For this Sunday, April 7th, the focus for
our meditation will be on Generosity. Most people think of Generosity
as having to do with the charitable donation of goods or money. However, there are more significant ways we
can be Generous with others that have nothing to do with material
things. A few years ago, Pope Francis
called for a fasting from indifference during the Lenten season. He wrote that, “We end up being incapable of
feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain,
and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s
responsibility and not our own.” Over
time we become inured to the images of poverty, of hunger, of violence that
surround us, and they cease to move us.
As Pope Francis suggested, we come to expect someone else will step up,
and therefore there is no need for us to take action. While donations of money or belongings are
laudable, we may also want to consider how we can be Generous with those
around us in other ways. Perhaps we want
to allow ourselves to be touched by their plight and become Generous
with our feelings and compassion for others.
Imagine if more people were moved by the images seen in the media of
those in need and were spurred to action?
Another simple consideration is whether we are Generous by giving
others our time. Do we blindly rush past
others and choose to ignore because we are so busy, or can we find a way to pause
and truly focus on another individual who may need our attention? This week in our prayer and meditation time
let us ask how we may want to bring a greater spirit of Generosity that
shares much more of ourselves with others beyond mere material
possessions. Let us ask to be gently
reminded that those around us may be in need of our time and shed our indifference
by being Generous with compassionate attention.
In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy
of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation. As we perform our meditation this week let us
begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create. Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated
ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at
it. Raise this sphere of light up high
over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid,
impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country. From shore to shore and border to border let
the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve
to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who
live across its vast lands.
Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in
your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us
and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.
Ask yourself what do I feel in my body when I am able to be Generous with others by giving them the
time and attention they deserve? How does it feel in my body when I appreciate
the compassion shown by others who Generously
extend themselves to me in non-material ways? Then send the energy and
intention of those feelings to the nation.
Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express
thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.
If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share
please let me know via e-mail to kmiritello@gmail.com
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