Presence

I slow myself down for a moment, and try to realise that God is present,
To me, here and now. He is present in what I do,
in the people that I meet, and the situations I find myself in daily.
I become present to the One who is always present to me.

Freedom

Heavenly Father, make me conscious of whatever burden I am carrying today and give me the grace to place it at the foot of Your Cross and so enter freely into this time of prayer.

Consciousness

Lord, You are present in all things
and when I take time to simply sit and be with You,
my mind rests
and I feel Your peace.

The Word of God

¹“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Inspiration

Jesus alone is the true gate of the sheepfold. There have been many other false prophets and false Messiahs as Jesus prophesied there would be. Through fidelity to him in our prayer and in how we live our Christian lives we come gradually to recognise his voice in our hearts. The language of God is silence and love and we have to learn how to listen to him within us. It is all about being present to his Presence with us.

Conversation

I imagine now one of the Persons of the Trinity before me, Father, Son or Holy Spirit, whoever comes to my imagination most naturally, and I have a heart-to-heart conversation about what I have just read or what I am feeling and experiencing in my life today.

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