As we begin our time in prayer between Ascension and Pentecost, we take a moment to place ourselves with the disciples at that final meeting with Jesus, inspired by his presence yet filled with trepidation at the prospect of him leaving them. We ask for the grace that we need at this time, before entering into our time of prayer with the scripture passages of the day, encountering the Lord and listening to him so that our lives may be filled with his glory and presence.
Grace
I ask for the grace to behold the glory of the Jesus who ascends to his Father, to feel how I participate in that glory so that I may grow be able to love and serve him in all things.
Scripture passages (Choose 1 for prayer)
Acts 1:1-11
Ephesians 4:1-13
Mark 16:15-20
Some questions for prayer and reflection
What does the Ascension mean to me and why should we stop looking up at the sky and start looking around?
If I put myself in the shoes of the disciples, how might I feel seeing the Lord ascending?
How are we called to go out to spread the good news?
Where have I felt the Lord’s presence in my life? How would I respond?
A little note on this ‘retreat’
The daily prayer points and reflections for the following days will look very much like today’s. A short introduction will lead into the suggested grace for the day. St Ignatius of Loyola wrote that it’s important to pray for a grace, mainly to focus our prayer and to prepare ourselves to receive what the Lord will give. Feel free to substitute this for a grace that is more suited to you at the moment. This will be followed by suggestions from scripture (or other sources), mostly following the day’s liturgy. There will be some questions to help with prayer and reflection as well. On some days, like today, I’ll add a short audio reflection to highlight a particular point or just to ramble on about something.
musings of a brush 