation

Conversation requires talking and listening.
As I talk to Jesus may I also learn to be still and listen.
I picture the gentleness in His eyes
and the smile full of love as He gazes on me.
I can be totally honest with Jesus as I tell Him of my worries and my cares.
I will open up my heart to Him as I tell Him of my fears and my doubts.
I will ask Him to help me to place myself fully in His care,
to abandon myself to Him,
knowing that He always wants what is best for me.

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