Category: Meditations

Daily meditations to provide inspiration

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Minute Meditation – A Wider World of Belonging

It has felt so good to know that I’m being of service to something greater than myself: that I’m giving my best to the people I care about, to the work that is mine to do in the world, to the good of the human family and creation. In other instances, I’ve been the recipient of the largesse of human kindness, or I’ve beheld the beauty of the natural world, freely given—and in it all, I’ve been pulled out of my small, cramped, ego-self into the gift of a greater, more beautiful, more blessed belonging. That’s it, really. In the end, the greatest pleasure isn’t having all our ego-needs met, but instead being drawn out of our ego into a wider world of belonging. We may work to cultivate this kind of self-transcendence, but it is always and ultimately a gift: a gift from others, from brother sun and sister moon and the rest of the created world, and in and through all of these, from the Creator and Giver of all gifts.

— from the book Making Room: Soul-Deep Satisfaction through Simple Living
Kyle Kramer

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Saint Anthony, Pray for Us

Anthony traveled tirelessly in both northern Italy and southern France—perhaps four hundred trips—choosing to enter the cities where the heretics were strongest. Yet the sermons he has left behind rarely show him taking direct issue with the heretics. Anthony preferred to present the grandeur of Christianity in positive ways. It was no good to prove people wrong. Anthony wanted to win them to the right, the healthiness of real sorrow and conversion, the wonder of reconciliation with a loving Father. The word fire recurs in descriptions of him. And though he was called the “Hammer of Heretics,” the word warmth describes him more fully.

— from the book Saint Anthony of Padua: His Life, Legends, and Devotions 
edited by Jack Wintz, OFM

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – A New Beginning in Jesus’ Heart

There has never been a time when we have needed his love more than we do right now. Families are hurting; people are lonely and confused; as the world can be a very scary place sometimes. Many are on a desperate search but they don’t know what they are searching for. Yet, just when we think we have reached our end, the story of his Heart begins anew. It is a story of hope, healing, and love. You are not alone and there is a remedy. Together we will journey to the center of his Heart where his promises are real and his message will always be: You are loved and help is on the way!

— from the book Healing Promises: The Essential Guide to the Sacred Heart
by Anne Costa

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – God’s Heart Beats for You

Our human hearts were made to love and to be loved, to give and receive love. Every beat of every heart is made possible through a God who is love. But do you know that the very heart of God also beats for you? That is what Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Apostle of the Heart of Jesus, as he revealed his enflamed heart to her: “Behold this Heart which has so loved men as to spare Itself nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, to testify to them Its love.” This revelation is what we have come to know as the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  

— from the book Healing Promises: The Essential Guide to the Sacred Heart 
by Anne Costa

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Probe for Inner Wisdom

We are told that in the beginning there was light. Ever since, all of God’s creation—plants, animals, we humans—are drawn to light. As we emerged from our mothers’ wombs and pushed our way through a dark and confining birth canal, we experienced light for the very first time. We have come to learn how light sustains us and calls us to life. We call Jesus “Light of the World,” and he invites us to be light for one another in ways of loving, caring, and serving. Without this light, ours would be a dark, fearful, oppressive journey. 

Move from contemplation to action and probe for inner wisdom. What kind of light do others see in you? Do you have enough light to see your way? How do you fill the oil in your lamp? Who needs you today to bring a bit of sunshine into their life? As you generously share your light, give thanks and praise in knowing and treasuring all that is gift. 

— from the book Eucharistic Adoration: Reflections in the Franciscan Tradition 

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Admire God’s Generous Creativity

As we look around us in the cathedral of nature, we see so much beauty—the green trees, the blooming flowers of late summer, and the flowing water of our rivers and lakes. Where did they originate? Who designed them? How did they come to be here? Have we ever looked at a blade of grass in all its simplicity? Why has one flower five petals and another ten or even twenty or more? Why do roses have thorns and pansies do not? Trees come in so many different forms. Some have needles and others have leaves. Even the bark differs from one tree to another. Red pine trees have red on their bark while white pine trees have white on their cones. Think of all the varieties of maple, oak, elm, and birch trees. The difference between trees and shrubs, the varying age of trees in the woods—all mirror the creative and generous abilities of our God.

— from the book  Eucharistic Adoration: Reflections in the Franciscan Tradition 

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Turn From Anxiety to Adoration

Now, in this time, in this space, in this Presence, is the invitation to an essential turning toward God. First, we reflect on the obstacles to overcome. Perhaps the obstacles we face are clutter or schedules, maybe they are prejudices, grudges, or judgments. When we limit any of these things, we turn our focus toward serving, loving, honoring, and adoring the Lord God. Next, the cares and anxieties that often overwhelm us, such as financial, medical, or familial concerns or conflicts, can be put aside in this prayerful, all loving Presence. As we turn these worries over to God’s care, we strive to allow our adoration to strengthen our faith, trust, hope, and compassion. 

— from the book  Eucharistic Adoration: Reflections in the Franciscan Tradition 

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Be the Jesus Presence

One of the primary Franciscan traditions is to acknowledge the presence of Jesus in our lives. Both Francis and Clare built their lives around this idea. According to the first admonition of St. Francis, the gift Jesus gave us in the Eucharist is the opportunity to expand the work of the kingdom of God to everyone. We are changed dramatically just by being in this living presence and being open to the action of our gracious God. We become instruments of God’s peace, mercy, joy, consolation, or courage. The more we celebrate the small miracles of daily life, the more we realize the very personal action of God in our daily living. The presence of Jesus among us is just that—a widespread presence among all of God’s people. We are able to embed the wonders of the presence of God within us. Each of us can and must be the “Jesus Presence” in this world of ours. 

— from the book  Eucharistic Adoration: Reflections in the Franciscan Tradition 

//Franciscan Media//