Presence

I bring myself into Your presence, O God.
May I always take time to notice and enjoy
the beauty You have created
for my pleasure.

Freedom

I try to let go of any prejudices and narrow-mindedness
that may be clouding my vision at this present moment.
I hand them over to God’s merciful care, so I can pray in freedom, truth and clarity.

Consciousness

When I return to my everyday tasks,
remind me, Lord,
that You are always there beside me.
I need never despair.

The Word of God

¹⁶“A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” ¹⁷Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me,’ and ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” ¹⁹Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? ²⁰Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.

Inspiration

The suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross was truly a shattering experience for his disciples. In the Jewish understanding at that time, it meant that God had abandoned Jesus and thus refuted all that Jesus had done and taught. The resurrection changed all that and transformed their mourning and their confusion into joy and the courage to go out and proclaim him. For Christians, the norm in our lives should be quiet joy and confidence in the God who loves and accompanies us on our pilgrim journey. Let us find this now in our prayer time with him.

Conversation

The gift of speech is a wonderful gift.
May I use this gift with kindness.
May I be slow to utter harsh words,
hurtful words, and words spoken in anger.

Conclusion

I thank God for His gift of love
as I go forth with joy and hope
to serve His people.

Amen