Session 18: Evening - Where Did I Love Today?

Welcome back, my friend. You have reached the evening of Day 6. Today, our focus has been community and charity. This morning, we reflected on Saint John's words, “Let us love one another, because love is of God.” You chose one concrete way to show love. At midday, we went deeper and asked God to give us loving eyes, eyes that see the person instead of simply their faults, differences, or usefulness to us. You also chose one person to treat with extra kindness. Now the day is coming to an end, and we are going to look back over the people who crossed our path. Some encounters may have been beautiful. Others may have been difficult. Perhaps you were patient with someone who needed you. Perhaps you lost your patience. Maybe you helped someone quietly. Maybe you missed an opportunity. Perhaps someone showed unexpected kindness to you. Tonight, we bring all of it before God. Find a quiet place. Put your phone aside. Let the room become still. Take a slow breath. [PAUSE - 10 SECONDS] And another. [PAUSE - 10 SECONDS] Allow the faces of the people you encountered today to pass through your mind. Family. Friends. Coworkers. Strangers. Difficult people. People who served you. People you served. Tonight we ask one simple question: Where did I love today?

Jesus Washes the Feet of His Disciples

Our Scripture tonight comes from John 13. Jesus is gathered with His disciples at the Last Supper. He knows what is coming. The Cross is near. Yet in these final hours, Jesus does something extraordinary. He gets up from the table, takes a towel, pours water into a basin, kneels down, and begins washing His disciples' feet. Try to imagine the scene. The One they call Lord kneels before them like a servant. Then He tells them: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Christianity places this image at the center of greatness. Jesus does not merely talk about love. He kneels. He serves. He touches dirty feet. He performs a task others might consider beneath them. Tonight, ask yourself: Am I willing to kneel? Not necessarily physically. Am I willing to put another person's needs ahead of my comfort? Am I willing to perform the unnoticed task? Am I willing to serve when there is no reward? That is where love becomes more than a feeling.

Vespers and the Community

As evening arrives in the monastery, the monks gather again for prayer. Think about what that means. They have spent the day together. Perhaps one monk irritated another. Someone may have been impatient. Someone forgot a responsibility. Someone spoke too sharply. Someone worked faithfully. Someone quietly helped another brother. Then they all stand together before God. Monastic community does not depend upon everyone always getting along perfectly. It depends upon something deeper: a shared commitment to keep returning to love. Your family, friendships, workplace, parish, and community are no different. There will be misunderstandings. People will disappoint you. You will disappoint them. The question is not whether conflict ever happens. The question is whether love gets the final word. Tonight, bring your relationships before God and pray quietly: “Lord, teach me to love imperfect people as an imperfect person myself.” [SILENCE - 30 SECONDS] And again: “Teach me to forgive as I hope to be forgiven.” [SILENCE - 30 SECONDS]

Preparing for Lectio Divina

We will now enter Lectio Divina. If you have the Gospel reading for today, use it. If not, remain with the words of Jesus from John 13: “As I have done for you, you should also do.” Tonight, allow Scripture to speak specifically to your relationships. Is there someone you need to serve? Someone you need to forgive? Someone you need to thank? Someone you need to listen to? Someone whose weakness you need to bear more patiently? We will move through our familiar four movements: read, meditate, pray, and rest.

Lectio Divina

Begin with Lectio: Read. Slowly read the Gospel passage. Read it once. Pause. Then read it again. Notice one word, phrase, or image that stays with you. Do not force anything. Simply listen. [SILENCE - 2 MINUTES] Now enter Meditatio: Meditate. Return to the word or phrase that caught your attention. How does it touch your relationships? Does a particular person come to mind? Does it challenge you to serve, forgive, listen, apologize, or become more patient? Allow the Scripture to reach your actual life. [SILENCE - 2 MINUTES] Now enter Oratio: Pray. Respond honestly to God. Pray for the people you love. Pray for someone who is struggling. Pray for someone who has hurt you. Pray for someone you may have hurt. If you need help forgiving, say so. If you need courage to apologize, ask for it. [SILENCE - 2 MINUTES] Finally, enter Contemplatio: Rest. Stop trying to fix every relationship. Stop replaying conversations. Stop preparing arguments. Simply rest in God's presence. Let Him love you, and allow that love to begin softening your heart toward others. [SILENCE - 2 MINUTES]

Bearing With One Another's Weaknesses

Saint Benedict tells his monks to bear with the greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body or behavior. Those words become very practical when people actually live together. Every community eventually discovers the same truth: other people have weaknesses. Of course, so do we. The difficulty is that we usually experience their weaknesses more clearly than our own. We know why we behave the way we do. We know our intentions. But when another person behaves badly, we see only the behavior. Charity asks us to make room for human weakness. That does not mean accepting abuse, dishonesty, or serious harm. Love sometimes requires correction, boundaries, or distance. But many of the things that irritate us are ordinary imperfections. Someone talks too much. Someone forgets things. Someone moves slowly. Someone sees the world differently. Someone has habits we would never choose. Community becomes a school of holiness when we learn to love people who are not exactly the way we would like them to be.

Where Did You Love Today?

Now let us begin our examen. Slowly move through your day from morning until now. Ask yourself: Where did I love today? Did you listen when someone needed to talk? Did you encourage someone? Did you perform the act of kindness you chose this morning? Perhaps you helped without being asked. Maybe you forgave a small offense. Perhaps you were patient when someone irritated you. Maybe you thanked someone whose work often goes unnoticed. Perhaps you prayed for someone you find difficult. Maybe you simply gave another person your full attention. Love often appears in small moments that no one else sees. [SILENCE - 1 MINUTE] When a moment comes to mind, quietly say: “Thank You, Lord, for helping me love.”

Where Did Selfishness Win?

Now ask the harder question: Where did selfishness get in the way of love today? Did you ignore someone because you were busy? Did you become impatient? Did you gossip? Did you judge someone quickly? Did you speak harshly? Did you make a conversation entirely about yourself? Did you refuse to help because it was inconvenient? Did you hold onto resentment? Did you secretly enjoy another person's failure? Did you fail to notice someone who needed kindness? Perhaps someone interrupted your plans and you treated them as an inconvenience rather than a person. Do not hide from what you see, but do not condemn yourself either. Bring it into the light. [SILENCE - 1 MINUTE] Then say quietly: “Lord, forgive me. Teach me to love better tomorrow.”

Is There Someone You Need to Forgive?

Now bring to mind anyone who hurt, irritated, disappointed, or offended you today. Perhaps it was something small. Perhaps it was more serious. Forgiveness does not mean pretending something was acceptable when it was not. It does not mean immediately trusting someone who has repeatedly harmed you. Forgiveness and reconciliation are not always identical. But forgiveness begins when we stop feeding the desire to punish another person inside our own heart. You may not feel ready to forgive completely tonight. If so, begin with willingness. Pray: “Lord, I want to want to forgive.” Sometimes that is the first honest prayer we can offer. [SILENCE - 1 MINUTE] Now ask another question: Is there someone who may need to forgive me? [SILENCE - 30 SECONDS] If someone comes to mind, consider whether tomorrow requires an apology.

Closing Prayer and Silence

Let us close Day 6 in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank You for every person You placed in my path today. Thank You for those who were easy to love and for those who challenged me to love more deeply. Thank You for every act of kindness I received and every opportunity You gave me to serve. Forgive me for the times I was selfish, impatient, judgmental, distracted, or unkind. Forgive me for the moments when I saw another person as an interruption instead of someone created in Your image. Help me forgive those who hurt me, and give me humility to ask forgiveness from those I have hurt. Teach me to bear patiently with the ordinary weaknesses of others, remembering how patiently others bear with mine. Give me the heart of Christ, who knelt to wash the feet of His disciples. Make me willing to serve when no one notices, listen when I would rather speak, give when I would rather keep, and love when love costs something. Let the people around me experience more patience, kindness, mercy, and peace because I am learning to follow You. Amen.

We will now end with three minutes of silence. During this silence, allow the faces of the people from today to pass gently through your mind. For each one, simply pray: “Lord, bless them.” Do not analyze the relationship. Do not replay the conversation. Just bless them and release them into God's hands. [SILENCE - 3 MINUTES] When the silence ends, let today's relationships rest. Some conversations may need to continue tomorrow. Some apologies may need to be made. Some forgiveness may take time. But tonight, entrust every person to God. Day 6 is complete. Tomorrow we begin our final day together: Day 7, rest and gratitude. We will slow the rhythm even further and look back over this week, not first at what we accomplished, but at what we received. We will learn to rest, give thanks, and carry this monastic rhythm beyond these seven days. For tonight, release everyone into God's care. Let go of resentment. Give thanks for love. And rest.