"When I wake up in the morning- regardless of the temperature, whether the sun is shining or the rain is pouring- I go outside. I speak aloud to the predawn darkness or the tail end of the moon just kissing the edge of the horizon or the 9 a.m. bright sun of a sleep-in Saturday morning. I say, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.” I say it out loud because I’m groggy. I say it out loud because I’m speaking it and hearing it. And I don’t just say it once. As the cobwebs and sleepy confusion start lifting from my brain, I keep saying that phrase, accenting different syllables, placing varying degrees of importance on different words. “ This is the day that the Lord has made.” This - the one I’m in right now. Not yesterday. As much as I want to reach back and relive something or reminisce or bring back somebody who’s gone or feel what I once felt- that’s all in the past. I can’t reach it, I can’t touch it, I can’...
I have not read the Narnia books in quite some time, but recently, I came across this wonderful passage about Eustace being "undragoned." What a wonderful word- UNDRAGONED! It seems that this might be a bit of how we could describe some of the transformation work of CPE! “Well, anyway, I looked up and saw the very last thing I expected: a huge lion coming slowly towards me. And one queer thing was that there was no moon last night, but there was moonlight where the lion was. So it came nearer and nearer. I was terribly afraid of it. You may think that, being a dragon, I could have knocked any lion out easily enough. But it wasn't that kind of fear. I wasn't afraid of it eating me, I was just afraid of it - if you can understand. Well, it came close up to me and looked straight into my eyes. And I shut my eyes tight. But that wasn't any good because it told me to follow it.” “You mean it spoke?” “I don't know. Now that you mention it, I don't think it did....
In one of the essays in the book In the Shelter by Padraig O'Tuama, he reflects on his time as a chaplain at the De La Salle Pastoral Center in West Belfast where he led day long retreats for schools. He talked about a simple prayer time that he shared with the students using the gift of imagination. It usually lasted only about 4-5 minutes total. In essence, this is what he invited them to do below: Imagine yourself taking a walk in a lovely place of your own choosing. Picture the scenery in your mind with the colors, sights, and smells around you. At one point on your walk, you see a stranger coming towards you, and on closer inspection, you realize it is Jesus. He greets you by your name..... and you all engage in a conversation. Imagine what you would say and then listen for Jesus' response. He relayed a story about a teenage boy who went on one of these imaginative prayer walks and imagined himself walking thr...
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