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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Here we go again with reflections on the Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart - we are on #24:


24.

The Society's call to contemplation,
a compelling love written in our hearts by the Spirit,
makes us seek and cherish
prolonged times of prayer.
Our relationship with Christ is nourished
by the study of Scripture, by reading,
reflection and daily examen,
all of which are necessary for the deepening
of our inner life;
this relationship is further strengthened
by periodic renewal and an annual retreat.

We are called to contemplation; it is a "compelling love written in our hearts by the Spirit" - what a beautiful way to express this aspect of our vocation; we are to be contemplatives because the Holy Spirit has intervened with His gift of "a compelling love" that makes us "seek and cherish prolonged times of prayer".

When I think of prolonged times of prayer, I am so grateful for the hour each morning that is sacred time for and with Jesus; each day begins thus and then there is time for quiet adoration before the Blessed Sacrament in the late afternoon. But I also think of my annual eight-day retreat and the great grace of having made five thirty-day retreats as well as the grace of having directed thirty-day retreats. All of these times of prayer strengthen my relationship with God. We also have other prayer throughout the day: the Eucharist, spiritual reading, daily examen, reflection and study of Scripture - all ways of nourishing our relationship with Christ.

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