John Hunt lives in Kent, England. Through a chance encounter, he discovered the spiritual writings of Blessed Marie Therese de Soubiran and these evoked a response in his heart and soul. He writes: “I could see that here was a woman who had known great separation and loss in her own life and who, through the gift of contemplative prayer, was rewarded with the most remarkable insights. This then prompted me to start writing them down in the form of meditations.”
John has graciously given his permission to share these meditations with you, the visitors to our website.
MEDITATION
WE PREPARE TO RECEIVE AND TO GIVE
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
but musr remain part of the vine,
neither can you, unless you remain in me.
[/John 15, 4/]
MARIE – THERESE DE SOUBIRAN
In June 1879, Marie-Therese was entrusted with the job of portress of the convent. In the solitude, she was invited to savour more deeply the mystery of God, in quiet contemplation.
“The divine goodness was shown to me like an immense ocean.”
“God is the eternal source of all knowledge, of all that is good. We are merely the channel which receives a few drops from this divine spring for ourselves and for others. ”
“All that we have to do is to prepare ourselves, in humility and childlike confidence, to receive and to give to others what we have received.”
Reflection
Contemplative prayer is a gift we wait to receive. “What matters most” says the spiritual wriiter Jacques Philippe, “are the conditions that consist of certain interior attitudes or dispositions of the heart.” And he concludes, “The primary task is to make an effort to acquire, maintain and intensify these dispositions of the heart”
We are invited to prepare our hearts so that we can receive and pass on the drops of divine goodness that come to us from the infinite ocean of God’s love.
