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friend, Hearts on Fire Praying With the Jesuits, Jesus, loving gesture, powerful, prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome
Sometimes we think it’s necessary to find beautiful words as our prayer, searching for just the right ones to catch God’s attention. I was reminded this morning by a simple prayer in the Jesuit prayer book, Hearts on Fire, that a simple statement is just fine because God hears all our prayers that are spoken with a sincere heart. Here is what Joseph Tetlow, SJ offered this morning.
Lord Jesus, from the start you invite ordinary people to come to where you live. When they come, you welcome them and call them to labor and rejoice with you. You are the most beautiful among all [men] and I hardly believe you want me for your friend. You are powerful, Lord. Draw me more and more into your friendship and lead me along the way you took with friends. (p.82)
Come to think of it, if even this seems too much sometimes, just a bow or an opening of our hands – or your own choice of a loving gesture – would surely be enough for Christ.
We have a “full house” for this weekend’s workshop at our small retreat center (which is also our home). It’s always nice to welcome people who are familiar to us, those who come every year to get “recharged” spiritually. It’s so easy to be comfortable with people we know, isn’t it? It’s those who come for the first time that present a challenge. Of course the assumption is that if people are coming for a spiritual purpose they will be easy to assimilate into the energy of the place. Occasionally, however, we are blessed to welcome someone who is “different.” It could be personality quirks or cultural differences – anything that makes us (actually, I should say “me”) hold back until I can assess the “fit” of this new person who is not known to us. I thought of this because of opening to a prayer in a little book – a lovely gift to me – called Hearts on Fire; Praying with Jesuits that caused me to pause this morning. It began: