Knowing the plan

 

1.  PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I come to You seeking Your direction. My heart feels full of questions, and the path ahead looks unclear.

Lord, quiet my fears and calm my anxious thoughts. Help me to surrender my own timeline and my own desires to Your goodness.

Give me wisdom to recognize Your voice. Remove the blind spots and heavy burdens that cloud my vision.

Grant me peace for the next step. If a door must close, give me the grace to accept it. If a door must open, light the way before me.

Deepen my trust, knowing Your plans are to prosper me, give me hope, and give me a future.

In Jesus' name, Amen. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

2.  MEDITATION

https://youtu.be/H_uc-uQ3Nkc?si=qVwl5-MoJt0k_zzG

3.  SONG

https://youtu.be/g1UJBaAK1MA?si=t9cV27iBmR7Sqksw

4.  NARRATIVE

According to Franciscan priest Richard Rohr, we do not get to know God's plan in advance. He teaches that demanding certainty and needing to know where we are going stops true faith, comparing our insistence on control to blindly fumbling through a dark room instead of trusting the process. [1, 2, 3]

The Illusion of Control

The Dark Room: Rohr describes human planning like walking in a pitch-dark room, terrified of tripping, while wanting a fully illuminated pathway.
Faith vs. Certitude: We demand absolute answers and a clear map, but God asks us to let go of our need for control and simply trust.
Releasing the Ego: Needing to steer every outcome relies on human cleverness and status rather than true spiritual surrender. [1]

Embracing Unknowing

Making Friends with Mystery: Spiritual maturity means accepting "not-knowing" rather than forcing black-and-white answers onto complex realities. [1, 2, 3]
Hindsight Providence: We rarely see God's movement while we are in the middle of a struggle; it is only looking back that we recognize how we were led. [1]
Action Before Understanding: Growth requires taking small, humble steps in the dark before the full path ever becomes clear. [1]

If you'd like, we can explore:

• Specific quotes or books by Richard Rohr on surrender and the second half of life
• How contemplative practice helps manage anxiety about the future

A Tuning Fork
Friday, June 30, 2017

Contemplative prayer is like striking a tuning fork. All you can really do in the spiritual life is resonate to the true pitch, to receive the always-present message. Once you are tuned, you will receive, and it has nothing to do with worthiness or the group you belong to, but only inner resonance, a capacity for mutuality (see Matthew 7:7-11), which implies a basic humility. We must begin with the knowledge that the Sender is absolutely and always present and broadcasting; the only change is with the receiver station, you and me.

Prayer is connecting with God/Ultimate Reality. It is not an attempt to change God’s mind about us or about events. Such arrogance is what unbelievers make fun of—and often rightly so. Prayer is primarily about changing our own mind so that things like infinity, mystery, and forgiveness can resound within us. The small mind cannot see great things because the two are on different frequencies or channels. We must match our resonance to Love’s. Like knows like.

Without contemplation, the best you can do is to know by comparison, calculation, and from the limited viewpoint of “you.” Prayer knows reality in a totally different way. Instead of presenting a guarded self to the moment, prayer stops defending or promoting its ideas and feelings, and waits for, expects, and receives guidance from Another. It offers itself naked to the now, so that our inner and aroused lover can meet the Lover. Such prayer takes major surgery of heart, mind, and inner sight. Prayer is about changing you, not about changing God.

Most simply put, prayer is something that happens to you (Romans 8:26-27), much more than anything you privately do.It is an allowing of the Big Self more than an assertion of the small self. Eventually you will find yourself preferring to say, “Prayer happened, and I was there” more than “I prayed today.” All you know is that you are being led, guided, loved, used, and prayed through. You are no longer in the driver’s seat. Following this guidance you will know what is yours to do.

God stops being an object of attention like any other object in the world, and becomes at some level your own “I Am.” You start knowing through, with, and in Somebody Else. And then your little “I Am” becomes “We Are.” Afterward you know instinctively that your life is not about you, but you are about Life. “I live now not I, but Another Life lives in me,” to paraphrase Paul’s poetic words (Galatians 2:20).

This does not mean you are morally or psychologically perfect. Not at all. But you will now have the freedom to recognize your failings and to grow and love better because of them. That is the major and important difference!

Gateway to Silence:
Be still and still moving.

Reference:
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See (The Crossroad Publishing Company: 2009), 101-104.

5.  MEDITATION

https://youtu.be/Mr2LnZOkxRs?si=Rss4pjD69Asr-6Yn

6.  SHARING

7. PRAYER AND INTENTIONS

When shadows of doubt cross my heart…

With a heart full of gratitude and humility, I approach You tonight.

As Your Word in Jeremiah 29:11 assures us, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Just as You spoke these words to Jeremiah, I believe in Your beautiful plans for my life. Lord, in times of confusion and doubt, I seek Your guidance.

Help me to trust Your timing and embrace the path You’ve laid out for me.

As I face challenges, let me draw strength from You, knowing Your love surrounds me.

Thank You for being a God who listens to my prayers.

Deepen my faith, allowing me to anchor myself in Your promises, for Your faithfulness knows no bounds.

As I journey through life, may I radiate Your love and light to those around me, reflecting Your grace in all I do.

I offer up this prayer,

Amen.

Originally published at http://4foldlove.wordpress.com on August 19, 2023.

8. SONG

https://youtu.be/nMhxbeXq1I0?si=bjw_qRhGsPiMtPJ4

Compassion

 

1.  PRAYER

Lord, as we step into this day, soften our hearts. Help us to see people the way You see them, not through judgment or frustration, but through compassion and understanding. Teach us to listen more than we speak, to love when it’s uncomfortable, and to show grace even when it costs us something.

Your Word reminds us, “Be kind and compassionate to one another” (Ephesians 4:32). Let that truth guide our actions today. Help us remember that every soul we encounter is fighting a battle we may never know. Make our empathy a reflection of Your love, our patience a sign of Your strength, and our mercy a doorway to healing.

Use us today to stand with the hurting, lift the weary, and love like family.

In Jesus’ name, Amen. 🙏

2. MEDITATION

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHkXvPq2pQE

3.  SONG

https://youtu.be/Kgue6aVSUsU

4.  NARRATIVE

Franciscan priest Richard Rohr teaches that true compassion is the natural fruit of contemplation. Rather than a feeling we force, genuine compassion arises when silent presence loosens our ego, bridges superficial divisions, and connects us to the shared suffering and divine unity of all humanity. [1, 2, 3]

Contemplation as the Root

Dropping the ego: Contemplative practice helps quiet the mind's constant commentary and need for control.
Unitive consciousness: Moving past dualistic "us vs. them" thinking lets us see others with divine mercy rather than harsh judgment.
Shared brokenness: Sitting with our own inner poverty opens our hearts to the outer pain of the world.[1, 2, 3, 4]

Action and Solidarity

Moving past outrage: Untransformed anger hardens into bitterness, but processed grief and silence transform into active, sacrificial love. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The Jesus model: Jesus prioritized physical healing, feeding the hungry, and radical kindness over rigid religious conformity. [1, 2]
Common-sense care: Compassion means refusing to pass by on the other side of the road; it demands practical, everyday solidarity with the vulnerable. [1, 2]

Contemplation: A Path to Compassion

Friday, March 28, 2025

Father Richard reminds us that regular contemplative practice is not an end in and of itself, but for the sake of solidarity with the suffering of the world:   

One of the main works of contemplation is detaching from the ego, from the self, from impure motivations of success or power, money or control. That will never stop, but it isn’t really that meaningful unless that detachment is accompanied by an attachment.  What do we find after all the months and years we’ve been practicing some form of contemplation or meditation? Do we have an increased attachment, sympathy, empathy, and compassion for what I call in The Tears of Things the suffering of the world? For the women of Gaza, the children of Ukraine, the starving people of Africa, the poorest of the poor, and all those marginalized in the United States and around the world? If the emptiness of “letting go” is not pretty soon filled up by “holding on” to some kind of deep solidarity with the suffering of the world, I don’t know that it’s Christian contemplation or even meaningful contemplation at all. It seems we’re simply back into private spirituality again.   

We’ve spent much of our history of contemplation seeking individually pure motivation. That’s a real temptation, but are we really going to spend the years ahead seeking only to be motivated to love Jesus on some private level? What does it even mean to love Jesus? What is the positive act of love? When we are in silent meditation or prayer, that’s what we’re praying is growing inside of us. As we let go of false motivations, and false, ego-based concerns, we’ve got to pray, hope, and desire for an increase in compassion, in caring, in solidarity with human suffering.   

I believe that’s what the cross means. The raised arms of Jesus are an act of solidarity and compassion with the human situation. So, as we sit in silence this morning and every morning, let’s pray that’s what we’re praying for: an increase in compassion by letting go of false purity codes and agendas, which we think make us holy or worthy of God’s love. It doesn’t matter if we have perfect motivation or a perfect practice. What is motivating us? Instead of perfection, let’s look for growth. Ultimately, we only see that growth over time as we grow in communion with those who suffer, grow in solidarity with human and beyond-human pain, and with the tears of things.  

Reference:  
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Morning Sit, December 9, 2024. Unpublished teaching.    

Contemplation and the Ego

How does your own ego react when you encounter someone who disagrees with you or causes frustration?
In what ways can a regular quiet practice help you let go of the need to control or judge others?
How does detaching from personal success or status open a door to caring for people around you? [1, 2, 3]

Mirrored Suffering and Empathy

When have you noticed a connection between healing your own personal pain and feeling deep sympathy for someone else's struggles?
Why is it difficult to sit with our own "broken absurdity" rather than projecting anger outward onto others?
How does recognizing our shared human flaws change the way we approach community conflicts? [1, 2]

Action and Solidarity

What is the difference between offering superficial help and truly sharing in the suffering of your neighbors?
How can a group or community move past internal divisions to create an open culture of healing and inclusion?
In a world full of outrage, how do we balance the impulse to fight back with the call to practice non-violent, compassionate presence? [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

5.  MEDITATION

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr0pmaF6g98

6.  SHARING

7.  PRAYER AND INTENTIONS

Gracious and compassionate Lord, how blessed is your love over my life? How all-encompassing it is. How transformative! I thank you for your love for me, which frees me from the need to work my way to you. I thank you, and your grace testifies that your presence in my life is a gift to be embraced, not an award that I need to earn. Lord Jesus Christ, when tempted to be self-critical for my failings and setbacks, help me live in light of your incarnation. Help me remember that as you entered the fullness of human life, so too do you embrace the fullness of my humanity. You are one who sympathizes with all my weaknesses and is available to me in all my struggles. Lord, allow me to extend compassion on myself – a compassion rooted in your loving care. Please help me to turn away from the voice of self-doubt, self-recrimination, and self-condemnation. And when these voices rise within me, may your words of compassionate grace speak more loudly in my heart. I turn to you and choose to live as your beloved child. Amen.

8. Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I74SwvKMEIk