The themes of Advent are hope, peace, joy, and love.
At St Mary Magdalene’s we are offering a contemporary reflection time on Wednesday mornings (Nov 30, Dec 7, 14, 21). We will start at 8.00 am and spend about half an hour together, sharing in a short introductory reflection, time for silence and a chant to conclude. You are welcome to join us in the church or to use the resources on this page to participate in spirit.
The words of the reflections come from Fr Philip Carter’s meditations that are published on this blog under the heading of Spirit Matters.
Peace: Praying for peace
Nobody knows what the soul is
It comes and goes
like the wind over the water-
sometimes, for days,
you don’t think of it.
Mary Oliver
Thomas Moore says we connect with the soul through our complaints. The symptoms of emptiness, meaninglessness, disillusionment, loss of values, yearning for personal fulfillment, a hunger for spirituality – all these can alert us to our soul’s true hunger. These symptoms reflect loss of soul. They tell us what we truly thirst for. Yet we can get what we want, and still not be satisfied. Soul is the spark of eternity within us – the restlessness which alone finds its rest in God.
In religious language the inner life is called “the soul”, and the art of knowing it, healing it and harmonizing its forces is called spirituality. Religion should encourage us to become more aware of this inner life and should teach us to befriend it, for it is the source of our strength and storehouse of our wisdom.
Gerard Hughes
What are the things you find life-giving, or freeing?
What sustains and nurtures you?
What or who encourages you to care for this deep part of you?
Where are you at home, accepted just as you are?
Where are you at peace, least fragmented, most yourself?
Where do you find most meaning, most hope?
Twilight, then darkness.
Night falls and candles glow.
Gently surrounding us a new birth of peace.
Watching. Waiting.
Awakening a new birth of peace.
Twilight, then darkness.
Night falls and candles glow.
Gently surrounding us a new birth of hope.
Watching. Waiting.
Awakening a new birth of hope.
A Prayer for Peace
We are moulded, each one of us,
in the image of God,
and within our souls there is a fingerprint
none can erase.
We pray for those who have no regard
for anyone but self,
who put no value on human life.
For nations and individuals who abuse and kill.
We are not called to be judge or jury,
but we are called to be agents of change,
and if the butterfly that flaps its wings
should be our attitude to others
then so be it, Lord,
and may the hurricane this generates
somewhere within the world
reach into the hearts and souls of those
for whom we pray, and reveal to them
how precious are those
for whom they have no love,
and how precious are they
who now bring tears to the eyes of God.
– John Birch
Link to follow Fr Philip Carter’s meditation Soul-scape
Collection of prayers for peace
