Daily Advent Challenge ... Share the Joy ... Prayer Time

The Christmas Woman
"Luke’s Gospel account of the Christmas event is full of activity…And yet, in the middle of the frenetic action, here is this woman wrapped in mystical silence…She demonstrates the necessity of a quiet place within ourselves at Christmastime—that place where we are most ourselves in relation to God.

"It is a place of silence, not because it is untouched by all the activity of our lives, but because it is capable of wonder. Every prayer begins with silent wonder before it turns to words. Our first response to God is dumbstruck awe at who he is and what he has done for us." ~ William Frebuger, "Making Christmas a Saving Event," Catholic Update, 12-85

"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken" (Psalm 62:1–2). 

Challenge: Find Silence! Find your prayer time to sit with God!

Centering Prayer:
Centering Prayer is a receptive method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.

Centering Prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer. Rather, it adds depth of meaning to all prayer and facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer - verbal, mental or affective prayer - into a receptive prayer of resting in God. Centering Prayer emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God and as a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Christ. 


Lectio Divina:
Lectio Divina, literally meaning "divine reading," is an ancient practice of praying the Scriptures. During Lectio Divina, the practitioner listens to the text of the Bible with the "ear of the heart," as if he or she is in conversation with God, and God is suggesting the topics for discussion. The method of Lectio Divina includes moments of reading (lectio), reflecting on (meditatio), responding to (oratio) and resting in (contemplatio) the Word of God with the aim of nourishing and deepening one's relationship with the Divine.
Source: ~ http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org

Pray the Rosary:
The word Rosary means "Crown of Roses". Each time we say a Hail Mary we are giving Our Lady a beautiful rose. So when we complete the Rosary we have made her a crown of roses. The Holy Rosary is considered a perfect prayer because within it lies the awesome story of our salvation. The Rosary is a meditative prayer. We meditate the mysteries of joy, of sorrow, of luminous and the glory of Jesus and Mary. It's a simple prayer, humble so much like Mary. It's a prayer we can all say together with Her, the Mother of God. She joins Her prayer to ours. Its a powerful prayer. In every apparition, the heavenly Mother has invited us to say the Rosary as a powerful weapon against evil, to bring us to true peace. With your prayer made together with Your heavenly Mother, you can obtain the great gift of bringing about a change of hearts and conversion. 


This Advent find your prayer time. Find your prayerful path, whatever that may be. We have the opportunity to experience an “unworldly interior peace,” which is found in Christ. It all begins by creating space and time for God to enter our lives. This is what Advent is all about, it is a season of anticipation and waiting on God. A time for focused spiritual discipline. This is our challenge! Resist the temptation to fill our lives and our hearts with worldly things. Fill your hearts with Christ, experience the most beautiful gift of all - Christ Himself, God, the Savior of the world!
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