Spiritual preparations

A prayerful reading of Scripture is a way of entering into a conversation with God, and allowing God to be the first speaker. So often our prayers are a conversation in which we are the only speakers and God does all the listening. This can be our default mode of conversation with God even during a worship service. The next time you attend a worship service pay attention to the “Prayers of Confession” or “Prayers of the People,” or even the “Proclamation of the Word,” and compare the amount of time spent we do the talking compared to the amount of time we spend listening. As you move through these 40 days of spiritual preparation for the solemn assembly, use the suggested Scripture texts as a tool for listening. Pay attention to the words and images that come to you through the text and allow yourself to feel, and then express your response to God.