Presence

Lord, You are always there
waiting for me.
May I never be too busy to
find time to spend in Your presence.

Freedom

Your death on the Cross has set me free.
I can live joyously and freely,
without fear of death.
Your mercy knows no bounds.

Consciousness

To be conscious of something is to be aware of it. Dear Lord, help me to remember that You gave me life. Thank You for the gift of life. Teach me to slow down, to be still and to enjoy the pleasures created for me, to be aware of the beauty that surrounds me: the marvel of mountains, the calmness of lakes, the fragility of a flower petal. I need to remember that all these things come from You.

The Word of God

⁵When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ⁶“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

⁷They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” ⁸And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.

⁹“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

Inspiration

Jesus foretells the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. As we approach the end of the liturgical year, we focus on the end of the world. For each of us, the end-time will be when we die and meet with Jesus to whom all judgement has been given by the Father. Let us pray for the grace to be ready for our own death-day, and that it will be a joyful meeting with the One who has become, as G. M. Hopkins put it in his poem ‘The Lantern out of Doors’, ‘our first, fast, last Friend’.

Conversation

Your own words, Lord, taught me how to pray.
The beautiful “Our Father”
contains all I would wish to say.

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