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

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

Intention of the Day

That our decisions be grounded in prayerful discernment.
Marists at Marist 180 and the young people entrusted to them.

That our decisions be grounded in prayerful discernment.
Marists at Marist 180 and the young people entrusted to them.

Today's Gospel. Thursday before Ascension Sunday.

You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

John 16: 20.
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John 16: 16-20.

16 In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again.

17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, 'What does he mean, "In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again," and, "I am going to the Father"?

18 What is this "short time"? We don't know what he means.'

19 Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said, 'You are asking one another what I meant by saying, "In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again."

20 'In all truth I tell you, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

Breaking Open The Word

Jesus prepares the disciples for his departure by asking them to wait for the Holy Spirit, who will inspire them to minister in his name.

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

The Long Good-Bye.

One year on the feast of the Ascension my sister was in labor. The question the angels ask the disciples—why look to the heavens?—inspired me to write a poem that ends: “And now the new mother, that leaky vessel, / begins to nurse her child, / beginning the long good-bye.”

Audiences gasp when I read that line, unexpectedly and perhaps uncomfortably reminded of human mortality. Women risk their lives in pregnancy, and I’ve long felt that it’s an act of unfathomable courage to give birth to a person who will one day die.

As I grow older and more of my loved ones die, I wonder if Ascension begins the “long good-bye” that God asks of us. Jesus prepares the disciples for his departure by asking them to wait for the Holy Spirit, who will inspire them to minister in his name. Until Pentecost, Jesus will keep saying that his departure is necessary, and even a good thing.

But we don’t want to hear that from our loved ones as they prepare to leave us. Even the promise—I will see you again—seems a forlorn hope in the stark fact of their absence. Yet Jesus promises that our mourning will one day become a joy as great as that of a mother who has endured great pain and now holds a beloved child in her arms. As the late poet Robert Lax said when, in his eighties, someone asked if he feared death: “We’re all brought into this life because heaven loves us, and back to that love we go.”

Kathleen Norris. Taken from Give Us This Day.

Kathleen Norris is an oblate of St. Benedict and the author of many books, including The Cloister Walk and Acedia and Me.

That our decisions be grounded in prayerful discernment.
Marists at Marist 180 and the young people entrusted to them.

Marist Source

In settings characterised by religious pluralism we respect the religious freedom of all, valuing positively the richness of God’s presence in the religious traditions of humankind…
Where this day have I encountered God’s presence, love and liberality?

# ITF 85.

That our decisions be grounded in prayerful discernment.
Marists at Marist 180 and the young people entrusted to them.

To Ponder

'But your sorrow will turn to joy.' Do I welcome change in my life as part of God's will?

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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