Spiritual Practices: Visio Divina
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
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Prophet Jonah Before the Walls of Nineveh
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606-1669. Prophet Jonah Before the Walls of Nineveh, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56387 [retrieved January 19, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Harmenszoon_van_Rijn_-_The_Prophet_Jonah_before_the_Walls_of_Nineveh,_c._1655_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.
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Jonah Preaching to the People of Ninevah
Vaccaro, Andrea, 1604-1670. Jonah Preaching to the People of Ninevah, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57835 [retrieved January 19, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jon%C3%A1s_predicando_al_pueblo_de_N%C3%ADnive,_de_Andrea_Vaccaro_(Museo_de_Bellas_Artes_de_Sevilla).jpg.
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Spiritual Practices: Breath Prayer
Overview
Jonah sweeps through Nineveh with a message of judgment and destruction. To the best of our knowledge, Jonah does not issue a call for repentance or any avenue for hope. He simply declares that God is going to destroy the city. Nevertheless, the people of the city cry out for repentance and commit to changing their ways. They blindly and trustingly throw themselves on the mercy of God.
When we sin, we have a tendency of hiding it from God, and sometimes even trying to hide it from ourselves. Instead, our approach should be to, like the people of Nineveh, throw ourselves on the mercy of God trusting his heart and his mercy. That is what this breath prayer is about.
Prayer
Almighty, forgiving God, I throw myself on your mercy.
Overview
Jonah sweeps through Nineveh with a message of judgment and destruction. To the best of our knowledge, Jonah does not issue a call for repentance or any avenue for hope. He simply declares that God is going to destroy the city. Nevertheless, the people of the city cry out for repentance and commit to changing their ways. They blindly and trustingly throw themselves on the mercy of God.
When we sin, we have a tendency of hiding it from God, and sometimes even trying to hide it from ourselves. Instead, our approach should be to, like the people of Nineveh, throw ourselves on the mercy of God trusting his heart and his mercy. That is what this breath prayer is about.
Prayer
Almighty, forgiving God, I throw myself on your mercy.