Going Deeper in the New Year

Hanging up the January calendar is exciting! We see a NEW YEAR ahead of us, full of unknown opportunities and possibilities! It inspires us to toss aside our old, destructive attitudes and habits and start the year with new optimism and loving habits.

“I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them.’ And he who sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’” –Revelation 21:3, 5

God is with us! He wants to renew us, our relationship with Him, and our relationships with each other. He wants to take us deeper into His presence to experience His magnificent love, power, and peace! As we begin the new year, let’s resolve to do our part to deepen our relationship with God through prayer -- not by using more words but by being more mindful and receptive in our prayer time. We may do this through meditation and contemplation. Meditation is prayer that involves work done by us using imagery, reasoning, and other mental activity. Contemplation is a deeper silence initiated by God. In contemplation we’re quiet, immersed in God’s peace, and basking in His love. Though we can’t force contemplation to happen, meditation is intended to lead us to contemplation. When we meditate, we think about God and open our hearts to receive His love and grace. 

Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s Examen is a meditation designed for people of all walks of life to mindfully reflect on our day and open our hearts to God. Here’s the basic format; take as much time on each point as you wish:

* Relax your mind and body, slow your breathing, and be aware of God’s presence.

* Look back on the day; notice what you’re especially thankful for. Thank God for whatever comes to mind.

* Recall specific moments and interactions with others. What were your feelings at these times?

* Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Is there anything you would do differently next time, or anything you need to ask forgiveness for? Open your heart to a ‘gut feeling’ you may be getting from the Holy Spirit, directing you toward a specific situation.

* Look ahead to tomorrow and thank God for being with you in whatever you have planned. Know that with God there is no time, so He’s already there, blessing your tomorrow.  

Sit quietly in His presence as long as you feel moved to do so to allow for contemplation: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Thank God for loving you, and for this time with Him.

“Lord, open my heart to listen to You. Be with me; renew me; take me deeper with You.”

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Detachment and Freedom

The words that kept coming up this week were ‘detachment’ and ‘freedom.’ The former leads to the latter. Feel the freedom in this prayer:

“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,

my memory, my understanding, and my entire will,

all that I have and possess.

You have given all to me. To You, Lord, I return it.

All is Yours; dispose of it wholly according to Your will.

Give me Your love and Your grace, for this is sufficient for me.”

--Suscipe Prayer, St. Ignatius of Loyola

 In this prayer, we humbly detach ourselves from everything except God Himself: our material goods, interior blessings, and all the people we know and love. We recognize that all of it has been given to us by God; we don’t claim anything as our own. Instead, we open our hands and invite the Lord to take everything back.

We ask God to take from us anything that gets between us and Him, or gets in the way of how we love Him and each other. It encourages us to determine which habits, attitudes, and practices we need to detach ourselves from in order to make room in our hearts for His love and grace.

Offering everything back to God frees us from emotional baggage like greed, worry, and arrogance. For example, being detached from our material possessions allows us to freely share more of what we have with others. Ironically, yesterday morning I noticed that someone had stolen a flowerpot off our front porch. My heart sank: I was disappointed that I had one less flowerpot and also that someone felt the need to take it. And so I had to remind myself to stay detached: in this case, to acknowledge my disappointment, pray for the perpetrator, notice that I felt thankful that the other flowerpots and decorations were left untouched, and then give it all to God (see my blogpost, “Make Room for Flowers,” about giving up the ‘rocks’ in our hearts). Maybe I hadn’t freely offered those flowers, but later in the day I found myself thinking, “I hope they’re on someone else’s front porch, making them smile.”

I realize we’ve only scratched the surface of all the power behind this prayer. Still, let’s allow the words to sink into our souls. Let’s open our hearts and hands; let’s trust God to fill us with His love and grace and, by doing so, free ourselves to love as He loves.

“I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He set me free from all my fears.” –Psalm 34:5

 

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