Prayer

“The water that I shall give will become a spring of water within, welling up to eternal life”, John 4:14

Prayer is the very heart of Wellspring’s life, from which all else flows. As members, we are called to cultivate within ourselves a deep well of contemplative life from which to drink and to offer “Living Water” (John 4) to others.

"Make prayer the first step in everything worthwhile that you attempt. Persevere and do not weaken in that prayer. Pray with confidence, because God, in his love and forgiveness, has counted us as his own sons and daughters." Prologue to the Rule of St Benedict

Silence and Personal Prayer

A foundational experience for The Wellspring Community is the discovery, in prayer, of a deep desire - a yearning which God alone can satisfy. For this desire to attain its fulfilment in union with God, we know we must purify our hearts and lives of all that is an obstacle to His grace. Silence and solitude are essential for a deeper listening to God, and purification of the heart.

Every day, the members of the Community dedicate time to seeking God in stillness, orienting our hearts and minds towards Him, and more fully consecrating ourselves to Him. Personal prayer is the place where we can come to know ourselves more truthfully, and to stand before God as we are, aware of our dependence upon Him and His loving acceptance of us – to live in the truth. By this we enter with Christ upon His path of humility.

All members have an annual personal retreat, and regular “desert days” are encouraged to enable the space for deeper reflection and to cultivate a love for encounter with God in solitude.

The Eucharist and Divine Office

“Nothing is to be preferred to the work of God”, (Rule of St Benedict 43)

Celebrating the Eucharist and Divine Office creates a life patterned upon Christ, so that we may be immersed in His Mystery, finding meaning for our own lives  in the Great Story of God’s loving plan of redemption. Through the liturgy, the whole of life is consecrated to God, and every experience can be penetrated by the transforming power of the Eucharist. Here, in the Paschal Mystery of Christ, the source and goal of Christian life is found.

By stepping back from other activities and preoccupations to sing God’s praises in the Divine Office, we are helped to grow in a consciousness of God’s continual presence, and to recognise His claim upon us. It is a choice for Christ above all else, signalling that our meaning is ultimately found in God alone.

Lectio Divina

“Let us get up, then, at long last, for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: It is high time for us to arise from sleep (Romans 13:11). Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God, and our ears to the voice from heaven that every day calls out this charge: If you hear his voice today, do not harden your hearts (Ps 95:8)”, Rule of St Benedict Prologue

Having awoken to the call of Christ, and opened our eyes to “the deifying light”, we set out on an interior journey, “armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord” (Rule of St Benedict Prologue). By reading and prayerfully mediating upon the Scriptures every day, listening with “the ear of the heart” (Rule of St Benedict Prologue), we allow God’s Word to permeate our hearts and illuminate our lives. We are inspired and formed daily to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, listening with open and docile hearts to His teachings, so as to imitate Him ever more fully. We take Mary, especially in her Annunciation, as our model, welcoming and consenting to the Word so that it may take flesh within us.

Joining Us for Prayer

As a community we pray Vespers (Evening Prayer) together each weekday evening in St Joseph's Church, Elm Grove. Everyone is welcome to join us. Times are as follows (term-time only):

Monday 6pm
Tuesday 6:30pm
Wednesday 6:30pm
Thursday 6:30pm
Friday 6:30pm

Please check St Joseph's Parish newsletter for any changes.