Spiritual Batteries

Contemplating a woman's breaking of an alabaster jar of rich perfume, we try to see and to accept the vastness of Jesus' love. Once again, we try to pray about how this love needs to become more and more the reason for what we do and for what we avoid.

Jesus' encounter with Bartimaeus reveals to us many things about God and ourselves. In particular, we try now to contemplate how prayer helps us see through the fog of generalities and to clearly discern the specific actions that lead us to genuine Christian freedom.

We are very familiar with the story of the rich young man. Of the many things that God can say to us through it, today we want to try and pray about our own vocation and how commitment liberates us for the life that God lovingly invites us to live.

Today we contemplate the arc of Nicodemus appearance in St. John's Gospel. We try to see how he passes from fear to friendship and that public identification with Jesus is key to this. In doing so, we pray to become free from the pressures of other's opinion and assessment in order to be free to do what we want: become Jesus' friend.

Inspired by a reflection of Pope Francis, we contemplate the many ways in which Jesus takes the first step towards us, so that we might be free to go out of ourselves to others. We don't need to wait in the safe, and perhaps suffocating, spaces that we are already familiar with. Jesus calls us to imitate him in taking the first step.

We try to enter into St. Mark's account of Jesus blessing the children, so as to imitate their desire to have real contact with Jesus. Also, we try to pray about how receiving the Kingdom as a child means striving and struggling to live a Christian life to the full in a joyous and free way.

Continuing with the Gospel of St. Mark, we contemplate how the father of a possessed boy struggles to believe while feeling the weakness of that belief. And we try to make his words our own prayer: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief".

In this meditation, we want to accompany the apostles in seeing more clearly who Jesus is. This mysterious moment is a revelation of how unique and vital Jesus is in our lives, but we need to come to this through prayer.

We contemplate Jesus' healing of a deaf man with a speech impediment in St. Mark's Gospel. And we pray about how he is crying out in our souls - and in our day-to-day lives - "be opened!"

In this meditation we contemplate St. Mark's presentation of Jesus' multiplication of the loaves and fishes. We want to see how God wants children, not puppets, who serve him by allowing him to multiply the gifts he has given us.

Giving thanks for the Gift of Mary, our Mother by Fr. Justin Gillespie

The Centurion's faith and love for his friend by Fr. Justin Gillespie

Eucharist, Resurrection, Hope by Fr. Justin Gillespie

Contemplating Jesus with Martha and Mary by Fr. Justin Gillespie

Praying with Jesus at the pool of Bethsaida by Fr. Justin Gillespie

Determined friends bring a paralytic to Jesus by Fr. Justin Gillespie

Jesus' Enthusiasm for a Widow's Sincere Gift by Fr. Justin Gillespie

Watching Jesus Pray in Gethsemane by Fr. Justin Gillespie

Praying for the power to comprehend Jesus' Sacred Heart by Fr. Justin Gillespie

Some considerations for praying before Jesus in the Eucharist by Fr. Justin Gillespie