By Sister Antonella Bayer, CSJ

1. Choose an out-of-the-way room or outdoor spot where you will be alone for 15 minutes.  Morning, afternoon, or evening will do.

 2. Read one of the following thoughts from various authors.  Spend a few minutes of quiet time looking into your heart to see how the words may apply to you personally.

3. Be a person of gratitude.  Thank God for the little successes of today or yesterday. What were they?  Where did I miss opportunities to grow?

Thought for the Day

“Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration indicate that Peter, James and John had a dazzling vision of Jesus in His radiant glory and heard distinctly the voice of God.  Most of us do not have such direct encounters with God.”  Our discipleship does not require mountaintop visions or voices from clouds.  “We can sense God’s presence in the whisper of gentle breezes as well as in dramatic situations.  We can hear His voice, even in silence.”      --My Daily Visitor

Reflect:

Look for the positive in your life.  Where do you find the Holy in your place of work?  Where did you find God today at home or in the marketplace?  Am I listening?  Do I pay attention when my soul is stirred to rest or do good works?

Give thanks.

Thought for the Day

 “The Jewish Kabbalah teaches that the Holy may speak to you from its many hidden places at any time.  The world may whisper in your ear, or the spark of God in you may whisper in your heart.”      --Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., My Grandfather’s Blessings

Reflect:

Sometimes we pray amid distractions, either mental or physical, to which we readily give our attention.  Rather than praying out of duty, take a deep breath and pray with your whole soul and mind with thoughts focused on your Higher Power, the Holy, your God.  Can you find or create a time and place when you can actually be present to God?

Give thanks.

Thought for the Day

The holy ones in the community, the spiritual leaders, “were always the people with the keenest sense of humor.”
                                       --Sister Gloria Davis, reflecting on her native Navajo tradition.

“Laughter can rout out our fears…Laughter is a sound that has a universal wave length.”
                                                                      --Patricia A. Livingston, Let in the Light

 Reflect:

Where am I in seeing the incongruencies of life, the humorous situations, the “goofs” I make as part of the human condition?  Can I take or tell jokes?

Give thanks.

Thought for the Day

“We are hiding, every last one of us.  Well aware that we…are not what we are meant to be, desperately afraid of exposure, terrified of being seen for what we are and are not…we hide in our office, at the gym, behind the newspaper and mostly behind our personality.”
                                                                                         --John Eldredge, Wild at Heart

Reflect:

When I look at myself in the mirror, do I see what I put on or what I am?  What masks do I wear?

Offer your petitions to God right now. Are you willing to accept God’s answer of “I have something better for you”?   Cheerfully give thanks for who you are and for the man you hope to be, more fully alive.  Remind yourself that God is present and God listens. 

Give thanks.

Reflect:

Where am I when the women in my life need me?  Is my deepest fear that I am incompetent as a man?   Read St. Paul’s message in 2 Corinthians 3:4-6.  Confidence is possible to be the responsible leader in your family.  You can take responsibility for your relationships.  Do I love my wife, my children, my friends and family sacrificially?

Give thanks.

Thought for the Day

The world judges a man’s worth by his accomplishments.  “God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you…

To be like Jesus is to be a servant….God shaped you for service, not for self-centeredness.  Without a servant’s heart, you will be tempted to misuse your shape for personal gain.  You will also be tempted to use it as an excuse to exempt yourself from meeting some needs.  God often tests our hearts by asking us to serve in ways we’re not shaped.”
                                                                                 --Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life

Reflect:

Thought for the Day

“Your weaknesses are not an accident.  God deliberately allowed them in your life for the purpose of demonstrating His power through you…The Bible is filled with examples of how God loves to use imperfect, ordinary people to do extraordinary things in spite of their weakness. If God only used perfect people, nothing would ever get done because none of us is flawless.”
                                                                                --Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life

 Reflect:

Do I think of my weakness as a limitation rather than a flaw?  It may be physical, emotional, or intellectual.   Jesus promises: “I am with you always.”   My power shows up best in weak people” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  How can I help other people? Can I believe that my most effective ministry will come out of my deepest hurts because I am more likely to be compassionate toward the weaknesses of others?

Give thanks.