Author: Jonny N
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Online Spiritual Direction
Well over half the spiritual direction sessions I run are online. I’ve found platforms such as: Skype, FaceTime and Zoom (amongst others) very helpful in facilitating space for spiritual direction conversations, and enables me to connect with people across the country and around the world. Zoom is now my preferred goto options for these meetings.…
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Centering: Be Still
When we make time to rest, to pray and to meditate we can often find it difficult to simply stop. We notice an inner inertia — our thoughts, desires and activity seem to have an on going momentum. So, it is helpful to bring ourselves to pause in order for us to be able to…
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Psalm 127, a meditation (Lectionary, Lent 4)
This week as I settled into prayer I returned to the words of this Psalm. As you gaze and meditate on the words, which words stand out to you? This week it was the words “unless the Lord…” which seemed to have the most resonance for me. I allowed them to come into sync with…
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A prayer, after Psalm 29 (Lectionary, Epiphany 1)
You who carve canyons,You who brood over wild waters,We gaze on your creation in wonder.This your temple, in which we cry — Glory!Mighty and majestic; wild and untamed,Lightening and thunder have nothing on you.Yet, to what can we compare you? Give strength to your people today.To all who fast and pray, to all who sing…
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Visio Divina (baptised in gold)
I had the privilege of being able to spend some time in a couple of London’s galleries & museums this summer. Of all I saw, this sculpture particularly struck me, partly, I suspect because I was not expecting it. We stumbled upon it on the fourth floor of the V&A, tucked in the corner of…
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Songs of Lament (hold me now)
One of the many gifts of the Hebrew Scriptures are the expressions of lament which are given voice throughout. The Psalms record many of these — with cries of of “how long O Lord?”, “Why Lord?” … “when Lord?” Note these words from Psalm 6: Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal…
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Half-Day Retreat
If you find yourself with a half-day to give to quiet and reflections, yet find yourself unsure how to use this time. Please use the following resource which has some helpful suggestions for you. It maybe you just need a break, downtime and rest — in which case simply give yourself time to do that!…
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Slow work, patience and trust
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.We are quite naturally impatient in everythingto reach the end without delay.We should like to skip the intermediate stages.We are impatient of being on the way to somethingunknown, something new.And yet it is the law of all progressthat it is made by passing throughsome stages of instability—and…
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Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina is a prayerful practice of reading a meditation on scripture. It’s been used many centuries and continues to be a nourishing discipline for spiritual seekers from all traditions. The Latin name, Lectio Divina, essentially means: “sacred reading”. So often we can get into the habit of monopolising prayer with our words. Lectio reminds us:…
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Examen (a variation with postures)
I’m grateful to the author Ian Adams for bringing this version of the Ignatian Daily Examen to my attention, in his book ‘Running Over Rocks’. This practice fits particularly well at threshold moments, such as the end of a day. The five stages correlate to fives gesture, incorporating our whole self into the prayer. Open…