The Collect for Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter is:
“May your Spirit, O Lord, we pray, imbue us powerfully with spiritual gifts, that he may give us a mind pleasing to you and graciously conform us to your will. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”
Reflection
Continuing our focus on the coming of the Spirit, we now ask particularly for a “mind pleasing” to God. This is a mind that knows God and that fills itself with the things of God. It’s not just idle spiritual thoughts either. This kind of spiritual mindfulness is meant to bear fruit in our lives. In knowing God, we also come to know his will for us. In coming to know his will for us, we strive to conform ourselves to that will.
So, for your daily contribution to the Church’s collection of prayer,
Contemplate the reality of God’s love for you. Created by God, redeemed by the Son of God, and filled with the Spirit of God, you are truly valuable. Your mind is a reflection of that fact and it is meant for more than facts, figures, and plans to get ahead. Your mind is capable of being filled with God. Pray God for the grace to do just that, to fill your mind with His will for you and for all, which is to say, with love. Then spiritually unite that prayer to all the Masses throughout the world today. That way, when the priest says “Let us pray,” you can be a part of that “us” even if you don’t get to attend Mass.