Presence

Dear Lord, help me to be open to You
for this time, as I put aside the cares of the world.
Fill my thoughts with Your peace, Your love.

Freedom

Lord grant me the grace
to have freedom of spirit.
Cleanse my heart and soul
so I may live joyously in Your love.

Consciousness

Jesus, thank You for this moment where I am conscious of Your presence with me. Help me to be more and more aware of Your presence in my daily life, and in everyone I meet.

The Word of God

⁴³“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; ⁴⁴for each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

⁴⁶“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. ⁴⁸That one is like a man building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. ⁴⁹But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it quickly collapsed, and great was the ruin of that house.”

Inspiration

We can spend too much time thinking about what to do and put off deciding and putting it into practice. Jesus told us that his disciples are those who do the will of his Father.

If we build our lives on the solid foundation of our faith, we will be able to withstand the storms that come in every life. Jesus Christ, yesterday, today, the same forever, becomes the rock that anchors us and leads us on the true path.

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