Tag: reflection

Weekly Scriptutal Reflection for 05 May 2014

When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you.

When you look for me, you will find me.

Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord.

Jeremiah, Chapter 29, Verse 12-14

 
The Bible shows us many occasions when Jesus prayed. Jesus knew well the power of prayer and constantly called on his Father to give him the strength to fulfill his mission on earth. In fact, Jesus started his ministry with prayer when he was baptized by John the Baptist and he ended it with prayer at his crucifixion. The whole of Chapter 17 in the Gospel of John is a passionate and deeply moving prayer by Jesus to his Father for his followers – that includes us. If Jesus found prayer to be an important part of his relationship with his Father, and if it gave him sustenance for his life’s work, then surely we should be encouraged to follow his example.

Let us make prayer the mainstay of our relationship with God. It is through prayer that we develop and deepen that relationship. It is through prayer that we become intimate with God. It is through prayer that we learn to depend on God, to feel ourselves being held in his loving arms. As well as having dedicated quiet times for prayer let us make of our everyday lives a living prayer.

Blessings,

Margo
05 May 2014

See the video reflection that accompanies this post – Jeremiah 29:12-14

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Weekly Scriptural Reflection for 28 April 2014

Then He took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying…

“This is my body, which will be given up for you; do this in memory of me.”

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying…

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.”

Luke, Chapter 22, Verse 19

 
The Easter Triduum is so rich in ritual that I sometimes lose sight of the awesome gift of Himself that God gave us in that moment. Right there on Holy Thursday, before the unfolding events of the agony, the trial, the death and resurrection of Christ, God establishes the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. And what seemingly was offered as the appetizer, turns into the main course – literally. Christ offers Himself as our nourishment for all time. From that precise moment onward we are invited to share fully, deeply and intimately in relationship with our God. Through the Eucharist Christ becomes one with us and we with Him.

What a glorious and amazing gift!!

Richard thought it rather appropriate to share these stunning photos of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, GA as a backdrop to the reflection this week. I think they convey the sense of awe, majesty and mystery that is The Eucharist.

Blessings,

Margo
28 April 2014

See the video reflection that accompanies this post – Luke 22:19

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Weekly Scriptural Reflection for 21 April 2014

Then go quickly and tell his disciples

“He has been raised from the dead

and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him.”

Behold, I have told you.

Matthew, Chapter 28, Verse 7

 

The wording of Matthew’s description of the Resurrection is the only one of the four Gospels to indicate a sense of urgency. The angel at the tomb tells the women, “Then go quickly and tell his disciples…”. The news is important, so important that it needs to be told – quickly.

As I sat in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, FL yesterday morning for an amazingly beautiful Easter Mass rich in ritual, I could not help but feel that same sense of urgency to “tell the good news”. As the magnificent organ played the last resounding chords of the final piece of music, it was as though it was urging us to run out into the square and shout out, “Alleluia! He is risen!”.

Rereading this verse I realize that this scene sets the stage for our journey as disciples of Jesus. The angel invites the women in, then tells them to go out and tell. This is the same invitation to evangelization that we receive at the end of every Mass we attend. So let’s go out and proclaim The Word.

Blessings,

Margo
21 April 2014

See the video reflection that accompanies this post – Matthew 28:7

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Weekly Scriptural Reflection for 07 April 2014

The Lord, your God, is in your midst…

A mighty savior…

Who will rejoice over you with gladness…

And renew you in His love…

Who will sing joyfully because of you.

Zephaniah, Chapter 3, Verse 17

 

When I hear the words “rejoice” and “joyfully”, I think of colorful balloons and streamers, I hear champagne corks popping, I see happy faces and I hear laughter.

There is a sense of excitement, a completely stress-free environment. There is an air of celebration.

When I read this verse, I experience all of the above a gazillion times over. Not only is God “a mighty savior”, He “rejoices” – over me! He sings “joyfully” – because of me!!

How awesome is that!!!

Take these images into your day and you will surely feel uplifted and “renewed in His love”.

Blessings,

Margo
07 April 2014

See the video reflection that accompanies this post – Zephaniah 3:17

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Weekly Scriptural Reflection for 31 March 2014

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.

Numbers, Chapter 6, Verses 24 – 26

 

Giving a blessing to someone is one of the most beautiful and intimate gifts that we can give.  At a recent retreat, Rich and I experienced this gift first hand and, as a result, we now bless each other every morning and evening. This is why we chose the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26 to launch Spiritual Bytes – Visualizing the Spirit.  You can start off using these verses then, as you become comfortable with the blessing ritual, you might like to create your own words to make the blessing more personal for the person/s receiving it. If you are looking for some creative inspiration for your blessings, check out Max Lucado’s 31 Days of Blessing, or Jan Richardson’s In the Sanctuary of Women.

Blessings,

Margo
31 March 2014

See the video reflection that accompanies this post – Numbers 6:24-26.

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Coming Together

Welcome to Spiritual Bytes.

This project was born out of an insight and follow on discussion we had during a recent retreat we attended just before our 30th wedding anniversary last week.

The retreat leader, Sister Rose Marie Tulacz (SND), shared several videos with the retreat participants that included music and photos that she had taken over the last 20 years or so.

We decided that between the collection of digital photos we have put together over the years, the technical skills to produce simple videos plus a website, the beautiful words from scripture and insightful reflections that we could do something similar to those engaging videos we were shown during the retreat.

So last Saturday afternoon, on our back porch, we brainstormed domain names and within just a couple of minutes we came up with SpiritualBytes.com as our new site’s name and the tag Visualizing the Spirit!

The name comes from the connection of visualizing the spirit but using modern technologies to do so – thus the spelling of the word bytes instead of bites.

From there we have sketched out the humble beginnings of this website and what it will offer.

Initially there will be a scripturally based video reflection weekly, accompanied by a written reflection which will contain ideas that you may like to incorporate into your own daily spiritual activities.

It is our prayer that these short retreats into the beauty that surrounds us and the scriptures will refresh you as you continue your own spiritual journey.

Blessings,

Rich & Margo
31 March 2014

P.S. In this day and age we have also made a home for SpiritualBytes on social media so you can follow our sharing through these sites:

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