Weekly Prayer Guidelines: August 5 - 11, 2019

Called to have a heart that is integrated, free and filled with the spirit of Love

August 5 - 11, 2019

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General Theme: Care for Love
 
General Objective
To take care of God’s life and love that we carry within ourselves as there is something in our lives that steals His life and love. It is when we don’t listen to Him and live in Him.
 
Week 2 (August 5 - 11)
 
Objective for the week:
To have a heart integrated, free and filled with the Spirit of Love

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INTRODUCTION

It is our God that desires for us to be united to Him always, that is why He designed “prayer”, to be our lifeline to His heart - a lifeline that can nourish us, strengthened us, empowered us, moved us, and bring forth meaning in the day- to- day journey in life.
 
Oh, who are we that God loves us so dearly? But yet, He gives the means, the way for us to always be with Him. Through prayer, we have the means that connects us to the Heart of our God who is Love in order that our hearts can be integrated,free and filled with the Spirit of Love. It is by prayer that we encounter Him; it is by prayer that we listen to Him. It is by prayer that we dialogue with the Lover of our Soul. 

Do we want to be in the embrace of God and His guidance for always? Wherever we are, and whatever we are doing or feeling (whether we are anxious, joyful, sorrowful, cool or chill) He is always there. To be aware that He is with us is to have an awareness that His love is in us.  
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Be nourished with His love today and surely we will be able to do our part in taking care of His life and love that we carry within ourselves. Let us always examine our hearts and minds day and night through prayer.

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MONDAY
God desires to speak with us heart-to-heart

Proverbs 4:20-27
My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. 21 Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. 22 They will give life and health to anyone who understands them. 23 Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. 24 Never say anything that isn't true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words. 25 Look straight ahead with honest confidence; don't hang your head in shame. 26 Plan carefully what you do, and whatever you do will turn out right. 27 Avoid evil and walk straight ahead. Don't go one step off the right way.

God desires to lead us to the deep silence and yearning of our heart to speak to us personally, to speak straight to our heart and to always renew His Love for  us. Let us be aware of what is in our heart. Let us listen to His  words, and keep them in our hearts.
 
Are we open to the invitation of God to be in silence so that we may encounter Him? Have we realized that God is attracting us to go in prayer?

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TUESDAY
Listening well to God’s word

Luke 12: 34
34 For your heart will always be where your riches are.

The way to take good care of this love is to listen to His Words, a listening where we can recognize God’s voice; a listening with discerning and pondering heart like Mary,hoping to hear what God really is saying in every particular moment and situation.
 
In everything that happens in our day, God is telling us something, have we discern what he wants to tell you today?

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WEDNESDAY
Feed your heart with the real food

Mt.15:18
18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these are the things that make you ritually unclean.
 
Mt.12:34
34 You snakes—how can you say good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Our spiritual food is His Words that nourishes our whole being. What do we allow to enter in our hearts? Work not for perishable food, but for food that gives eternal life. Have this hunger for His Words, and not allow ourselves to be deceived by other food that poisons the heart like anger, envy, pride, lust  and greed for they are killing our life softly.
 
What are we feeding our soul with?  Is the Word of God that leads to eternal life?

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THURSDAY
Aspire for pureness of Heart

Mt.9:4
 Jesus perceived what they were thinking, and so he said, “Why are you thinking such evil things?
 
Mt.7:1-5
 “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, 2 for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others. 3 Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye? 4 How dare you say to your brother, ‘Please, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ when you have a log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Caring for Love necessitates purification, like with the heart that the psalmist expressed, “Create a clean heart for me, O God”. Though this purification process takes time and is most challenging, however, with great faith and hope, with the openness of our hearts the Word of God can penetrate to the depths of our being.
 
Do we open all that we are in front of God who sees everything in us? What do we desire to have at this moment?

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FRIDAY
A  Heart  free for our God

John 12:28
Unless the grain of wheat falls down to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

When our heart is contrite, it seeks to reunite with the source of life. When this happens, we are more peaceful and calm. We will experience serenity like we don’t feel before and our confidence is in the presence of the Lord.
 
Do we recognize that we have in a way offended God by our childish and selfish way in dealing with others? What is the invitation of God in this moment for you to do?

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SATURDAY
Offering the power of God’s love

VDMF Constitution # 54 
"Faced with the palpable reality of a divided humanity and of broken and empty hearts due to the absence of God's Love and Life, the Love of Christ urges us to present, as clearly as possible, the presence of the Kingdom of justice, love and peace; to offer this world the power of God's love in hearts that are integrated, free, and filled with the Spirit of love, and to offer the reality of brothers and sisters gathered together as One only by the love of Christ, that is, a fraternity that is simply Christian. This is the proper dynamism of our apostolic mission."

We are all  called to have a heart that is integrated, free and filled with the spirit of love. For this, we need to be nourished by His love that brings  life for you and others. To be nourished will also help  other people who are needing nourishment from the Word of God. How can you help others get the nourishment they need if we ourselves are also malnourished.
 
What is our motivation to pray? Do we pray for others too? Have we recognized that our prayer could lead others to find God in their lives?

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SUNDAY​
19th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

1st Reading Wisdom 18:6-9
Responsorial Psalm
2nd Reading Heb 11:1-2,8-19
Gospel: Luke 12:32-48