dominicosThese exercises may serve as a pathway or “guide”, for people, individuals or married couples who wish to advance in their relationship with God and improve their life. They are a teaching of conversion.
“I will show God’s salvation to the upright”
Everything will be better.
To realize our mistakes
To invest our “talents” in the Project of God
You are the protagonist, at the centre of these exercises.
1. Four weeks without leaving off the activities of your ordinary life, maintaining your daily routine.
2. ONE HOUR OF REFLECTION, OF PRAYER, EACH DAY.
3. You will need to have a Bible during this time.
4. It is a good idea to make some notes each day.
5. For this hour you will need an adequate place, a peaceful place, a church, garden etc... The ideal would be to get up very early in the mornings every day during these 4 weeks.
6. It is very important that each one of us “finds his/her own state of prayer.
7. We are a blank sheet upon which we write our lives.
8. If God inspires you to a form of prayer that is different to that which we indicate in the “instructions”, follow that course and leave the “instructions”.
9. But do always make a note of the experience that you have.
During the four weeks:
1.- The daily hour of prayer.
2.- Fasting to some degree:
A coffee for breakfast.
A good lunch.
In the evening only fruit.
3.- Don’t forget to give alms, to give something to the needy, however little it may be.
For every day
To begin:
Physical posture. In the first nine days you will find NINE postures (the nine modes of prayer of Saint Dominic, later you will chose the form in which you feel best, more relaxed: that puts you most in contact with God.
It is important to have this experience of prayer also with the body.
To start it is good to feel that we are in the presence of God: He is here, HE LOVES ME, he looks at me tenderly.
1. Say the Lord’s Prayer slowly: better is to read it through.
2. ADORE: humility. To feel ourselves in need. We approach the throne of the Divine Mercy.
3. Give thanks for this day today: “Come Holy Spirit”. And begin the reading of EACH DAY, restfully, making the pauses that you wish. Where you feel happy, stop: REPEAT, FEEL THAT HAPPINESS AGAIN, SAVOUR IT. In a word, enjoy. And if it is like that: that is GRACE, and you don’t need to continue reading. The next day you can continue from where you think convenient. It isn’t bad to repeat, on the contrary. Where we find stream, if we are thirsty, then that is where we should stop. It is possible that if you try to live this experience with good will (and I believe it is like that) this may happen to you several times.
To finish:
WORSHIP in silence for the time that you think necessary. You may repeat the word or idea that has most appealed to you.
Give thanks for the time you have spent in His presence.
Say, slowly, an AVE MARIA to Our Lady.