Contemplative at Home

Lectio Divina with Luke 12:13-21

Thank you for choosing to pray with Contemplative at Home today!

As you listen to the text, I invite you to be present, to imagine that you’re in the scene, in a crowd of thousands, who have gathered to hear the teacher Yeshua. Perhaps you imagine that you yourself, are so frustrated with a family member that you call out to the rabbi “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!” Or perhaps you imagine that you’re you, and somehow you’ve time-travelled to first century Palestine where you are watching this scene unfold.

As you listen, be alert for how you’re stirred, for what catches your attention, for your own instinctive reactions or emotions. In the silence left between the readings, continue to be present to your own thoughts – to “notice what you’re noticing.” The silent spaces also invite you to bring all these “noticings” to God.

In the introduction I refer to Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese”.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy’s weekly newsletter “The Contemplative Window” or join our Facebook group here.

For more information and show notes please visit www.contemplativeathome.com.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com. Bell by soundslikewillem at freesound.org.

Hello Friends! We continue our series in Lectio Divina with the teachings of Jesus in Luke’s gospel.

In this 13 minute meditation you will find:

Three and a half minutes of stillingFirst Reading of Luke 11:5-8One minute of silence (opening and closing with a bell)Second reading of Luke 11:5-8Four minutes of silence (opening and closing with a bell)Closing benediction

In the silence, you are invited to release yourself into God’s presence.

You may want to use a word, as in Centering Prayer,

or you may want to allow the word or phrase which caught your attention in the reading to inform your being with God.

You may also wish to dialogue with the Lord about what is present in your mind and body.

I wonder if it would help you to decide, before you pray, which of these approaches to use in the silence.

Luke 11:5-8 is read from the NIV and the NRSV.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy’s weekly newsletter “The Contemplative Window” or join our Facebook group.

Grace and Peace

Hello Friends!

Contemplative at Home returns to Lectio Divina this week, with a slightly different format.

In this 17-minute meditation you will find

* Four minutes of stilling* Reading of Luke 10:29-37* One minute of silence (opening and closing with a bell)* Second reading of Luke 10:29-37* Four minutes of silence (opening and closing with a bell)* Closing benediction

In the silence, you are invited to release yourself into God’s presence. You may want to use a word, as in Centering Prayer, or you may want to allow the word or phrase which caught your attention in the reading to inform your being with God. You may also wish to dialogue with the Lord about what is present in your mind and body. I wonder if it would help you to decide, before you pray, which of these approaches to use in the silence.

A note on the text:The Priest and Levite in the story both represent a class of people who were born into positions of wealth and religious authority. The families of Priests, in the lineage of Aaron, had the sole right to the priesthood and high priesthood, whilst the Levites managed and controlled the temple, amongst other things. The Samaritans on the other hand descended from both Hebrew and non-Hebrew people. They had a slightly different perspective on faith and the law and were regarded as inferior by the Jews who worshipped at Jerusalem.

This is a guided audio meditation with Luke 10:29-37, the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up here for Lissy’s weekly newsletter “The Contemplative Window” or join our Facebook Community here.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.

Please note Contemplative at Home will be on a break next week! Look out for a new episode and the return of the Contemplative Window newsletter on Friday 10 September.

We conclude our month of Centering Prayer, with a 20 minute period of silence. This audio meditation will settle you into prayer with 3 minutes of stilling, followed by twenty minutes of silence and concluding with one minute of closing prayer. There is a bell at the beginning of the silence, one half way through and three bells to conclude.

This is your time and space, to gaze at the face of God, to let God see you just as you are, to share and receive deeply from the heart.

We open with a prayer called “Soul of Christ” by David L. Fleming, SJ and conclude with the prayer “My Lord and My God” by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ. Both can be found in a book entitled “Hearts on Fire, Praying with the Jesuits” from Loyola Press.

If you’re new to Centering Prayer you’ll find a useful introduction here or you may find a shorter period of silence an easier first step.

Grace and Peace friends. And every blessing.

It is a deep honour to share this space with you.

Sign up for Lissy’s weekly newsletter “The Contemplative Window”

Joining us in our daily practice of Centering Prayer in August 2021? Yes or no, do join us in our Facebook Community Group.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com. Bell chime is the recording of a church gong from SoundsLikeWillem at freesound.org.

We continue our month of Centering Prayer, extending our practice to sixteen minutes of silence. This audio meditation will settle you into prayer with 3 minutes of stilling, followed by sixteen minutes of silence and concluding with one minute of closing prayer.

The purpose of Centering Prayer is to be fully present with our attention to the Divine Presence.

It is guaranteed that your mind will be flying in a thousand different directions, despite your intention to remain present and focussed. Don’t despair! This is part of the process. The prayer is in the return from the distraction, not in the avoidance of distraction.

Settle on a word such as “Christ” “Abba” “Ruah” “peace” or a phrase such as “Here I am” “Be Still”. Repeat this word gently to bring your awareness back to God’s presence, as often as you need to.

The closing prayer is the Covenant Prayer of the Methodist Church. It’s fairly full-on. Pray as much of it as you honestly can.

Grace and Peace friends!

Sign up for Lissy’s weekly newsletter “The Contemplative Window” (currently on holidays for August!)

Joining us in our daily practice of Centering Prayer in August 2021? Yes or no, do join us in our Facebook Community Group.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.

Join us again for centering prayer, as we lengthen our time in silent attentiveness to the presence of God to 12 minutes.

The closing prayer today is the Northumbria Community’s version of St Patrick’s breastplate.

You can find it here. (This is a link to their Morning Prayer, and always includes the Breastplate. I sometimes pray through all of their office of Morning Prayer before starting Centering Prayer).

Grace and Peace friends!

Sign up for Lissy’s weekly newsletter “The Contemplative Window” (currently on holidays for August!)

Joining us in our daily practice of Centering Prayer in August 2021? Yes or no, do join us in our Facebook Community Group.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.

Take a moment before you begin to settle on your word, and then we’ll move into prayer together. This meditation includes three minutes of stilling, eight minutes of silence, and two minutes closing.

New to Centering Prayer? Check out this helpful introduction.

The closing prayer in this episode is the Suspice of St Ignatius.

GRACE AND PEACE.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy’s weekly newsletter “The Contemplative Window”

Join our Facebook Community here.

All music by Pete Hatch. Bell chime is the recording of a church gong from SoundsLikeWillem at free sound.org.

BONUS EPISODE: two in one day!

For those beginning in Centering Prayer, or short on time, this practice will help you to still into prayer, and then hold five minutes of silence.

In the silence, our intention is to remain attentively present to the Divine Presence.

A huge variety of thoughts and sensations will vie for your attention, and when you realise that your focus has drifted away, simply and gently turn yourself back to God by using a sacred word.

Contemplative.org says “This is a word or short phrase that helps you to let go of thoughts. It is a reminder of your intention to remain open to the silence. Generally sacred words fall into one of 2 categories: “God” words/phrases such as “Abba”, “Jesu, “Mary”, “Reality”, “Come Lord” or “state” words/phrases such as “love”, “peace”, “be still”. Sacred words are not used as mantras, as in constantly repeating them, but as a reminder of your intention to remain open.”

Take a moment before you begin to settle on your word, and then we’ll move into prayer together. This meditation includes three minutes of stilling, five minutes of silence, and two minutes closing.

The closing prayer is the New Zealand Anglican Lord’s Prayer.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy’s weekly newsletter “The Contemplative Window”

Join our Facebook Community here.

All music by Pete Hatch. Bell chime is the recording of a church gong from SoundsLikeWillem at free sound.org.

Today’s meditation is based on a memorable experience our family had in the Spanish Pyrenees a few years ago, walking from the tiny mountain hamlet of Tella, down well-kept trails, to discover a series of ancient stone hermitages, inhabited almost 1000 years ago by solitary men of prayer, and framed by snow capped mountains in the distance.

You might want to lie on your back (I like to put my feet on the floor and let my knees fall together… though it can be sleep-inducing!!) or sit upright for this meditation.

This is the final meditation in our ‘July Travel’ series. I hope you’ve enjoyed them!

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy’s weekly newsletter “The Contemplative Window” here.

Join our Facebook community here.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com, background noise by PLukx and Hugh Worrall on Freesound.org.

Our July ‘travels’ continue with this guided meditation, under the night sky.

In this guided meditation we will imagine ourselves lying under a clear night sky, taking in the great expanse of the stars, while a small campfire crackles nearby.

You are invited to sit or lie down, to put on headphones or not, to enjoy this on your own or with others.

The purpose of this guided meditation is to possibly encounter God in a new way. We move out of your thinking minds and into our experiential self. The mindful stilling we open with should also help you to relax and feel more centered, which again, can open us to having a meaningful encounter with God.

Is there a way in which you particularly need strength just now? My your encounter with God and your own deep stillness nourish you.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.