Presence

My soul longs for Your presence, Lord. When I turn my thoughts to You, I find peace and contentment.

Freedom

Dear Lord, instil in my heart
the desire to know and love You more.
May I respond to Your will for my life.

Consciousness

Conscious of Your presence, Lord,
I look over my recent past.
Let me be honest with myself about how I’ve been
and what I’ve done,
because I know You love truth in the heart
and accept me just as I am.

The Word of God

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Inspiration

Human beings are very slow to take things in, and we are still growing in our understanding of revelation. God never stops loving all who exist, and we are called to be like our Heavenly Father. We pray for the grace to see others more and more as God sees them.

A story from the East tells us of how a tree leaves its scent even upon the axe that is cutting it down. It is not easy to forgive those who have seriously hurt us, but we have the example of Jesus Christ and the many martyrs. On the cross, Jesus prayed for his executioners, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’ Let us pray for the grace to forgive others and to recognise our own need for forgiveness.

Conversation

God came to bring life, both in Flesh and Word. What life-giving word have I received today? Or if nothing touched me, can I feel the life-giving presence of Jesus with me right now?

Conclusion

Filled with the loving presence of God,
I ask Him to bless me and guide my steps
as I go to do His work in my daily life.

Amen