December 22 Opening Prayer: Almighty God, fulfill our desire and kindle our hearts by your Spirit, that being filled with the oil of your grace, we may shine as bright lights at the coming of your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Silence (5 minutes) Hymn for Reflection: … Read More
Advent Week 3 – 2024
December 15, 16 Call to Prayer: Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death. (Psalm 68) Silence (3 minutes) Scripture for Interiorization: “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of … Read More
Advent Week 2 – 2024
December 8, 9 Call to Prayer: “Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God, the gift of just rule to the crown prince. May he judge your people rightly, be honorable to your meek and lowly.” (Psalm 72, The Message) Silence (2 minutes) Scripture for Interiorization: “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on … Read More
Advent Week 1 – 2024
December 1 and 2 Call to Prayer: “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.” (Psalm 62) Silence (1 minute) Scripture for Interiorization: “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us…” (Repeat slowly, 5 times) Prompts for Prayer Focus in on the first phrase of the … Read More
The Dawn From On High
The Lord be with you friends. If you have gotten your hands or eyes on this journal, we have arrived at the Advent season 2024. This journal is a simple guide for daily prayer. Hopefully it is rather intuitive to navigate, but here are a few thoughts to help us through over the next few weeks. We are being guided … Read More
Captivated By Christ in a Distracted Age
It is not hard to diagnose the level of distraction we face in our cultural moment. Endless feeds that scroll and scroll by, Advertisements everywhere we turn, Cultural voices saying “buy this and you’ll be happier!” “consume this and you’ll feel better!” And perhaps we’ve gotten so used to the “24 hour news cycle” that we don’t even feel its … Read More
Captivated II
When I was in college, I would occasionally take the train from Wheaton into Chicago to visit the Art Institute. I didn’t meander through the galleries in any intentional order or direction, but each time without fail, I found myself in the same grand room in the ‘Painting and Sculpture of Europe’ section, sitting on a small bench, staring up … Read More
Captivated I
St. John, in his Gospel, records John the Baptist saying of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” St. John was inviting the crowds then, and us still, to slow down, look up, pay attention, “the lamb of who takes away the sin of the world.” There is so much vying for our … Read More
Captivated Prayers
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank you that you have granted us to live in the time of your favor when we may hear your holy gospel, know your fatherly love and behold your Son, Jesus Christ! Most merciful Father, let the light of your holy Word remain with us, and govern and guide our hearts by your Holy Spirit … Read More
Captivated IV
There’s a beautiful practice that I’ve been led through – and in turn have led others through, both in larger groups and individually. It’s a type of prayer and meditation that draws on visualization, and has resulted in powerful moments of the participant being captivated by Christ. I’d encourage you to try it out – or even better, to ask … Read More