Sunday, July 17, 2016

how to maximize your meaning of the sacrament

Giampietrinio - The Last Supper (from wikimedia)
preparing for and participating in the sacrament is one of the best ways to find balance and harmony in our lives.

here are some ideas to maximize your meaning of the sacrament.

"examine yourself" - spend time reviewing the prior week; and how to improve in the coming week (see 1 corinthians 11:28)
find a quiet spot, either saturday evening or sunday morning; and spend a good thirty minutes to an hour in meditation.  review your actions and thoughts from the prior week.  do not be critical of yourself.  rather, simply note how you could have done better in your attitude about your circumstance in life, your interactions with others, and how you used your free will.  did you act with reason?  did you serve others?  how did you practice virtue?

next, coach yourself.  envision any circumstances that you will encounter in the coming week and how you can react to them.  think of ways to serve others, from small acts of kindness to truly going out of your way to help others.

consider journaling your meditations and review them each week.

think of the savior's sacrifice during the sacrament
pay attention to the words of the hymn.

listen to the words of the prayers.

while in silence, waiting for the bread and water to be passed, read or recite in your mind a chosen scripture or passage.  you can even work on memorizing a passage that has meaning for you.

over the years, i've focused on mosiah 14.

study the meaning of a 'broken heart and contrite spirit'
learn what a broken heart and contrite spirit are.  you can even start here.