The Steeple Pew
The awakenings 3
The childlike image depicts the childlike state of the soul, a soul still needing spiritual milk. I love my church, like a child holds something dear but my pew is on the steeple. I have not yet made my choice to embark on the journey, to become part of my church. At this point in my life, the Lord has called me to ministry, I have prayed and it has been confirmed in His Word. All the signs are there for me to step out in faith, but I am uncertain, and afraid I may not be doing the His Will. The Lord is gentle, and I hear these words, If you do not move my child, how can I put you into place?
How gently and how lovingly
Thou liest awake in my bosom,
Where Thou secretly dwellest alone;
And in Thy sweet breathing,
Full of grace and glory,
How tenderly Thou fillest me with Thy love.
St. John of the Cross 3
‘Come, follow me.’ Matthew 4:19a
Living Waters
The Purgative way/the beginner; the first conversion in the spiritual life
Prayer in the Spirit
Lord, I wake early these few days,
and turn and toss in a half-sleep,
straining to hear You.
Or is it You Who is calling to me in my sleep?
Memorized verses from Your Word are on my lips,
yet I strain to say them all through with difficulty.
And I wake with a frown, a yearning,
the agitated feeling of a message not completely received.
And in my prayer I yearn for You to speak to me,
to direct my steps.
And yet I know You do;
I know You are ever there beside me.
Like Thomas, I long to hear You
and to stand before You as he did;
I long so much that I feel the surge of tears
behind my eyes.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
And yet there is so much to do;
so many that You want to come to You;
so many that do not know you.
Help me to speak Your Word to them.
Show Me the way to show them that You are
the Way,
the Truth,
and the Life.
Come, Holy Spirit, come;
Come, Counselor, come;
Come, Helper, come.
Out of the heart of the believer shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:38b
They come
The Illuminative way/the proficient; the second conversion in the spiritual life
See the woman in front; she is wearing a coat of many colours. Each colour represents a gift of the Holy Spirit that the Lord has blessed her with, gifts of healing, encouragement, faith, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, gifts of alms for the poor, gifts of administration.
See the people who come; their different colours represent their particular needs. The Lord has blessed me with the gifts needed to minister to each person that He brings before me. Notice the forward movement of the people as they move towards the Lord. See the stance of each person: one is bowed down, kneeling; two are moving forward, together, hand in hand; some are leaning forward, others on their knees, some turning back to encourage others, perhaps loved ones; some are near; some are further away, seemingly out of sight.
The anointed figure in yellow gold between the woman and the people is the Lord, calling the people forward and leading them to me. It is the Lord who calls, not me; it is the Lord Who leads, not me.
When I serve as Minister of Communion, in the Healing Ministry, in Spiritual Direction, when I give a talk, or teach, or write, or, even now through this artwork, this continually is my prayer:
Let them not hear me, Lord; let them hear You.
Let them not see me, Lord; let them see You.
Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us? Luke 24:32
Comfort My People
The Unitive way/the perfect; the third conversion in the spiritual life
Here we look to the saints as examples: St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Thomas More, St. Edith Stein, Blessed Mother Teresa, St. John Paul II. We look also to each other.
Opening prayer
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my whole will,
All that I am and all that I possess You have given me:
I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will.
Give me only Your love and Your grace;
with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more. 4
Grant, O Lord that my heart may neither desire nor seek anything, but what is necessary for the fulfillment of Thy holy Will. May health or sickness, riches or poverty, honors or contempt, humiliations, leave my soul in that state of perfect detachment to which I desire to attain for Thy greater honor & Thy greater glory. 5
(pray three times Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)
Concluding prayer
O my God, teach me to be generous:
to serve You as You deserve to be served;
to give without counting the cost;
to fight without fear of being wounded;
to work without seeking rest;
and to spend myself without expecting any reward
but the knowledge that I am doing Your holy Will. 6 Amen.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola Novena Chaplet; prayers by Saint Ignatius 7
Life among the Believers
Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Acts of the Apostles: 2:43-47
2 The Three Conversions in the Spiritual Life; Formerly: The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life
From the French of Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.
Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. Rockford, Illinois 61105, 2002
3,4 The collected works of St. John of the Cross
Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D
ICS Publications, INSTITUTE OF CARMELITE STUDIES, Washington, D. C. 1973
3 Poem, The Living Flame of Love, Stanza 4; Commentary, Point 2; page 643
4,5 DRAW ME INTO YOUR FRIENDSHIP, The Spiritual Exercises
A LITERAL TRANSLATON & A CONTEMPORARY READING
David L. Fleming, S.J.
The Institute of Jesuit Sources, Saint Louis 1996
4 TAKE AND RECEIVE [234] point 4, The Literal Version, page 176
5 PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION [23] Point 5, The Literal Version, page 26
6,4 Hearts on Fire, Praying with Jesuits
Edited by Michael Harter, SJ
Loyola Press, Institute of Jesuit Sources, St. Louis, MO, 1993
6 Prayer for Generosity, attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola, page 58
4 Suscipe (Traditional) Take, Lord, Receive, by St. Ignatius of Loyola, page 153
7 Novena Chaplet of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Perhaps you might like to copy & print out for yourself the Novena prayers of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
8 The Ignatian Spirituality Centre of Montreal, Finding God in All Things