... from the readings of the day:
The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills,
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
The Lord is kind and merciful.
Psalm 103:3-4
The Gardener knows and loves her trees,
seeing the perfection innate in each tree ...
... the tree cherished for flowers in Spring or its canopy
in Summer, the tree valued for bright Autumn leaves,
the resting tree loved for its bare tracery of crooked
fingers black against the pale blue sky of Winter.
The Gardener knows and loves her trees,
seeing the perfection latent in each tree ...
... shaping the tree's growth, pruning with clippers
and saw to encourage new growth, but sometimes
cutting down a dead or diseased or unproductive
tree, making space for others.
The Gardener knows and loves her trees,
seeing the perfection waiting in each tree ...
... and when the tree does not fruit,
the Gardener calls for patience: tilling air
to its roots, pruning, applying water
and compost for vigour and fruit and health.
The Gardener knows and loves each tree,
dreaming always of the perfection of its Creation.
Suggestions for meditation
Always begin by offering your time to God and asking for the grace to grow closer: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time as I reach out to you, and ask that you guide me now, and each day, closer to you".
The exact words of the prayer are not important but you do need a firm intention to open yourself to God's input.
Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.
Listen for the personal message for you. There will always be one word or phrase that will reach into your heart. Think of it as the personal meaning God has for you alone!
If you would prefer a more authoritative reading to focus your meditation, try this from one of today's readings, Luke 13:6-9
Is there a word of phrase that jumps out to speak to you?
Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.
Then spend 5, or 10, or 15 minutes with your word from Jesus, or the word GOD or PRUNE.
You need a clear intention to empty your mind of random thoughts (you won't be entirely successful but you need the intention).
You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds.
After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen.
Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).
You may need a countdown clock.
At the end thank God, and return to your day.
seeing the perfection innate in each tree ...
... the tree cherished for flowers in Spring or its canopy
in Summer, the tree valued for bright Autumn leaves,
the resting tree loved for its bare tracery of crooked
fingers black against the pale blue sky of Winter.
The Gardener knows and loves her trees,
seeing the perfection latent in each tree ...
... shaping the tree's growth, pruning with clippers
and saw to encourage new growth, but sometimes
cutting down a dead or diseased or unproductive
tree, making space for others.
The Gardener knows and loves her trees,
seeing the perfection waiting in each tree ...
... and when the tree does not fruit,
the Gardener calls for patience: tilling air
to its roots, pruning, applying water
and compost for vigour and fruit and health.
The Gardener knows and loves each tree,
dreaming always of the perfection of its Creation.
Suggestions for meditation
Always begin by offering your time to God and asking for the grace to grow closer: something like "My loving God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things. I give you this time as I reach out to you, and ask that you guide me now, and each day, closer to you".
The exact words of the prayer are not important but you do need a firm intention to open yourself to God's input.
Read the mediation over slowly a couple of times.
Listen for the personal message for you. There will always be one word or phrase that will reach into your heart. Think of it as the personal meaning God has for you alone!
If you would prefer a more authoritative reading to focus your meditation, try this from one of today's readings, Luke 13:6-9
And he told them this parable:Focus on a significant word or phrase in this passage or the meditation for a few moments.
There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’
Is there a word of phrase that jumps out to speak to you?
Why? Try to put yourself into those words. Maybe imagine Jesus speaking, and reply.
Then spend 5, or 10, or 15 minutes with your word from Jesus, or the word GOD or PRUNE.
You need a clear intention to empty your mind of random thoughts (you won't be entirely successful but you need the intention).
You might want to begin the meditation using the breathing exercise I suggest in We have two minds.
After a minute or two focused on your breathing, move your focus to the word/s you have chosen.
Each time your attention moves away from the word/s, push the distraction gently aside and return to the word ("without the intervention of analytical thought" as The Cloud of Unknowing puts it).
You may need a countdown clock.
At the end thank God, and return to your day.
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