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We are praying with our fingers when we key in God's word.
The heart and the fingers are united in this action. The heart and the mind and the fingers are united in publishing the truth of God. In body soul and spirit we can pray on the internet. |
The Names Titles and Epithets of God are
Our Images of God, The address for Prayer. |
The BreviaryThe Psalms have been a source of Prayer since days of old.
In our own day they are arranged with readings from the scriptures to form The Breviary, The official liturgical prayer of the church....... sung and recited by priests and monastic religious communities all over the world. |
COMFORTER the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father and I will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, ...... JOHN 14:24 AV |
CENTERING PRAYERCentering Prayer ;- an immediate existential union with the the Triune God, as the source of the grace and virtue in our spirit. THOMAS MERTON
"I* find in my deepest self the mystery of my own origin which is the origin of all that is. In these depths I feel at one with God, I feel also at one with every person and thing that emerges from the same DIVINE origin" Fr Adrian Van Kaam To enter into centering prayer requires a recognition of our dependency on God and a surrender to God's Spirit of Love. It is an opening of our hearts to the Spirit dwelling within. It is important to relax before entering into prayer Relax,find the place, the posture, the chair end gently close the eyes. Revelation tells us of God's presence. In faith we assert to this reality. Enlightened by faith and moved by God,s grace !........we say Yes God is present and deserves our attention. Peacefully absorb God,s love. It is at the point of stillness within us where we most experience being created by a loving God who is breathing life into us. At the end of the prayer take time to come out . Sit still for a while' |
COMING CHRIST The Coming Christ
" shall come in glory" Christ will come again alleluia. Christ has died Christ is risen . Christ will come again. Consolation of IsraelThere was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. LUKE 2: 25-26 NKJV |
Charismatic PrayerCharismatic Prayer opens us to the activity and gifts of God's Spirit and to His clensing and healing action. In Charismatic Prayer there is a movement towards complete surrender to the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.. There is also the realisation that "the helper"(promised by Jesus) will stay with us for ever and will also supply us with all the spiritual gifts we need.
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parakletos lit called to one's side
the comforter or consoler and corresponds to the name "Menahem" given to the Messiah by the Hebrews Comfort is the opposite of Comfortless, desolate or fatherless. hence Consolation ;- felt presence of God Desolation ;- dryness...aridity...in prayer CounsellorFor unto us a child is born, Unto us a Son is given
and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ISAIAH 9:6 NKJV |
Christocentric PrayerWe should somehow sense that we are addressing, have acted on,
are attending to , Christ. It is the slant of St Bernard, St Francis, and St. Bonaventure. Christocentric Prayer is centered on Christ. |
I ( Jesus ) will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever------the Spirit of truth..
you know him, for He lives with you and will be in you |
PRAYER OF CHRIST'S MEMORIES It happened one morning in an 8th century Italian monastery. On waking the monks all dressed in their cells and then filed down the corridors to a central meeting room. There they sat quietly until a monk, standing at a lectern, began to read a passage from the gospel of John. He read clearly in a leisurely manner through verses 13-22 of chapter 2 . He paused for 30 or 40 seconds. Then he reread the same passage in the same clear,leisurely manner. Again, he paused for half a minute, then read the same passage a third time.
When he paused this time, some of the monks began to return to their cells in order to pray over the passage.Others waited for the fourth reading and even the fifth before they, too, left for their cells. What was happening is known as the prayer of Christ's memories. These repetitive readings saturated their imaginations with a Gospel scene of particular energy and colour. This saturation would, of course, minimise distractions, and encourage a frame of mind and heart conducive to prayer. Perhaps it would enable a monk to identify with some particular person in the Gospel episode, and even to discover the inner feelings of Christ. The mystery of the Gospel event would so take hold of the person at prayer that the past would become present through the instrument of the imagination and memory. The memory of the person at prayer would be influenced by the memory of Jesus now present to the person praying. This is how you can pray the prayer of Christ's memories: |
Covenant of the PeopleThus says God the Lord
Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it I the Lord have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand: I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people As a light to the Gentiles. To open blind eyes,........ ISAIAH 42:5-6 NKJV Hebrews 13:20 AV Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep,through the blood of the Everlasting covenant. 21 .Make you perfect in every good work to do his will |
First,from one of the Gospels,select an action passage, preferably fast -moving and colourful in detail. When you first begin this method do not attempt to pray a parable or a sermon.
Relax and settle yourself in God's presence. Asking for a particular grace that you are seeking or the particular gift you need at this time: perhaps to know Jesus more intimately, or to become more compassionate, or to be healed in a particular area of your experience etc. Read aloud the passage several times pausing half a minute or so between each reading until the gospel episode takes hold of you. Slowly read the passage once--aloud, if the circumstances allow. Then for 30 seconds or so look up from the page and let the scene sink into your imagination. Do a second oral reading. Again look up from the passage for 30 seconds or so, until these new details fit into the total scene in your imagination. In the third reading, you will see more details for the first time; also insights,questions and interpretations will begin to occur to you.Use a half-minute to let them settle into your memory. Then read a fourth or even a fifth time until almost all the distractions have disappeared, and the gospel scene totally saturates your imagination. Now place the bible aside and let the scene happen Do nothing to promote it except to stay alert to its developments. As you let yourself sink into the scene, you will tend to loose the sense of yourself and to identify with the situation. Suppose, for example, that you have read about Jesus quieting the storm on the lake. You imagine the wind howling, the boat pitching, the apostles struggling at the oars. If this identification deepens, you will find yourself in the boat, say as an oarsman, you may find yourself beside Peter or Philip. Allow yourself to take part in the scene which is now present to you. Be as passive as possible while being as alert as possible. In fact, let everyone else control the event: Jesus, the Spirit, the Father,Peter, Mary, Martha, John . You merely observe the persons; listen to their words; take part in the activity-- converse with them, accompanying them, serving them in their needs--by whatever activity you find yourself doing as part of the event that is present to you. Do not moralise or try to make applications Don,t moralize (for example, " I should be more spontaneous like Peter when I am with my friends.. ". or draw theological conclusions (for example, " Notice how the three temptations of Jesus parallel the temptations of the Israelites......") or try to make clever applications ( "It's amazing how the Pharisees are so much like the people I am working with.....") By losing yourself in the persons, words and activity of the gospel event your whole being is affected and influenced.. You won't need applications because you will notice what happens to you either in the period of reflection after your prayer or more subtly in the effects in your life as almost by osmosis you begin to put on the mind and heart of Christ. After your period of prayer comes to an end , review for a few minutes by reflecting upon what took place during your prayer. What happened to you in your experience ? What did you notice as standing out even slightly? Is there something you should return to in a later period of prayer ? Give thanks to the Lord for being with you during this time. |
CreatorFor thus saith the Lord that created [bara] the heavens;
God himself that formed [yasar] the earth and made [asah] it: he hath established [kun] it, he created [bara] it not in vain, he formed [yasar] it to be inhabited: I am the Lord: and there is none else ISAIAH 45:18 bara to create out of nothing asah to make yasar to form kun to establish I have made [asah] the earth and created [bara] man upon it. In prayer, we come before our Creator as His creature. He is the Creator We are His created. All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful,- The Lord God made them all. Cecil Frances Alexander 1818-95. |