“The good accomplished through us is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

To cooperate with grace is to co-create and co-redeem the world with Christ from beginning to its consummation.

At the same time, divine transformation is the gratuitous gift of the Holy Spirit

And the Source of all the good that God may accomplish through us. ” (Contemplative Outreach Theological Principle No. 14)

I would like to reflect upon this principle including insights from our morning Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina group.

Cooperating with grace is another name for Centering Prayer. We can only cooperate by saying “Yes!” and opening ourselves in faith to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit. May God’s dynamic Presence in the form of the Holy Spirit enable the Word of God, Christ, to be nurtured within us. May the birth of the Word from within us enable us to be a word of God that expresses Christ to others. This word is expressed as much if not primarily by who we are as by what we say.

We wait in hope and rest in our desire and longing for the love of God known as charity. Opening in faith, waiting in hope, resting in charity captures what our Centering Prayer is. Mother Mary is a model of this openness and surrender to God as she responds “Let it be done to me according to your word.”

Neither can we take credit for the transformation that is wrought within us as we consent to cooperating. Any fruitful action that we do comes from God through us. Any action that we do that is not under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will not bear fruit. Here lies humility and the call to a lifelong process of conversion.

Let us pray “Lord, may we say ‘Yes!’ to all the goodness that You offer moment by moment so that we may be instruments of Your good for others and the world.”