To fulfill your spiritual
mission, Jesus must be the center of your life. This can happen through prayer.
We are praying for the grace of
a holy and intimate prayer time.
Reflection Thirteen
Reflections taken from Grace-Filled
Moments
The Bouquet of Prayer
A few moments of recollection and meditation each morning in the presence of God transforms and perfumes the whole day, like flowers cast about when night comes, whose fragrance at dawn anoints everything they have touched.
Elisabeth Leseur
Dear Lord,
Just as prayer perfumes my day with Your fragrant presence, so too do I want to be an odor of sanctity in the world. I want to be a woman who carries the sweet fragrance of Your love to everyone she meets. In the quiet of the morning, draw my heart to You. Open my soul with the breath of Your Holy Spirit. Imbue me with the scent of divine life. Let my words and my actions, my thoughts and my deeds become bouquets of charity that bring healing, hope, and life. Make me a prayer that is recollected in you. Amen.
Scripture Passage for Meditation:
…thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life
(2 Corinthians 2:14-16). RSV
Daily Reflection:
· How can prayer perfume the day? How can a meditative reading of Scripture, using the method given in “The Words of My Heart”, become a pleasant fragrance for my soul?
· How does prayer make me a fragrant odor in my daily life? Consider this in light of prayer’s effects in relationships, accepting daily trials, dealing with major contradictions and pain, accomplishing the work of the day. Am I an aroma of Christ? How can I strive to be so every day?
· Elisabeth Leseur refers to two types of prayer – meditation and recollection. Consult the Appendix for a definition of both. Do I sincerely desire to make progress in the spiritual life? If I do, what steps must I take to follow through on this desire? What aspects of my daily life could be a hindrance? How can I overcome them?
