Holy Ground Within - A Holy Week Spiritual Practice from Rev. Larry J. Morris III

“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” — John 12:24 (NRSV)

THE INVITATION

On this Holy Tuesday, I invite you to pause.To step back from the noise.To lean into the trembling silence between the cross and the resurrection.

Jesus stands at the edge of grief and glory.This is not the time to rush toward resurrection.This is the hour to sit with the seed.

What in you is ready to fall into sacred soil?What light still flickers as the sky darkens?

This is a home practice—an offering of breath, body, and voice.You need only 10–15 minutes and a willingness to be transformed.You are the temple. You are the field.

HOLY GROUND WITHIN

A Breath + Body + Voice Practice for Lent

1. Sanctify Your Space (1 minute)

Light a candle. Remove your shoes. Silence your phone. Let your space become sanctuary.This moment is not ordinary — it is sacred.

2. Breath of Surrender (3 minutes)

Place one hand on your heart, the other on your belly. Close your eyes. Let breath become prayer.

Inhale through the nose (4 counts)Hold (2 counts)Exhale slowly through the mouth (6 counts)

As you exhale, whisper:“Let go.”As you inhale, whisper:“Make room.”

Repeat this breath cycle. Let your nervous system soften. Let your spirit open. You are not here to strive. You are here to receive.

3. Embodied Resonance (5 minutes – Seated or Still)

Return to your seat or remain comfortably where you are — on a cushion, in a wheelchair, on the edge of your bed. There is no one way to move in the Spirit. Your body, exactly as it is, is sacred ground.

Read John 12:24–26 aloud. Let the sound resonate in your being.

Now, close your eyes or soften your gaze. With slow and sacred intention, begin this prayerful sequence:

• Gently bow your head forward, allowing your spine to curve slightly.Cross your arms over your chest or wrap them around your shoulders.You are the seed — held, hidden, holy.

• Pause in stillness.Breathe into the darkness, the waiting, the mystery.

• Unfold slowly.Raise your head. Uncross your arms.Open them wide beside you or lift your hands slightly, palms up.You are becoming. The seed breaks open. Something divine begins to rise.

• Pause again.Feel the tension between the dying and the blooming.Let your breath and body honor both.

Repeat this movement — or visualization — three times. If movement isn’t available today, simply imagine it. Let the story of the seed live in your breath.

4. Resonant Reflection (5 minutes)

Return to stillness. Take your journal or your recording device.

Let this question ring:

“What part of me is ready to fall into the earth and die so that something divine might rise in its place?”

Write or speak freely for five minutes. Don’t filter. Don’t edit. Let the Spirit write through you. The truth you name becomes the truth you can transform.

Sacred Sealing

Place both hands on your heart. Speak this blessing aloud:

“O Divine Gardener, Plant me in mystery. Water me with surrender. Let what is no longer mine fall away. Let what is eternal rise. And may my life bear fruit beyond what I can see.Amen.”

Blow out your candle. The light has not gone out. It has gone in.

Sacred Resonance exists to awaken the holy frequency within you. Today, that frequency is surrender. Today, that frequency is the expectation of resurrection in slow motion.

Let it hum in your bones. Let it bloom in your breath. Let it echo into the world.

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Rev. Larry J. Morris III (he/they) is the Executive Director/Lead Pastor of the Inclusive Collective, founder of Sacred Resonance Co., a spiritual director, and homiletic coach. Rev. Morris III is a Ph.D. student in Christian Theological Seminary's African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric program. He also serves as Chair of the Education and Resources committee of the DSF Board and is a DSF/CST graduate (M.Div./MTS/2019). You can learn more about Larry at www.larryjmorris3.com.