Marist Association Daily Prayer

Let us always remember that

we are in the holy presence of God

May God continue to live in our hearts

In the name of the Father,

Son and Holy Spirit

Amen

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN
  • Intention of the Day
  • Today's Gospel
  • Breaking Open the Word
  • Marist Source
  • Reflection
  • Meditation
  • Call to Action
  • Closing Prayer

Intention of the Day

For sincerity of Heart.
Marists at St Peter's Campus of All Saints College, Maitland, NSW.

For sincerity of Heart.
Marists at St Peter's Campus of All Saints College, Maitland, NSW.

Today's Gospel 5th Sunday of Lent.

Unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest.

John 12: 24
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John 12:20-33

21 These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, 'Sir, we should like to see Jesus.'

22 Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus.

23 Jesus replied to them: Now the hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.

24 In all truth I tell you, unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest.

25 Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

26 Whoever serves me, must follow me, and my servant will be with me wherever I am. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.

27 Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it is for this very reason that I have come to this hour.

28 Father, glorify your name! A voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it, and I will again glorify it.'

29 The crowd standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, 'It was an angel speaking to him.'

30 Jesus answered, 'It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours.

31 'Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of this world is to be driven out.

32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself.'

33 By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.

Breaking Open The Word

I was no longer a grain of wheat—but something better: a stalk of wheat.

Taken from: Give Us This Day
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Taken from: Give Us This Day

And the Stalk Said . . .

How does a grain of wheat feel as it is planted in the soil? To answer that, I imagine interviewing a stalk of wheat, for every stalk was once a grain. Here is what the stalk might say . . .

“I liked being a grain of wheat. I was proud of who I was: Golden. Smooth. Perfectly intact. But then some farmer dug a hole and tossed me into it. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked. But my question was met with silence. Then the dirt came pouring down upon me. I protested, ‘Hey! You’re burying me alive! Stop!’ But no one heard me.

“I sat in total darkness. Afraid. Then I felt something. Moisture. At first I thought, ‘Good. I won’t die of thirst.’ But soon I began to get soggy. I sensed my golden color was fading. My smooth exterior became wrinkly. My intactness was breached as I was split asunder. I whimpered, ‘I’m dying . . . This is the end of me.’

“Then something amazing happened. Out of my shriveled, broken, dying self, two shoots emerged. One began pushing upward, the other downward—both powered by a force within and beyond me. As my root went down, my shoot went up until it broke through the soil and into the brightness of the sun. I was no longer a grain of wheat—but something better: a stalk of wheat. From me would come forth many, many grains of wheat that would help feed the people of the world.”

In closing, the stalk said: “Trust the Farmer . . . Befriend silence and darkness . . . Embrace transformation . . . Willingly relinquish your intactness . . . Believe . . . For the Ending is really the Beginning.”

Sr. Melannie Svoboda. Taken from Give Us This Day.

Sr. Melannie Svoboda, a Sister of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio, writes and gives talks and retreats nationally. Her books include Everyday Epiphanies: Rediscovering the Sacred in Everything. Visit her blog “Sunflower Seeds” at www.melanniesvobodasnd.org

For sincerity of Heart.
Marists at St Peter's Campus of All Saints College, Maitland, NSW.

Marist Source

Through living the rhythm of community life, both at La Valla and then at The Hermitage, Marcellin animates and nourishes the community life by his example, giving himself to manual work and to community prayer.

# WFR 100

For sincerity of Heart.
Marists at St Peter's Campus of All Saints College, Maitland, NSW.

To Ponder

'Falls and dies'- where are you open to falling and opening to new life? Where do you resist vulnerability?

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Where has the Spirit drawn you in today's prayer?

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Closing Prayer

All Loving God

Cultivate in us a spirituality that flows out of Marian simplicity, humility and modesty.

Release in us wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement for your work in which we share.

Help us set our gaze on those people and places most in need of Christlife,

Impel us to respond together,

And lead us to be in communion with one another, and with you.

Like Mary, we listen for your invitation,

Like Mary, we set out joyfully and in haste to the hill country of the lives of young people,

Like Mary, we build communities in ways that are Christ-centred.

All Loving God, come and live in our hearts.

 

 Amen