The Little Black Book for Lent 2017 Quotes

“Tips about prayer Just because you have more time to pray doesn’t mean you will pray more. It can be hard to carve out time for prayer. But when you have more time, it still takes some effort to move into prayer. Talk straight to God, and talk about everything. This is similar to “pray your feelings.” No subject is inappropriate for prayer. Talk about everything – everything. When we die, we come to the Lord as we are, the good and the bad. We would not want to have too many difficult things that we have to talk over for the first time with the Lord.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“Don’t let prayers get between you and God. The object of praying is not saying prayers. It is being with God. The different forms of prayer are simply means to open ourselves up to God’s presence. Too often we confuse “praying” with “saying prayers.” The more we pray, the more we want to pray. The less we pray, the less we want to pray.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“Tips about prayer There is a good indicator that your prayer is “working.” The indicator is this: You begin to notice more the presence of God in the world around you and in the routine of your day. That’s a good sign. (Besides, it’s healthy because now you are seeing things as they are . . . because God is present in all these things.) When you pray, pray. This applies mostly to “public prayers” – grace before meals, a prayer before a meeting, singing a hymn. Don’t “perform” the prayer for others to hear, or simply to do it because you’re supposed to. Pray it. Consciously remind yourself that you are talking directly to God. Don’t force your kind of praying on someone else, or let someone else do this to you. There are a thousand ways to pray. If it tastes good, eat it. If not, try something else. That is why communal prayer should draw upon the most basic forms of prayer. They have the widest appeal. Planners and leaders should not impose their own tastes upon the group. ‘It’s your Church, Lord. I’m going to bed.’ – St. John XXIII’s prayer after a long day”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“It isn’t a matter of liking Jesus. Of course I do. It’s a matter of following him. This is the decision for which I cannot shift responsibility to others. It is mine to make, and only I can make it. Admirer? Or disciple?”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“I know where I stand . . . in theory. I’m for Jesus. But I can get around that by leaving Jesus out of some real-life issues. Reality check. Pick an issue – personal or otherwise, large or small. Put Jesus, and all that he taught and did, in the middle of that issue. Am I for Jesus or against Jesus?”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“It can be difficult to face the truth. And there’s never a “good time” to face a difficult truth. So, I put it off for a better time, and become a prisoner of my own fear. It’s the middle of Lent. There couldn’t be a better time to face whatever truth I’ve been avoiding.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“God, remove all bitterness from my heart and give me the strength and courage to face any disaster that comes my way.’ – Martin Luther King Jr.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“Here is part of an ancient Celtic prayer attributed to St. Patrick. I arise today . . . Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“The question “What would Jesus do?” can be misleading because of the would. It could seem as though Jesus were not part of the here-and-now situation. There’s a big difference between “What would Jesus think I should do?” (in theory) and “What does Jesus think I should do?” Asking myself what Jesus actually thinks about a given situation can change my perspective. Pick any issue – killing the unborn, using/storing weapons of mass destruction, retaliation . . . What does Jesus think right now? I might be more likely to deny that I am a disciple of Jesus by waffling on those kinds of issues. And waffling is definitely not what Jesus does.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“We need silence to be alone with God, to speak to him, to listen to him, to ponder his words deep in our hearts. We need to be alone with God in silence to be renewed and transformed.’ – St. Teresa of Calcutta”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“After the resurrection, when Jesus gets Peter aside, he doesn’t ask him, “Do you believe in me?” He asks, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And he repeats the question three times. I need to take some quiet time and hear Jesus address me by name and ask me the same question: “(My name), do you love me?” Take it from there.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John