begin my prayer by placing myself in God’s presence and becoming aware that He is gazing at me with love.

Music: “Be still” The London Fox Taizé Choir

Be still, be still

Know that I am God

Spotify link:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0sTfya4jNpp0sAmZV8i7Ka?si=7edfc2dff9a941a5

YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjNeGK0nD_o

I look at my own life story in order to discover where God was present in my life until now. My life with its good and it’s bad days, with moments of light and also moments of darkness.

And I might wish to ask:

That I have the courage to see my life as it really is with all there is to it. That I can accept my life as it has been until now. That I can see how God has been present in my life as it has so far unfolded.

Theme:

Everything has been set in motion by God’s creative power of love.

We are part of this movement which is still in progress.

What I might wish to ask for:

That I am able to discover God’s presence in creation.

That I can look at creation as something which is still taking place.

That I may have a role to play in this ongoing process of creation.

Theme:

God is looking at me with a loving gaze.

He tells me: You are precious in my eyes.

If I have not yet done so, I place myself before God who is looking at me, at all of us, with love.

Take time to find calm and silence

Adopt a suitable posture—balanced between tension and relaxation. You don't pray only with your heart, but also with your body: your head, your facial expression, your hands, your torso..

Try to place yourself in the presence of God, and ask for the grace to listen, to speak, and to let your life and being be illuminated by His presence.

place myself before God and become aware of how he is looking at me lovingly as a friend.

Prayer:

In this moment I come to You,

my God,

still and full of reverence

gratefully knowing that You know me,

completely,

that You are waiting for me

and longing for me,

as my heart longs for You….

And everything becomes still.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola developed the Spiritual Exercises to help people live happier, more loving and more fruitful lives. The Spiritual Exercises are based on Ignatius’ own personal prayer experiences and those of the people he guided. They have been used by the church for centuries to help people see the relevance of Bible texts to their own daily lives. The emphasis is on developing a deeper and highly personal relationship with the God who loves us as well as enabling us to get to know Jesus more and love Him more deeply so that we can follow Him more closely becoming the kind of Christians God wants us to be. The Ignatian meditations follow the structure and phases of the Spiritual Exercises closely over a period of 33 weeks. Normally the Spiritual Exercises are made in an abbey or monastery praying for 5 hours a day for 30 days. Many people choose to follow the exercises in daily life because this fits in better with their lives at the moment. People who commit to the Spiritual Exercises in daily life will pray (meditate) every day for 33 weeks. It is a requirement to have a Spiritual Director who is fully trained in giving the exercises and will see you every week. The spiritual director listens to your experiences during prayer, guiding you to see more clearly how God is communicating with you and helping you to enter more deeply into a personal relationship with God. The Ignatian spirituality is based on a strong conviction that God is seeking a personal relationship with every single person.