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Tazaie Prayer Reflection

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At the Taizé prayer, the area with the altar and candles was inviting. First the silence for about 10 minutes, then the music played, followed by long pauses for praying and reading the scriptures together. The prayer around the Jesus cross in the center was about to begin when a person placed the cross on the ground and next to the cross a pillow for people to kneel and express their burdens. After about ten minutes, the prayer around the cross continued, but this time the cross was moved to a table. People freely approached the cross at the table and placed their heads on it or kissed the cross. After a few more prayers were said aloud, then the final prayer was said followed by a song as the closing. From this opportunity of praying in a group, I learned about the gifts and challenges of prayer while reflecting in silence and listening to the meditative music.
The Taizé prayer is an opportunity to reflect on your day or your life and pray with others together. This was my first time in a Taizé prayer, I have never heard about it before this class. The Taizé prayer is a different way from how I am used to communicating with God. The prayer is centered on a worship group that between silence, songs, prayers, and bible readings, people stand up to acknowledge the cross statue in the center by kneeling in front or kissing the statue. The prayer relates to Kay Lindahl’s contemplative listening or listening in silence to God in Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening since the silence is part of the Taizé prayer. While in silence in the Taizé prayer one is listening to God and creating room in one’s mind for God to guide you through life.
During the prayer, I learned that the peace of mind you feel, a gift of the prayer, is centered in the reflection while in silence or the meditative music playing. The silence and the music playing relax you and prompt you to reflect on your day and life and to stay focused while listening to God. Among all the people at the prayer, a person wearing a red sweater stood out as the leader of the prayer. First her singing, then her silence guided me through the scriptures she read and through the prayers she directed. While praying together as a group later reflecting in quiet, you

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