Presence

I reflect for a moment on God’s presence around me and in me.
Creator of the universe, the sun and the moon, the earth,
every molecule, every atom, everything that is:
God is in every beat of my heart. God is with me, now.

Freedom

God is not foreign to my freedom.
Instead, the Spirit breathes life into my most intimate desires,
gently nudging me towards all that is good.
I ask for the grace to let myself be enfolded by the Spirit.

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

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. ⁶⁰But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” ⁶¹They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” ⁶²Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

Inspiration

The name ‘John’ is of Hebrew origin and means ‘God is gracious’. Both Elizabeth and Zechariah recognised that God had indeed been gracious to them. Our God is continuously gracious to each of us, loving us with an everlasting love.  

In Isaiah, we read, ‘I have called you by your name, you are mine’ (Isaiah 43:1). In the garden of the resurrection, Mary of Magdala recognised Jesus when he called her by her name. Allow him now in your prayer to call you by your name and respond to his immense love for you in whatever way you wish.

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