Category: Meditations

Daily meditations to provide inspiration

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Minute Meditation – Intention / Attention

God looks at us the way a good dad looks at his son or daughter. When it comes to prayer, our heavenly Father sees our hearts, our sincere desires to pray well, not just our final products in prayer. So even if our praying of the rosary ends up being just a bunch of scribbles, we should remember that God can write straight with our crooked lines.

He can delight in our good intentions, our sincere desires to please him in prayer, even if we lose fervor or our minds go someplace else. Having a good intention is more important than maintaining perfect attention throughout the prayer.

—from the book Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Encounter the Wonder of Heaven and Earth
by Edward Sri

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Intention/Attention | Franciscan Media

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Minute Meditation – Death is Not an Ending

Our faith has a way of answering questions and helping us understand that their deaths and those of all our loved ones are not signs of an ending, but rather a new beginning for them. The separation is only physical, though that initially is very painful. Spiritually, we are never separated from them. That’s because the God we believe in and who revealed to us the truth about life, death and life eternal never separates people who love one another. God is love. Why would he separate loving people?

They are closer than ever. We can’t see them, but they can see us. They can hear us and they still watch over us; that’s what mothers do! And our faith reminds us that there is a reunion waiting for us when we have completed our journey on earth. What a reunion that will be!

—from St. Anthony Messenger‘s “Notes from a Friar: A Mother’s Love“
by Jim Van Vurst, OFM

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Death Is Not an Ending | Franciscan Media

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Minute Meditation – God Give You Peace

St. Francis of Assisi was a medieval man to his core, yet his problems were not dissimilar to what we face today: ongoing health crises, civil instability, emotional desolation, and deep anguish. But once he stripped himself of all things worldly, Francis understood that no wound was beyond God’s ability to heal. 

In a letter Francis wrote to Brother Leo, an early friar, his salutation should be on the lips of everyone who loves those suffering in mind or spirit: “May God smile on you and be merciful to you. May God turn his regard toward you and give you peace.”

—from St. Anthony Messenger‘s “Erasing the Stigma of Mental Illness“
by Christopher Heffron

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‘God Give You Peace’ | Franciscan Media

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Minute Meditation – God Appreciates Our Prayers

Whatever struggles you may face with the rosary, never walk away feeling discouraged. If your mind wanders, if you don’t feel the fervor, or if you’re very sleepy while praying, remember that the words you are reciting are biblical and holy. Simply pulling out your beads and saying the sacred words is giving something beautiful to God, even if your heart or mind is not as into it as you’d like.

Moreover, as St. Thomas Aquinas taught, the intention to pray is itself the beginning of prayer. In fact, he wrote in his Summa Theologiae, “It is not necessary that prayer should be attentive throughout; because the force of the original intention with which one sets about praying renders the whole prayer meritorious.” If we sincerely desire to give God our best in the rosary, but we lose attention and fervor, that foundational good intention is still a beautiful gift to God. So even if our performance of the rosary is not as great as we’d like it to be, that doesn’t wipe out the foundation of a good intention.

—from the book Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Encounter the Wonder of Heaven and Earth
by Edward Sri

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God Appreciates Our Prayers | Franciscan Media

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Minute Meditation – Love Conquers Sin

It was because Christ was the perfect adorer of God, the perfect bridge between creatures and the Creator, that he could bridge the gap created by sin. Sin was not first in God’s intentions; but because we sinned, when God does come among us as Jesus Christ, his perfect adoration ends up being his perfect sacrifice.

He didn’t come to repair sin, he came to be the firstborn perfect creature; but because we sinned, he showed us just how great is God’s love: God not only becomes one of us, but he dies with and for us and made peace “through the blood of his cross.”

—from the book Nourishing Love: A Franciscan Celebration of Mary
by Murray Bodo, OFM

Love Conquers Sin | Franciscan Media

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Minute Meditation – God’s Playful Spirit

What if our relationship with God is as simple but as joyful and sweet as spending the day playing with our grandchildren? We are delighted with their every tentative move, questioning eyes, captivating smiles, out-of-left-field antics, half-blurted syllables. Before someone hauls me before the Inquisition for heretical ideas, may I offer the scenario of the third joyful mystery, the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ? The three Wise Men traveled from afar, guided by the bright star, anticipating the once-in-a-lifetime meeting with the promised Messiah.

At the end of their long and harrowing journey, there was Jesus, asleep in the manger—a beautiful, gentle, innocent baby.

Our loving God will do anything to gladden our hearts. Anything to make our day. Surely, God will happily play with us, as Christ did with his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph. Can we open our hearts, “become like children” (Mt 18:3), and allow God to play with us?

—from the blog “At Play in the Fields of the Lord“
by Ed Gamboa, MD

God’s Playful Spirit | Franciscan Media

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Minute Meditation – God Always Has Time for You

One of the most beautiful things that happens once spending time daily with the Lord becomes a habit is that your time together will often expand beyond what has been set aside. You will also come to recognize when your time together is concluded, which may even come before the clock runs out. Going away to a quiet place to pray is not about making time for God; it is about acknowledging and being grateful for the fact that God always has time for you. You do not undertake this time to prove God’s importance in your life, but rather because it is necessary for life itself.

—from the book Prayer Everywhere: The Spiritual Life Made Simple
by Fr. Gary Caster

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Minute Meditation – Train Your Soul for Peace

A beloved and treasured prayer for a century, the Peace Prayer has been ascribed to Saint Francis of Assisi though, in fact, it was probably written seven centuries after his death. In fourteen simple verses, it captures the essence of soul training. Soul training is our response to the gratuity of grace that never expires and is never exhausted. The initial training can be tedious and difficult since we are born selfish and self-centered. The centripetal force of the ego makes us not only cling to personality props that we lean on for our self-worth but also promotes fears, attachments, control issues, and a sense of entitlement that hinder our surrender to grace. As we allow grace to shape us into instruments of God, we are challenged to practice the kenotic selflessness of Jesus by living lives of selfless surrender, self-denying sacrifice, and solicitous service. This selflessness is also expressed in practical ways by sowing faith, hope, love, forgiveness, and joy while consoling, understanding, and enriching the lives of others. These practices activate the centrifugal force of the Spirit that invites us to a daily death of letting go and surrendering as we walk in the footsteps of the Lord and Divine Master. As this first death becomes second nature, we prepare ourselves for the second death that leads to the imperishable crown of eternal life.

—from the book Soul Training with the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis
by Albert Haase, OFM

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Minute Meditation – Living from Hope

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams.”—St. John XXIII

Change in our lives can be difficult. Reflect on some of the major changes in your life and what you’ve learned about yourself from them.

—From the book Guided by the Saints: A 30-Day Journal for Inspiration and Direction
by Susan Hines-Brigger

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Minute Meditation – The Grace of Forgiveness

“In God’s will, there is great peace.”—St. Josephine Bakhita 

For many years, Josephine Bakhita was a slave, but her spirit was always free, and eventually that spirit prevailed. Given what she endured, we would understand if St. Josephine had harbored anger and resentment toward those who enslaved her. She chose, however, to move beyond the hurts she had suffered and work to help others.

What are some things in your life you are holding on to that are weighing on your heart?

Take some time to ponder why you are holding on to those experiences or emotions. What are you searching for that is keeping you from moving forward? Is it peace, acceptance, forgiveness?

 —From the book Guided by the Saints: A 30-Day Journal for Inspiration and Direction 
by Susan Hines-Brigger