Lent 2022: Learning to Live With God...
"Not my will but Thy will be done"
"Not my will but Thy will be done"
Lent is a time of preparation for the Paschal mystery, when we awaken more fully to the reality of resurrection life. When we realize that God is at the center of all life, the self-denial traditionally associated with Lent becomes, ultimately, a process of self-fulfillment. Following Christ, we come to understand and experience our selfhood as intimately part of God's nature. Below, you will find material and practices offered with love by members of the Trinity community for your Lenten journey. Use the links sent in our Tuesday emails for new material, or just visit the website and browse at your pace. As we consider the overarching theme of these Lenten Meditations, we invite you to join us in using this Prayer to help you be more receptive to God's guidance in your life:
Make known to me Your ways, O Lord;
teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth,
and teach me.
~Psalm 25:4-5
teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth,
and teach me.
~Psalm 25:4-5
Meditations, Week 5
Collect and Readings, Fifth Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Link to readings: Isaiah 43:16-21, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8, Psalm 126
Collect and Readings, Fifth Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Link to readings: Isaiah 43:16-21, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8, Psalm 126
Offered by members of the Trinity Community...
Let the beauty of the art touch your heart"Red Poppies" submitted by Elizabeth Breakell
Hymn 652, Verse 1 (1982 Hymnal)“Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives they service find, in deeper reverence, praise.” Words: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) Music: “Rest” Frederick Charles Maker (1844-1927) Submitted by Ann Hubben |
Basket O'Prayers“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Psalm 23 : 1 “God is our refuge and strength.” Psalm 46 : 1 “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” 2 Samuel 22 : 33-34 “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11: 1 Practice anytime: At the back of Trinity Church you can find these small sized scriptures that will fit into your pocket or purse. So heed the Prayer Basket’s sign :
“Please feel free to take one for yourself or a friend in need.” Submitted by members of Trinity chapter of Steven Ministries & Trinity Heartstrings |
Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam
For the Greater Glory of God
This was a motto that guided Ignatius of Loyola, one of the founders of the Jesuit Order. In his book the Spiritual Exercises (1548), Loyola outlines a technique of meditation that brings the meditator into a close, personal engagement with passages of Scripture. Saint Ignatius appeals to what he describes as the three faculties of the human soul, the Imagination, the Intellect and the Will, and invites the meditator to participate actively in the events that are being contemplated.
For example, in a meditation on the events of Palm Sunday, the participants are asked to imagine, in the most vivid way possible, the biblical scene. They are to see themselves as part of the crowd waving palm fronds, they are to hear the loud shouts and acclamations of the crowd, they are to feel the sun beating down upon them, they are to smell the odors of a large city in which horses, donkeys and other animals regularly use the public streets and they are to thrill at the sight of Jesus astride a donkey as the procession slowly winds its way up into the Old City. The participants then use their Intellect to delve more deeply into what they are witnessing: they realize the strange contradiction of the scene in which the King of Kings is not riding on a magnificent stallion but on a lowly donkey. His path is strewn with palm fronds, a common and lowly tree found everywhere in the region. There is no red carpet but only the everyday garments thrown in his path by the crowd. This procession leads not to glory but to execution as a common criminal. Then comes the turn of the Will in the meditation: what has been seen in the Imagination, what has been revealed by the Intellect, should now move the Will to action: we should resolve to be obedient to the will of God no matter what the consequences, we should imitate the humility of Christ who did not seek glory, and should do everything for the greater glory of God.
“O God, teach me to be generous and to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that I am doing your will” (paraphrase of the prayer of saint Ignatius of Loyola)
Spiritual exercise: Meditate on another Gospel event (the Transfiguration, the wedding at Cana, Christ calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee for example), using the three faculties of the soul identified by Loyola: the Imagination, the Intellect and the Will and see what insights this can bring to your own meditational practice.
Submitted by Lance Donaldson-Evans
For example, in a meditation on the events of Palm Sunday, the participants are asked to imagine, in the most vivid way possible, the biblical scene. They are to see themselves as part of the crowd waving palm fronds, they are to hear the loud shouts and acclamations of the crowd, they are to feel the sun beating down upon them, they are to smell the odors of a large city in which horses, donkeys and other animals regularly use the public streets and they are to thrill at the sight of Jesus astride a donkey as the procession slowly winds its way up into the Old City. The participants then use their Intellect to delve more deeply into what they are witnessing: they realize the strange contradiction of the scene in which the King of Kings is not riding on a magnificent stallion but on a lowly donkey. His path is strewn with palm fronds, a common and lowly tree found everywhere in the region. There is no red carpet but only the everyday garments thrown in his path by the crowd. This procession leads not to glory but to execution as a common criminal. Then comes the turn of the Will in the meditation: what has been seen in the Imagination, what has been revealed by the Intellect, should now move the Will to action: we should resolve to be obedient to the will of God no matter what the consequences, we should imitate the humility of Christ who did not seek glory, and should do everything for the greater glory of God.
“O God, teach me to be generous and to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that I am doing your will” (paraphrase of the prayer of saint Ignatius of Loyola)
Spiritual exercise: Meditate on another Gospel event (the Transfiguration, the wedding at Cana, Christ calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee for example), using the three faculties of the soul identified by Loyola: the Imagination, the Intellect and the Will and see what insights this can bring to your own meditational practice.
Submitted by Lance Donaldson-Evans
Serenity Prayer"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. " Reinhold Niebuhr
I believe this prayer has helped me stay focused on God. Additionally, I have always repeated my own 3 “F”s: FAITH, FAMILY, FRIENDS. Those were the three that got me through my recovery from my aneurysm and stroke. For me, I’ve always found peace in God in nature and animals. As a lifelong pet owner (dog, cat, horse), my animals have taught me the beauty of patience and responsibility (and sense of humor!). Spending time outside with them (or with plants and flowers) has taught me that we are just a small part of something bigger. Just being in an animal’s presence or a beautiful place is sometimes religious in and of itself! Also , slowly, VERY SLOWLY as I’m learning yoga, this is helping me to connect to a quieter place in me where I can connect to God. Hope some of these ideas will help others. Submitted by Claire Larson A Meditation Micah 6:8
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A Guide for Our TimesThe Meditation:
In this troubled era, when a pandemic has reached into every corner of the world, killing and sickening millions of people; when tyrants are threatening to destabilize the world; when countries, companies and individuals are putting their economic well-being ahead of the health of the planet Earth; when entire populations are divided by strongly held beliefs, we pray to Almighty God for wisdom, humility, patience, courage, grace, compassion, generosity, and faith:
A quotation from John Baillie’s Diary of Private Prayer: Let me face what Thou dost send with the strength Thou dost supply: When Thou prosperest my undertakings, let me give heed that Thy word may prosper in my heart: When Thou callest me to go through the dark valley, let me not persuade myself that I know a way round: Let me not refuse any opportunity of service which may offer itself today, nor fall prey to any temptation that may lie in wait for me: Let not the sins of yesterday be repeated in the life of today, nor the life of today set any evil example to the life of tomorrow. The Practice: Send a note, an e-mail or a text message to a friend you’ve lost touch with, perhaps someone you know to be struggling through bad times and/or make a contribution to one of the organizations that has been set up to help the Ukrainian people. Submitted by Mary Donaldson-Evans |