Sacred Space: A Little Book of Encouragement by The Irish Jesuits | eBook

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How to Use This Book
We have chosen material from the Sacred Space website that focuses on the need we all have for encouragement in a variety of situations. There are seventy short chapters; each includes a Gospel reading, a short reflection, and a prayer. Each entry is given a descriptive title.

To use this little book, simply look through the table of contents and choose a title that speaks to you. Spend time with the Gospel reading, then use the reflection as a starting point for your own meditation. End with the prayer provided, with your own words, or with a standard prayer such as the Our Father.

Through his actions and teachings, Jesus demonstrated how we might live in a way that brings the kingdom of God into daily experience. But he also revealed a way of seeing: a mind-set of hope to offset this world’s many troubles and dangers. He told his followers then—and he tells us now—to believe in God, to not be afraid, to love one another, and to receive the many benefits of God’s care and compassion.

Jesus did not promise that we would escape hard times or be immune to the turbulent emotions that accompany loss, betrayal, poverty, guilt, or persecution. He did promise that God’s love would provide for us, comfort us, and show us the way through the turbulence.

We hope that these scenes from Jesus’ journey through human life will touch your own life where it hurts or where it has grown weary, angry, or confused. To prepare for each reading, you might try this simple sequence, or some version of it:• Take a moment to be present to God. Be still and imagine
God’s loving gaze upon you. Open your life to
that love.
• Allow other thoughts and distractions to move through
your mind but then place them off to the side during
this time of prayer and meditation.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare your heart and mind for
the Scripture you’re about to read. Ask for understanding
and for the ability to see clearly what God wants to
show you.
• Thank God for this moment in time and for this
opportunity to be encouraged. Are we often weary, disheartened, and sad? Do we think that
we won’t be able to cope? Let us not close our hearts, let us
not lose confidence, let us never give up. There are no
situations that God cannot change; there is no sin that he
cannot forgive if only we open ourselves to him.
—Pope Francis, The Church of Mercy

Contents
How to Use This Book ................................................................... ix1 Don’t Give Up Praying to God......................................................1
2 Mary’s Vision of God’s Desire for Us............................................3
3 When It’s Time to Get Away .........................................................5
4 Am I Obsessed with Things?..........................................................7
5 Safe in God’s Hands........................................................................9
6 When I Feel Unseen and Insignificant........................................11
7 Sometimes the Temple Needs Cleaning .....................................13
8 In Need of a Larger Heart ............................................................15
9 Am I Afraid to Surrender? ............................................................17
10 Jesus Finds Us Weeping ................................................................19
11 Can I Trust God to Hear Me?......................................................21
12 Jesus Was Praying for Me, Too.....................................................23
13 Am I Facing Temptation? .............................................................25
14 Do I Really Want to Be Healed?..................................................27
15 When Life Seems to Be Over .......................................................29
16 Is Life Worth the Cost?.................................................................31
17 When I’m in a Painful, Frightening Place...................................34
18 How Can I Share My Resources?.................................................37
19 The Solution Is to “Abide” ...........................................................39
20 God Has Already Shown Me Favor.............................................41
21 Is My Heart Troubled? ..................................................................43
22 Remember That God Took the Initiative...................................4523 I Am a Beloved Child of God ......................................................47
24 Help Me Focus on My Purpose While Suffering.......................49
25 Weighed Down with Sorrow........................................................51
26 God Is Doing the Work................................................................53
27 My Neediness Will Not Drive Jesus Away..................................55
28 Light Overcomes Darkness...........................................................57
29 Jesus Speaks When We’re Ready ..................................................59
30 All Sinners Have a Future.............................................................62
31 Help Me Receive Your Peace ........................................................65
32 Regain a Sense of Wonder and Joy ..............................................67
33 Jesus Calls Me as I Am..................................................................69
34 Can I Call Out for Help?..............................................................71
35 Am I Lost? ......................................................................................73
36 Doubting with the Best of Them ................................................75
37 A Less-Than-Perfect Family History ...........................................78
38 Difficult Decisions and the Need for God’s Prompting............8139 When Plans Change and Life Looks Bleak.................................83
40 Even Jesus Needed a Push.............................................................85
41 When Labels Threaten to Limit Me............................................87
42 Give Up the Burden of Vengeance ..............................................89
43 God Shows Up in People Who Might Surprise You .................91
44 Jesus, Set Me Free ..........................................................................93
45 Jesus Encouraged Mary—and Martha, Too ...............................95
46 What Do I Want Jesus to Do for Me?.........................................97
47 The Intensity of Jesus’ Love for Me.............................................9948 Jesus Calls Me Friend ..................................................................101
49 Jesus Does Not Sugarcoat Pain ..................................................103
50 We’re Meant to Need Our Friends ............................................105
51 Forgiveness Involves Mind, Body, and Soul .............................107
52 The Reality about Suffering .......................................................109
53 I Need Peace That’s Real.............................................................111
54 We Don’t Have to Understand It All Now...............................113
55 Spiritual Progress Does Not Require Genius............................115
56 Prayer Changes Me, Not God....................................................117
57 What Holds Me Back? ................................................................119
58 Bad Times Are Not Evidence That God Is Punishing Me......121
59 God Works Patiently with Me ...................................................123
60 If Jesus Needed to Pray All Night . . . .......................................125
61 When Grieving the Loss of a Loved One .................................127
62 When in Denial ...........................................................................129
63 I Need to Forgive, But It’s So Hard to Do................................131
64 When I Want to Help Someone................................................133
65 Troubled Heart, Fearful Mind ...................................................135
66 When Your Life Is at Its Bleakest Moment...............................13767 Relationship Blame and Shame .................................................139
68 When I Need Wisdom and Discernment.................................141
69 I Am So Weary.............................................................................143
70 Overwhelmed with Worries .......................................................145About the Editor .........................................................................147

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Sacred Space: A Little Book of Encouragement

eBook

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Sacred Space: A Little Book of Encouragement

eBook

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