Sunday March 16: You are Cordially Invited to Greater Consciousness

Practices 

• Rather than departing from Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter offers them hospitality. St. Benedict expresses a motivation behind hospitality in his Rule: “All guests to the monastery should be welcomed as Christ, because Christ will say, ‘I was a stranger, and you took me in.’” Inner practice: How might you offer hospitality to parts of yourself that you find difficult to ‘take in’ or like? Outer practice: How might you offer hospitality to someone you find strange or difficult to like?

• An active prayer is a short sentence that is synchronized with one’s breath and silently repeated often. Like Centering Prayer, having an active prayer is a means of staying connected to the Divine Indwelling. Like the Welcoming Prayer, having an active prayer is a means of consenting amid everyday life. Today’s psalm offers a particularly apt active prayer sentence:
  Inbreath – The Lord is my light and my salvation
  Outbreath – Of whom should I be afraid. 

• Another contemplative practice can be listening to music. You might want to sit quietly and simply listen to one selection in this mix from Anonymous Four or have it play in the background as you drive or perform household tasks.

If you wish, you may re-read the full email reflection here: https://mailchi.mp/coutreach/2025_word-of-the-week-march16

 

I sat for quite some time with the inner and outer hospitality practice questions: how might I offer hospitality to my difficult me as well as a stranger? As I sat, Mother Theresa’s words came to mind – smile. “Every time you smile at someone [or yourself], it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

Smiling extends grace and peace to myself and others. I will try and smile as much as I can. <3 linda

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