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in my love.”’

      Prayer

      Lord, expose me to your light

      that I may pray

      not just in words or phrases,

      not simply with the words of others

      more saintly than myself,

      but from my heart

      that your love may throb within me

      bursting into my life

      so that I may praise you for ever.

MONDAY, WEEK ONE

      For Reflection

      Sister Maria Boulding was a contemplative nun from the Benedictine community at Stanbrook Abbey. Her books include Marked for Life, The Coming of God and Gateway to Hope.

      Being Rooted in Christ

      By falling into his Father’s hands, falling through death into his Easter life, Jesus shows us what the Father is like, but only from the outside. He shares his own consciousness with us from within. In prayer I make the journey inwards, down to the centre of my own being. In peaceful attention I become aware of the inner unity of all that exists, of the loving energy that is at the heart of creation and of my own consciousness. By discovering my own inwardness I am in communion with all other people, with nature and beauty and the goodness of all that is. Christ, the first born of all creation, in whom and for whom all things are created, in whom they all hold together in their life and strength and beauty, dwells in the depths of my inner self. He lives in me, but he also invites me to live in him, to let go of what is mine and find my centre in him, where I am not lost but found. First born of all creation, he is also the first born from the dead; in consenting to be poor and losing my life I find it within his Easter life. He is the person in whom my personality is rooted and grows and finds fulfilment, yet he leads me onward to another. ‘He who sees me sees him who sent me.’ The Father is in him and he is in the Father; his whole being as Son is a relationship, and his human consciousness is flooded with the glory of it. He wills to share this consciousness with us, to show us the Father, that we may share with him the glory and thanksgiving, the joy and peace of the return. This communion is the Spirit, their embrace and self-giving, the love and delight of their relationship, the dance of their inner life. This torrent of God’s joy is poured into our hearts, and in Jesus we are impelled to cry out, ‘Abba’.

      We do not know all this clearly in the time of prayer. We pray in faith and in darkness, and what awareness we have of the indwelling God is global and unanalysed. But it may help us if we know that our prayer is Trinitarian independently of any clear perception of ours. Whether we use the word ‘Abba’ or some other word or no words at all we are praying as God’s children in the beloved Son, and the Spirit is shaping the authentic prayer of son-ship in us at a level we cannot directly perceive or control.

      MARKED FOR LIFE MARIA BOULDING

      Scripture Reading

      ROMANS 8:12–17

      ‘All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.’

      Prayer

      Take me into your life, Lord –

      your life of perfect love;

      take me into your love, Lord –

      your love which calls me home;

      take me into your heart, Lord –

      your heart broken for me;

      take me into your peace, Lord –

      your peace which brings me healing;

      take me into your life, Lord –

      that I may share that life,

      that love,

      that wholeness,

      that peace

      which binds together

      Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

TUESDAY, WEEK ONE

      For Reflection

      David Adam, until his retirement, was Vicar of Holy Island, where his work involved ministering to thousands of pilgrims and visitors. He has published several books of prayers composed in the Celtic pattern, including The Edge of Glory, The Cry of the Deer and The Open Gate.

      Opening Our Lives to Our God

      Intercession is not a pleading with God but rather a uniting with him; it is not about manipulating the Almighty but rather co-operating with him. Prayer does not call God down, for he is already among us, but it does transform our awareness. All intercession needs to begin with an opening of our lives to God. Before any words we should spend as much time as possible resting in and rejoicing in the presence. It is then far easier to see the people we pray for as surrounded by the love and power of God. This is why the Communion Service has us hear the Scriptures and be in silence before we speak of our needs and the needs of the world. We need to discover traces of glory in our everyday lives, and this is very possible if we are willing to spend time with our God.

      For the prayers of the church to be enriched, it demands a praying people. I believe that the best preparation for Sunday worship is to use the readings for the coming Sunday throughout the week as an inspiration for prayer and intercession. If you add to this the reading of a daily newspaper or the watching of the news, the one should influence and transform the other. Take the reading for the coming Sunday and if possible read it aloud; say the words and let them resonate in your hearing. Pick out the pieces that have extra meaning, that seem to speak to you, and repeat them a few times each day. Let the words sink into your mind: let them transform your thinking. Relate what you have read to the world around you, bring your experience to bear on your Bible reading. Use your mind, and fill your mind with these good things: from the mouth to the mind and then to the heart. Let what you read stir your affections; let it move your emotions. Learn that God in love moves towards you, for you are in the heart of God. Let God enter fully into your heart. Invite your God into the very centre of your being. From the mouth to the mind to the heart: now let it work, bring your will into action. Allow yourself to react to the word of God, let it move in and out of your hopes and fears, your concerns and plans. Let all be tinged with traces of glory. In our words, our thoughts, our affections and our deeds let there be traces of God’s presence, for as always, ‘The Lord is here’.

      TRACES OF GLORY DAVID ADAM

      Scripture Reading

      GENESIS 28:10–17

      ‘“Surely the LORD is in this place.”’

      Prayer

      Loving Father,

      your Son, Jesus Christ,

      revealed your glory

      in the ordinary things of life –

      in a carpenter’s workshop in Nazareth,

      at his baptism in Jordan, in a wedding in Cana,

      in his work of healing,

      among the disciples,

      on the mount of Transfiguration and

      in

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