Gospel: (Luke 24:46-53)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.  They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.

Reflection:

Sometimes we Christians can get so caught up in the doing that we forget simply taking time to be with our God, is as important to our Christian witness, as actually doing Christian acts.  Taking care with our Sunday worship and even taking time to rest on Sunday can be acts of witnessing to Christ.  It’s a challenge to keep some balance in our lives between the demands of our everyday activities and our desire to give God homage and praise. When things get hectic, the first temptation is to skip prayer time because that seems to have the least immediate results for us.  Our deadlines and schedules don’t change, but it seems prayer time can be dispensable.  In fact, cheating on our prayer time over time can radically affect everything we do. Christian witnessing means God is our focus. (Living Liturgy, p.132)

Vincentian Meditation:

If we are to maintain vision in our lives; if we are to be men and women who worship God with our hearts, we must give attention to our prayer. To give attention to prayer means being ready to waste time, so to speak, in prayer. By wasting time in prayer means being ready to sit still in the presence of God, allowing His presence to seep into us and quietly challenge us. It is through prayer that we slowly make Jesus Christ increasingly a point of reference in our lives, for decisions great and small. (McCullen, Deep Down Things, p. 651)

Discussion: (Share your thoughts after a moment of silence)

In our Conference is prayer dispensible- or indispensible?

Closing Prayer:

Jesus was taken up in a cloud and reigns as Lord of heaven and earth and promising,

-“I am with you always, even to the end of time.”

We ask for balance in our lives between demands of service and prayer,    

-Jesus may you always be the center of our lives.

We ask for strength to continue as your faithful disciples,

-Jesus may you always be the center of our lives.

We ask for the grace “to waste time” in prayer at our Conference meetings,

-Jesus may you always be the center of our lives. Amen.