Contemplative Worship Team - November 30, 2025
A Thrill of Hope: Week 1
"It is very rare to find people whose mind is in a state of stillness. This is the state only of those who use all means to attract to themselves Divine Grace and to be filled with the spiritual blessing flowing from it. Thus let us engage in this mental work that is the True Philosophy of Christ by guarding our mind and by inner watchfulness.... Watchfulness is rightly called a Path, for it leads to the Kingdom – both the Kingdom within us and to that which is the be. It is also called the workshop of the mind, for it trains and purifies our mind and transforms it from an impassioned state to a state of dispassion. Watchfulness is also like a small window full of light through which God looks, revealing God’s Self to the mind.... Smoke from wood kindling a fire troubles the eyes. But then the fire gives them light and gladdens them. Similarly, unceasing attentiveness is irksome. But when, invoked in prayer, Jesus draws near. He illumines the heart, for remembrance of Him confers on us spiritual enlightenment and the highest of all blessings." — St. Philotheus of Sinai, Forty Texts on Watchfulness
From Series: "Contemplative Worship"
Contemplative Worship with The Center for Christian Spirituality in Houston, Texas. A ministry of Chapelwood United Methodist Church
