• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

  • Migration
    • Statement from Passionist Leadership Regarding Current United States Immigration Policies
    • The Global Migration Crisis: What Can a Retreat Center Do?
  • Laudato Si’
    • Laudato Si’ 2023-24 Report and 2024-25 Plan
    • Ways to Live Laudato Siˊ
    • Sustainable Purchasing
      • Sustainable Purchasing Guide
      • Hints for Sustainable Meetings and Events
      • Sustainable Living Hints
    • Passion of the Earth, Wisdom of the Cross
    • Passionist Solidarity Network
    • Celebrating the Season of Creation
  • Pray
    • Daily Reflections
    • Prayer Request
    • Sunday Homily
    • Passionist Spirituality and Prayer
    • Video: Stations of the Cross
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
  • Grow
    • Proclaiming Our Passionist Story (POPS)
    • The Passionist Way
    • Retreat Centers
    • Passionist Magazine
    • Passionist Ministries
      • Preaching
      • Hispanic Ministry
      • Parish Life
      • Earth and Spirit Center
      • Education
      • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Passionist Solidarity Network
    • Journey into the Mystery of Christ Crucified
    • Celebrating the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Subscribe to E-News
    • Sacred Heart Monastery
      • History of Sacred Heart Monastery
      • A Day in the Life of Senior Passionists
      • “Pillars” of the Community
  • Join
    • Come and See Holy Week Discernment Retreat
    • Are You Being Called?
    • Province Leadership
    • Vocation Resources
    • Passionist Brothers
    • The Life of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Discerning Your Call
    • Pray With Us
    • Passionist Vocation Directors
    • World Day for Consecrated Life
    • Lay Partnerships
  • Connect
    • Find a Passionist
    • Passionist Websites
    • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Passionist Alumni Association
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Monthly Giving
      • St. Gemma Circle of Giving Intentions
    • Leave a Legacy
      • Giving Matters
      • Ways to Give
      • Donor Relations
      • Testimonials
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
    • Privacy Policy Statement
  • Learn
    • Our Passionist History: Webinar Series
    • Proclaiming Our Passionist Story (POPS)
    • Our Founder
    • History
    • The Letters of St. Paul of the Cross
    • The Diary of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Mission and Charism
    • Saints and Blesseds
    • FAQs
    • Find a Passionist
    • STUDIES IN PASSIONIST HISTORY AND SPIRITUALITY
  • Safe Environments

Daily Scripture, September 6, 2022

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Luke 6:12-19

Reflection:

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.  -Luke 6:12

Early in my life I, like most young people, caught the waves of activities all about me. Tasks to be finished, people to meet, events I did not want to miss, things I needed to buy, schedules to be filled.

Living frenetically, without self-reflection, without extended periods of silence, with rushed recognition of God’s presence, eventually led to a life of superficial experiences and minimal personal growth. And a frail relationship with God.

Under the gentle hand of a wise spiritual director, I gradually learned the satisfaction of extended prayer, but not without maximum resistance by me.

Making regular prayer a priority has, in time, shifted everything in my life.

What I thought I could not live without, I found out was false. What I thought I had to do, to achieve, to win, I found out were unnecessary efforts.

In time, I found a space of, what one spiritual guide called, “poised freedom.” It is a place, in God’s presence, where, in the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, “…in everyday life, we hold ourselves in balance before all created gifts as we have a choice and are not bound by some responsibility. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a more loving response to our life forever with God. Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and choose what better leads to God’s deepening life in me.”

This experience of letting go frees us from urgencies, wishes and idols that our morally illiterate culture dictates we must follow.

When I make sure to take time each day for silent space in God’s presence, God seems to gradually seep into my awareness, giving me the wisdom to distinguish which things are ultimately important from the things that are imprisoning. By God’s grace I, step by step, am led to God’s deepening life in me.

This closeness is no doubt what Jesus experienced spending the night alone with God on that mountain. Throughout the gospels, he models for us how to pray. It is always done away from the activities and expectations of others. He sits alone with his Father, in silence.

By pulling back each day, finding a quiet space in a church, a closed room, a park, along a wooded path, or at the shore, and just sitting in silence before God, is absolutely necessary to deepen God’s life in us.

St Francis de Sales is said to have recommended we spend at least 30 minutes a day in prayer, except on days we are very busy. Then he recommended we spend an hour in prayer, no doubt because we have more to filter through the lens of God.

Trusting God will do what is necessary to draw us closer, we have to take the first step and be available for God to do the work. Otherwise, we drift through each day feeling and thinking of the immediate, the superficial, the urgent and the inconsequential demands of daily life.

God is offering each of us a lot more out of life than we realize unless we take time to stop, listen, and let God work God’s ways within us.

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Footer

Support the Passionists

Contact the Passionists

Name

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province
660 Busse Highway | Park Ridge, IL 60068
Tel: 847.518.8844 | Toll-free: 800.295.9048 | Fax: 847.518.0461
Safe Environments | Board Member Portal | Copyright © 2025 | Log in