Welcoming the Holy
Here we invite you to take time for yourself in personal prayer. The following spiritual reflection offers words and images which we hope will evoke for you an experience of God.
By: Sister Donna Del Santo
Opening Prayer
Psalm 34 From Psalms for Praying © 2007 Nan C. Merrill
I will bless the Beloved at all times; a song of praise will I sing. My soul speaks to the Beloved continually; let all who suffer hear and be glad. O, open your hearts, friends, that your pain and loneliness be turned to Love; And then, we shall rejoice in the Beloved together!
When I searched for Love, the Beloved answered within my heart, and all my fears flew away. Look to the Beloved, and your emptiness will be filled, your face will radiate Love. For when you weep, the Beloved hears and comes to companion you; your burdens are eased by Love. The Beloved sends angels when you call upon these messengers for guidance and light, for their gracious inspiration, One with Love, you are never alone!
Reading
Ephesians 4:30 - 5:2
Brothers and sisters: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Reflection
In reading Paul’s letter to the people of Ephesus, I could imagine him writing the same letter to us today, the people of Rochester and beyond. He challenges them and us to not be bitter, angry, or divided as so many are. Instead, we are called to be imitators of God as God’s beloved children, to be loving and forgiving, as God is loving and forgiving. It doesn’t get any more basic than that, yet we resist and lean into those things that divide, anger and separate us, whether it’s an issue involving politics, race, gender, or… with those we know as well as with strangers.
Through the example of Jesus’ humanity, he offers us the way to grow into being one with him and others by imitating his care and compassion for others and his readiness to forgive. The way we imitate our Lord is to act “just as” he did. Jesus offered his life for us as a means to express God’s love for us, it is a clear and concrete example of how we are to live for the sake of others.
The way is simple, we need only respond to the question, Who do I to choose to imitate and follow…?
Closing Prayer
Prayer for Unity, to Overcome Division
Christ Jesus, who gave yourself for the good of all, we come before you as brothers and sisters, but we are divided and at times, even hostile--tearing one another down. We approach the altar unworthily and ask for your forgiveness.
Move us, instead, towards Encounter, listening, dialogue, reconciliation, and a commitment to build your kingdom for the good of all. Heal us, restore us, unite your divided family, Lord. Through the power of the Eucharist, overcome our divisions. Give us sincere hearts that make us open, not closed, and willing to encounter, ready to listen. In your broken body, given for all, may we find unity and peace in you. Amen.
Inspired by the reflections of Pope Benedict XVI in Sacramentum Caritatis (The Sacrament of Charity)
