Contemplative at Home

This meditation introduces Breath Prayer, an approach to contemplative prayer that we've not explored on the podcast before. In breath prayer we take a short phrase, in this case "I wait for the Lord" and hold it gently in our minds with the breath - silently saying "I wait" on the inhale and "for the Lord" on the exhale. Waiting on God is of course a strong theme throughout the Old and New Testam...

In this guided meditation, or imaginative contemplation, you are invited to join Cleopas and Simeon as they walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus, encountering a man on the road who has some remarkable things to say. The meditation is based closely on Luke 24:13-33. Cleopas is named in the text, and Simeon is held by the Franciscan tradition as the second person in the story. It might be that Cleopas was...

In this guided meditation, we are with Mary at the tomb, in the early hours of the third day. She has come to anoint the body, but is distressed to find the it absent.   We continue our series on the theme of transition, in-between times, liminal spaces. Blogger Dinah Overlien (https://dinahoverlien.com) commented: "I've always imagined liminal space to be like a trapeze artist who has let go of o...

I invite you to travel in your imagination to the upper room where Judas has just slipped away to a devious meeting with the high priests. These are Jesus' final moments with his closest friends, change is afoot, and everything is turbulent, insecure. We are in Eastertide now, which is so very hopeful, and yet a time of change, disregulation, transition. I've been thinking about transitions this w...

Hey Friends -- Another invitation to journey to the room where it happened, in your imagination. This time we pray with the friend lowered through the roof (Luke 5:17-26) and I will say that I nearly skipped this story, but I'm so glad I didn't! This approach made it completely new for me in several ways. I hope the same happens for you, and I hope that praying here nourishes you for the road. Eve...

In today's meditation we pray with Luke 5:12-16 (NIV & NRSV mix), which tells of an encounter between Jesus and a man suffering with leprosy.   This man with leprosy   (and Jesus) lived in a culture,   which observed a law,   which decreed   regarding diseases affecting the skin   (ie leprosy):   Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower...

This episode was originally published in February 2021 under the title "Imaginative Contemplation - Fishermen Called as Disciples" and has been slightly edited for re-release today. Join us as we continue our imaginative journey through encounters with Jesus in Luke's gospel. In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus is teaching by the sea when some fishermen, who have been out all night but caught nothing, coming in...

A 7-minute meditation on the love of God using a smattering of verses from the Psalms and prophets. This one is for moments when you need grounding, centering, comfort or peace. You are loved with an everlasting love. Verses include Jeremiah 31:3, Psalm 86:15, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 36:7 (various translations). Grace and peace. Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow d...

In this imaginative contemplation based on Luke 4:31-42, we spend a day with Jesus in Capernum. As always, if at any time during this guided meditation you don't feel safe, do come away from it. Wherever prayer takes you over the next 20 minutes, may you be blessed and enriched... Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born...

In this imaginative contemplation, we are with Jesus as he preaches in the synagogue in Nazareth. I find these images (and these preview clips ) helpful for conjuring the scene in my imagination. I wonder if it would help you to look at them before you go into prayer. We use the prayer of Brother Lawrence in our opening sequence: "Here we are Lord, all devoted to you. Make us according to your hea...

I mean I never imagined that a guided meditation on the great line of Jesus' ancestors was plausible, but here we are. It has been given to me by spark of inspiration, and I pass it on to you. My sincere apologies for the sure mispronunciations scattered throughout. I hope, however, that you won't be distracted by the names which may sound unusual to English-speaking ears. Instead I invite you to...

Do you know any twelve year old boys? If so you might call to mind their general stage of development, their physicality, their spiritual and intellectual capacity, their general energy. We'll be engaging with a 12 year old Jesus in this meditation. You're invited to join his community in your imagination as they travel to Jerusalem for the passover, and to engage with Jesus and his parents as he...

A meditation to play with the text of Luke 2:22-39 - the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple - using mindfulness, grounding techniques, lectio dvina and imaginative contemplation. My desire is always that you will be offered space to pause, to reconnect with yourself and to be nourshed by an encounter God. This episode was recorded 'on location' in my prayer room... which was delightful...

A meditation for the new year, for new beginnings, for a fresh start. Exodus 33:14-15 The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here." Moses, who now 'sees God face to face', ie is deeply attuned to Divine Presence, is wrestling with God about the way to lead his people out of th...

Christmas Greetings, dear ones! This is a meditation with Luke 2:1-21, the account of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, with the manger, no room at the inn, the shepherds and the angels. These words are almost unhelpfully familiar, and I invite you to stay with your breath, to stay in your deep open-hearted self as you listen, that you might hear something new, something fresh, perhaps even somethi...

We continue our meditations in Luke 1, this week looking at Mary's song of praise and thanksgiving: that God has regard for the lowly, the humble. The invitation here is always to come out of your thinking-assessing mind, and into your intuitive-deep-knowing self as you hear the text in this format. I felt moved to literally move my body in response to the text this week, to find a physical expres...

A Lectio Divina meditation with Luke 1:39-45: Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth after the visit from the angel. For more Advent meditations, please visit this page   Advent blessings! Lissy Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divin...

A Lectio Divina meditation with the Annunciation, Luke 1:26-38. Advent blessings, all. Lissy Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina. For further Advent mediations visit http://contemplativeathome.com/advent-and-christmas/ Sign...

"You prepare a table before me... my cup overflows" -Psalm 23 In this guided meditation you are invited to imagine the whole of your life spread out before you, as a great feast laid on a table, to call to mind the gifts and nourishment which are poured out for your encouragement and sustenance each day. May it be a blessing to you in this season of feasting and gratitude. And thank you, for your...

In this meditation we loosely follow our theme of hospitality in its guise of presence: being present with time, attention, love and care. Psalm 139 intersperses "his steadfast love endures forever" into every single line of the song, meditating on the presence of Divine love in and over and through all of life. Every blessing as you pray. Sign up for our Advent Retreat, 27 November 2021 here: htt...

We continue our exploration of hospitality as we pray a Lectio Divina with Genesis 18:1-14, when Abraham is visited by the three guests who are mysteriously "the LORD." As you listen to the text I invite you to be alert to the generosity and grace which is offered by both parties in this exchange. I wonder what will stir in you as you pray with this foundational text to all the Abrahamic faiths? G...

This audio meditation with Luke 15 offers an imaginative contemplation with the older brother of the prodigal son, inviting you to enter the story from another perspective and find safe space to express your anger, dissapointment, self-righteousness, frustration. "My son," the father said, "You are always with me, and everything I have is yours" Every blessing as you pray. 0:00 Intro and Stilling...

In this imaginative contemplation we focus on the father and the younger son in the parable Jesus tells in Luke 15. (We will think about the older son next week) After two readings of the text, we enter the story ourselves, using our imaginations to open us up to how God may wish to speak to us through this text. For more on imaginative prayer, as suggested by Ignatius of Loyola, keep your eye out...

An evening examen, a mindful audio prayer to help you review your day, and observe where God has been, where God might be leading you. This month I'm thinking about Ignatian Spirituality and wanted to share with you this recording, which is is a fairly traditional Examen practice, and reflects the way I'm engaging with Examen in my own prayer life at present. I hope it is of use to you. Contemplat...

Luke 14:16-23 In this Lectio Divina, we listen to two readings of Jesus' parable about the Great Banquet, which the invited guests don't feel bothered to attend - too busy with their new purchases, new relationships. Perhaps you can get in touch with the care and delight the host put into this great feast, and how great his desire was to share it with others. May there be one nugget of nourishment...