Yielding to Love

“I have betrothed you!!to myself!!in tenderness.”

“I will speak tenderly to you.!!and betroth you to myself!!in faithfulness!!and you will know me.”

Hosea 2:14, 20

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God is the Heart and the Beyond of Everything

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What is Prayer?Therese of Lisieux:

“Prayer is a surge of the heart;!a simple look turned towards God,!a cry of recognition and love,!embracing both trial and joy.”

Teresa of Avila:

“Prayer is an intimate sharing between friends …! taking time frequently to be alone!with we One who we know loves us.”!!“Look at him. He never takers his eyes off you.”

John of the Cross:!“The language God hears best is silent love.”

Jesus’ prayer

‘In the morning, while it was still very dark, !he got up and went out to a deserted place, !and there he prayed’(Mark 1:35). !!‘Jesus went out to the mountain to pray; ! and he spent the night in prayer to God’(Luke 6:12). !!‘Jesus was praying alone, !with only the disciples near him’(Luke 9:18).

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• ‘I am in the Father and you are in me and I in you’(John 14:20). !

• ‘I pray that they will be one as we are one, with me in them and you in me’(John 17:21).

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• ‘I have revealed you to them and will continue to do so, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them’(John 17:26).

Jesus gives us his heart

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“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,!!and I will give you rest. !!Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; !!for I am gentle and humble in heart, !!and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28-298

“I have come to cast fire upon the earth,!and how I wish it were blazing already.” (Luke 12:49)

‘Some day,! after harnessing space, !

the winds, !the tides !

and gravitation,!!

We shall harness for God !the energies of Love.!

!And then, !

for the second time in the history of the world, !we shall have discovered fire.’

Teilhard de Chardin

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• Experience of love is a sacred encounter!

• Being attentive to this encounter = prayer!

• Beauty of those who are caught up in the divine!

• and express their experience in art!

• especially the art of loving.

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Incarnate Word, in whom all nature lives,!Cast flame upon the earth: raise up contemplatives!Among us, men who walk within the fire!Of ceaseless prayer, impetuous desire.!Set pools of silence in this thirsty land:!Distracted men that sow their hopes in sand!Will sometimes feel an evanescent sense!Of questioning, they do not know from whence.!Prayer has an influence we cannot mark,!It works unseen like radium in the dark.!

(from A Letter to John Dryden).

James McAuley (1917-1976) on prayer

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“Dear Jesus,!Help me spread Your fragrance everywhere I go.!Flood me with Your Spirit and Life.!Penetrate and possess my being so utterly!that all my life may be only a radiance of Yours.!Shine through me and be so in me!

that every person I come in contact with ! may feel Your presence in my soul.”

John Henry Newman

Saint Dominic

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The angel (Gabriel) came to Mary and said:!“Hail, fill of grace, the Lord is with you.”!Mary, perplexed by his words, !pondered what this greeting might mean. !The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary. !You have found favour with God. !You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, !and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, !and will be called the Son of the Most High, !and the Lord God will give to him !the throne of his ancestor David. !He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, !and of his kingdom there will be no end.” !Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” !The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, !and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; !and so the child to be born will be holy. He will be called Son of God …!Nothing is impossible for God.” !!Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; !let it be with me as you have said.”

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