Weekly Contemplation

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1-2)

Meditation — Alive, Yet Dead ?

I stand before You, O Lord, alive in body, yet learning how to die.
I breathe, I move, I see—yet I ask: for whom do I live?

You allowed the flesh to taste weakness so it might remember the truth.
Not to despise the body, but to free it from illusion.
For without You, I am unable even to stand.

In suffering, You quiet the voice of demand.
The flesh no longer commands; it listens.
What once sought pleasure now learns obedience.

I begin to see that sin loses its power not when I am strong,
but when I no longer believe its promises.
As the body is humbled, the heart becomes sober.

Here, in this place of weakness, self-reliance dies.
Pride loosens its grip.
And I discover a strange peace—not because pain is gone,
but because You are near.

Teach me, Lord, to live the rest of my time not for the desires that pass,
not for the lusts that demand, but for Your will that gives life.

Let my body become again what You created it to be:
an instrument of thanksgiving,
a servant of the soul, a temple of Your presence.

I die to what cannot save me, and in this dying,
I find myself alive—alive in You, and at rest.

Amen