Spiritual readings – 12 December 2015

The one who loves said that the object of his love has ravished his heart, and by that very fact, this heart is no longer his, but belongs to the person he loves. The soul then knows if it loves God purely or not. By loving him in this way, the heart is no longer its own, it no longer thinks of its own pleasure or interests, but only of the glory, honour, and good pleasure of God. The more the heart is dispossessed of itself, the more it is occupied by God.

In 15 days of prayer with Saint John of the cross by Constant Tonnelier
(New City Press, 2012)

Let me not wrap, stack, box, bag, tie, tag, bundle, seal, keep Christmas. Christmas kept is liable to mould. Let me give Christmas away, unwrapped, by exuberant armfuls. Let me share, dance, live Christmas unpretentiously, merrily, responsibly with overflowing hands, tireless steps and sparkling eyes. Christmas given away will stay fresh – even until it comes again.

Linda Felver
In a book of Christmas
(The upper room, 1988)

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

Perhaps we have made worship consist of decorating the altar beautifully and, perhaps, raising the fees to be able to decorate it even better. We have become commercialised! Because of this, God is saying to us, as if he were entering Jerusalem with a whip, “You have made my house a den of thieves.”

In through the year with Oscar Romero trans. Irene B. Hodgson
(Darton, Longman & Todd, 2006)

Dear God make calm the waves in this heart, make still that storm. Be calm, my soul, that God may rest in you. God’s peace wash over you. Dear God you grant us peace, peace that the whole world cannot wash away.

Søren Kierkegaard
In a book of uncommon prayer, edited by Theo Dorgan (Penguin Ireland, 2007)